#383 Todd Graves and his $10 Billion Chicken Finger Dream
Mar 17, 2025
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Todd Graves shares his incredible journey from a college project to leading a $10 billion fast-food empire, focusing solely on chicken fingers. Despite countless rejections and challenges, he emphasized resilience and a simple philosophy: do one thing and do it better than anyone else. His unique approach prioritizes quality, operational simplicity, and crew well-being, fostering an innovative work culture. From leveraging personal stakes to navigating crises like Hurricane Katrina, Todd's story inspires aspiring entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams relentlessly.
Todd Graves exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit by overcoming skepticism and adversity to build Raising Cane's into a billion-dollar brand.
The success of Raising Cane's is attributed to its focused menu, demonstrating that excelling at one thing enhances quality and customer loyalty.
Graves emphasizes that resilient leadership and community engagement can transform crises into growth opportunities, reinforcing the importance of adaptability in business.
Deep dives
The Importance of Staying in the Details
Successful entrepreneurs often emphasize the significance of being detail-oriented in their businesses. Todd Graves, founder of Raising Cane's, illustrates this by sharing insights from his friend's billion-dollar shipping company, where attention to even small costs, such as bottled water, is critical. This mindset aligns with historical figures like Andrew Carnegie, who viewed cost control as an obsession. Graves argues that the success of his own venture is rooted in his deep understanding of every aspect of his business, a principle embodied by Ramp's expense management solutions.
The Power of a Simple Menu
Graves believes that the secret to Raising Cane's success lies in its simple yet focused menu, which has remained unchanged for decades. He asserts that doing one thing exceptionally well leads to better customer experiences, efficiency, and quality. This philosophy mirrors the practices of other successful founders like Harry Snyder of In-N-Out Burger, who also maintained a limited menu to uphold product excellence. By narrowing the focus, Graves can perfect every detail of the operation, ultimately driving recurring customer loyalty.
Overcoming Early Challenges
In his entrepreneurial journey, Graves faced numerous challenges, particularly during the initial stages of expanding Raising Cane's. Balancing two restaurants proved difficult due to limited help and experience, leading to many mistakes. He emphasizes the importance of making quick decisions and accepting that mistakes are part of the learning process. By developing a mindset that embraces rapid learning and adaptability, Graves expects young entrepreneurs to forge their paths despite adversity.
The Impact of Crisis on Growth
Unexpected events like Hurricane Katrina and the COVID-19 pandemic presented both challenges and opportunities for Raising Cane's. Following Hurricane Katrina, Graves rallied his team to reopen promptly, becoming the only restaurant operating in affected communities, which attracted new customers. Similarly, the pandemic allowed the drive-thru-centric model of Raising Cane's to thrive, leading to increased sales. These experiences highlight how resilient leadership and a focus on community needs can turn crises into growth opportunities.
The Role of Passion and Founder-Led Philosophy
Graves firmly believes that founders who are passionate about their businesses and involved in operations will ultimately outperform non-founder-led companies. He emphasizes the importance of caring for both customers and employees as a core strategy for success. Additionally, he stresses the value of retaining ownership and control to stay true to the brand vision and maintain quality. This founder-led approach inspires a culture of loyalty among employees and customers alike, driving long-term success.
Todd Graves is one of my favorite living entrepreneurs. He's a great example of Charlie Munger's maxim: Find a simple idea and take it seriously. Todd wanted to create a quick service restaurant that only focused on quality chicken finger meals and nothing else. Everyone told him that couldn't possibly work. The college paper that described the idea that would turn into Raising Canes got the lowest grade in the class. Banks wouldn't loan him any money —but nothing could stop Todd from living out his "chicken finger dream." He worked 95 hour weeks as a boilermaker, risked his life on a commercial fishing boat off the coast of Alaska, and scrounged up startup money from his bookie and a guy named Wild Bill. Todd made every mistake in the book, over leveraged himself, almost lost everything and yet he refused to give up or sell out. Today he has over 800 locations, 50,000 employees, and owns 90% of a business that's worth at least $10 billion. Todd's maxim is "Do one thing and do it better than anyone else."
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Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here.
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