Stories that make you start.

Real founders, real numbers, and the exact playbooks behind them. No fluff.

A Five Guys restaurant
Founder story7 min

Five Guys Started With a College Fund and One Carry-Out. Here Is the Playbook.

In 1986 the Murrell family bet a college fund on a burger joint with no delivery, no marketing and no freezers. 1,700+ locations l…

A Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant
Founder story7 min

The $85,000 Loan From His Dad That Became Chipotle

Steve Ells opened Chipotle in 1993 only to fund his real dream. He needed 114 burritos a day to break even. He sold 1,000. The fin…

The original Starbucks store at Pike Place Market, Seattle
Founder story8 min

217 Investors Said No to Howard Schultz. He Bought the Company Anyway.

A salesman from the Brooklyn projects walked into a Seattle bean shop in 1981 and could not let the idea go. His bosses said no. 2…