My conversation with Todd Graves

Todd Graves is one of my favorite living founders. He owns over 90% of Raising Canes — a business that is worth at least $20 billion. Todd's maxim is "Do one thing and do it better than anyone else." It is impossible not to be inspired by his terminator levels of determination. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did.

Episode show notes: ⁠https://www.davidsenra.com/episode/to...

Made possible by Ramp: ⁠⁠https://ramp.com⁠⁠ HubSpot: ⁠⁠https://hubspot.com⁠⁠ Function: ⁠https://functionhealth.com/senra⁠

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