Hardware Podcasts

Raising Cane's: Todd Graves

How I Built This · 25 Apr 2022 · 1h 22m

What this episode covers

Todd Graves, founder of Raising Cane's, explains how he built a $3 billion fast-food chain by focusing exclusively on chicken fingers, fries, Texas toast, and coleslaw. After being rejected by every bank in Baton Rouge, Graves funded his first location by working dangerous jobs as a boilermaker in oil refineries and a commercial fisherman in Alaska. He details the operational challenges of scaling from one to two locations, the decision to retain corporate ownership rather than franchise, and the financial risks of aggressive leverage during rapid expansion.

Most relevant to

founders before launch, early-stage companies and companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Raising Cane's, Chick-fil-A, In-N-Out Burger, Popeyes, McDonald's, U.S. Bank
Products
Cane Sauce, Texas Toast

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