While Lutz and his team have access to the formidable sales, marketing, and packaging staff at its corporate-parent headquarters, they are careful about asking for help. "You don't want to put somebody in a position where they have to choose between working on Cheerios and working on this." The trick, he says, is finding a way for people to work on both. This is achieved by fitting into their schedules and keeping requests as clear and as simple as possible. "We might have 10% of their time, but we work hard to get 50% of their heart," says Lutz.

The strategy seems to be working so far. Three months after its soy milk was launched in July 2001, 8th Continent became the country's second-leading soy brand. If all goes according to plan, it will get a full national rollout this summer, and the battle to unseat Silk will be engaged. For Lutz, though, the success of 8th Continent is only part of his mission. His real goal is to prove that "innovation" and "corporation" are not mutually exclusive terms. "I don't want people to talk about the death of corporate America," he says. "I want to make corporate America as cool as it can be -- for those who want to make a difference."

Contact Scott Lutz by email (scott.lutz@8thcontinent.com). For more resources on DuPont and General Mills, visit the A - Z Fast Companies Directory by clicking here.

Sidebar: All in the Family

Just as in a family, the relationship between a corporate parent and a frisky offspring can be fraught with tension. Here are tips to ease growing pains.

Find a place to call your own. Kids (and new companies) need to leave the nest. Distance from headquarters helps build autonomy.

Choose your team carefully. In a small operation, there's no bench. Be sure that those you hire have an entrepreneurial mind-set: the passion to succeed, the ability to work without structure, and the willingness to wear many hats.

Create unique traditions. Creating an authentic company means developing rituals and practices that are different from those of your corporate parents.

When in doubt, call home. Recognize that even though they're your parents, your corporate sponsors may still have something useful to say.

Choose your battles. Understand the problems that your parents deal with so you have a better sense of when to push and when to hold back. "It's not about winning every battle," says 8th Continent CEO Scott Lutz. "It's about building a great business from the ground up."

Show a little love. "You have to have an emotional connection between the parents and the kid," says Lutz. "You want your picture on their desk. You want to come home for Christmas." Show your parents your report card, and make sure it's full of A's.