Todd Graves, Raising Cane’s | David Senra

Todd Graves is the founder and CEO of Raising Cane's, one of America's most successful and fastest-growing restaurant chains built on a radically simple concept that nearly everyone told him would fail.

He is an entrepreneur and restaurateur widely regarded as one of the most determined founder-operators in the fast-food industry. Rising from rejection in the mid-1990s to building over 800 locations by the 2020s, he became known for his unwavering commitment to doing one thing better than anyone else—serving quality chicken finger meals with the exact same menu he launched in 1996. He became a household name in restaurant circles through his relentless focus on simplicity, his refusal to franchise or take on outside investors, and his missionary-like devotion to a business he calls his "chicken finger dream."

His career highlights include getting the worst grade in his college business class for the Raising Cane's concept, working as a boilermaker in oil refineries and commercial fisherman in Alaska to fund his first restaurant after being rejected by every bank, opening the first Raising Cane's near LSU in 1996, maintaining over 90% ownership while growing to 900+ locations and billions in revenue by staying fanatically true to a menu that has remained virtually unchanged for three decades.

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Chapters
00:00 The Entrepreneurial Mindset: Sleep and Business Obsession
02:13 The Birth of Raising Cane's: Overcoming Skepticism
03:29 Inspiration from In-N-Out Burger
07:17 The Importance of Quality and Focus
14:49 The Journey to Success: Hard Work and Sacrifice
19:21 The Early Days: Building Raising Cane's from Scratch
21:23 Financing the Dream: Unconventional Paths
32:28 The Relentless Pursuit of Success
33:02 Commitment and Oaths: The Camping Trip
34:02 Fanaticism and Relentless Focus
34:53 Learning from Others and Continuous Improvement
35:06 The Never-Satisfied Mindset
36:04 The Importance of Founders in Business
39:55 The Purpose Beyond Profit
51:52 Financing the Dream: Credit Cards and SBA Loans
55:47 Building the First Restaurant
57:56 Expanding the Vision
58:59 Positive Motivational Management
01:00:51 Creating a Coaching Culture
01:01:42 Intrinsic Motivation vs. Titles
01:02:41 The Importance of Being Present
01:06:35 Respect, Recognition, and Rewards
01:09:12 The Power of Encouragement
01:18:10 The Myth of Delegation
01:22:57 Focus on What You Do Best
01:30:07 Dining at Jiro in Tokyo
01:30:59 The Franchise Model Debate
01:32:50 Challenges of Franchising
01:35:21 Building a Business Authentic to You
01:37:07 Financing and Expansion Strategies
01:49:13 Surviving Hurricane Katrina
01:55:48 Lessons from Estée Lauder
01:58:06 Final Thoughts and Reflections

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