Focus on Core Product Quality for Sustained Business Growth

How I Built This with Guy Raz · December 25, 2025 · Listen to Original Episode →

Original Title:

TL;DR

Focusing on a core, craveable product and maintaining strict quality standards, even when pressured to diversify, leads to higher average unit volumes and sustained success, as demonstrated by Raising Cane's.
Prioritizing progress over perfection in business development, such as releasing a Version 1.0 training program, allows for faster iteration and adaptation, crucial for entrepreneurial growth.
Strategic franchising can accelerate growth by leveraging external capital, but requires rigorous partner selection and ongoing quality control to maintain brand integrity and operational excellence.
For businesses with limited access to traditional capital, exploring angel investors or subordinated debt can provide necessary funding without sacrificing equity or control.
Expanding into new markets or product lines without a clear strategy can distract from core competencies and dilute brand focus, potentially hindering existing successful operations.
The decision to invest in brick-and-mortar locations should be carefully considered against the success of alternative models like retail partnerships or commissary kitchens, weighing operational complexity and potential distractions.
Building a successful business often involves identifying and leveraging unique product attributes, like focaccia's shelf-life or unique flavor infusions, to create a scalable and profitable offering.

Deep Dive

Todd Graves, founder of Raising Cane's, emphasizes a core principle of business growth: unwavering focus on a craveable core product and operational excellence. He advises entrepreneurs to resist the temptation to diversify prematurely or chase every new trend, asserting that doubling down on what makes a business successful, rather than chasing fleeting opportunities, leads to sustainable, long-term growth and higher valuations.

Graves's advice is rooted in his experience with Raising Cane's, a brand built on a simple, high-quality chicken finger offering. He highlights that maintaining this singular focus allows for superior operational efficiency and quality control, especially compared to franchise models where consistency can be diluted. This disciplined approach, he argues, is crucial for building a strong, scalable business that can eventually support broader expansion. For those seeking capital, Graves suggests exploring less conventional routes like angel investors or subordinated debt if traditional financing is inaccessible, prioritizing control and brand integrity over rapid, diluted growth.

The implications of Graves's philosophy extend beyond operational strategy to financial valuation and founder well-being. By maintaining a tight focus on core competencies and controlled growth, businesses can achieve higher unit volumes and profitability, leading to greater company valuations. This focus also prevents the dilution of brand identity and operational quality that can occur when a business attempts to be "all things to all people." Furthermore, Graves's personal journey, from oil refineries to leading a massive QSR chain, underscores the value of perseverance and refining a singular vision, while his advice to "concentrate more on progress rather than perfection" offers a practical roadmap for entrepreneurs to avoid analysis paralysis and achieve consistent forward momentum.

Action Items

Audit current product offerings: Identify 2-3 core products with highest margin and scalability for focused expansion.
Develop repeatable unit economics: Document and validate key financial drivers for 3-5 initial corporate-owned locations before considering franchising.
Create a standardized operational playbook: Define clear procedures for 5 key areas (e.g., quality control, customer service, inventory management) to ensure consistency across all future locations.
Evaluate strategic financing options: Explore subordinated debt or angel investment for 1.4 million capital raise, prioritizing non-dilutive options to maintain control.
Design a scalable training program: Outline a modular training curriculum for 3-5 core roles to ensure consistent execution as the business grows.

Key Quotes

"You know, it's number one is picking a good partner obviously, right? If you're going to have a, if you're going to have a franchisee, you're basically, you know, you're licensing the brand package, you know, the know-how, the training, the product knowledge, all those things, but then it's their business and they're running it. So picking the best franchisee is so clutch, so clutch."

Todd Graves emphasizes the critical importance of selecting the right franchise partners. He explains that while the franchisor provides the brand and operational knowledge, the franchisee is responsible for day-to-day execution. Graves highlights that this careful selection process is essential for maintaining brand standards and ensuring successful partnerships.

"The story about how you, you had this dream of starting a fried chicken joint in Baton Rouge where you grew up and you couldn't get a loan, so you worked in oil refineries and in commercial salmon in Alaska and you basically saved enough money to open the first restaurant."

This quote encapsulates the foundational struggle and determination of Todd Graves in launching Raising Cane's. It illustrates his entrepreneurial spirit, willingness to undertake difficult work, and resourcefulness in overcoming financial obstacles to pursue his business vision. The narrative highlights the grit required to build a successful company from the ground up.

"The whole thought of brick and mortar, and I'm not saying it's a bad one, but it's a, as you know, it's a completely different business. You know, you're still selling your product, but now now you're the one doing, you know, all the front of house, back of house with people, you're taking on substantial debt doing that, and to me, it's a distraction away from building your current business that's doing very well."

Todd Graves advises Shane Lyons against immediately pursuing a brick-and-mortar location for his business, Vesty. Graves explains that opening a physical restaurant is a fundamentally different and more complex undertaking than their current model. He suggests that it could distract from their existing successful business and recommends focusing on scaling their current operations first.

"My advice would be, go for the goals to keep, you know, keep doing great with what you're doing right now, focus on that, make it better, and I would table that brick and mortar thought until after you get that next goal."

Todd Graves reiterates his advice to Shane Lyons to maintain focus on his current successful business model. He suggests setting and achieving new goals within their existing framework, such as expanding their retail partnerships, before considering a significant shift like opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant. Graves emphasizes prioritizing what is working well and building upon that foundation.

"The advantage about company is you can control that. Second thing that I thought was inefficient about franchising is we needed to change something that we were doing right? Like here's a better operational procedure. There was so much time you had to talk to them, these franchisees, because it's their business and they're like, well, we don't agree with that. We think it should be this. And but that wasted time to me, that when you know we had company restaurants, we can roll something out three months later, it's adopted and we roll the efficiency doesn't get wasted."

Todd Graves discusses the operational advantages of company-owned restaurants over franchises. He highlights that direct control allows for quicker implementation of improved procedures and efficiencies. Graves explains that with company-owned locations, changes can be rolled out rapidly, whereas with franchisees, there can be delays due to the need for consensus and negotiation, which he views as wasted time.

Resources

External Resources

Books

"The Founding Story of Raising Cane's" by Todd Graves - Mentioned as a reference for Todd Graves's entrepreneurial journey.

Articles & Papers

"Advice Line with Todd Graves of Raising Cane's" (How I Built This with Guy Raz) - Mentioned as the episode title and context for the discussion.

People

Todd Graves - Founder of Raising Cane's, guest on the podcast to offer business advice.
Guy Raz - Host of "How I Built This," guiding the advice line segment.
Evan Sledge - Owner of Whiskey Morning Coffee, seeking advice on business expansion.
David Burmeister - Owner of Midwest Pasta Company, seeking advice on financing business expansion.
Shane Lyons - Co-founder of Vesty, seeking advice on investing in brick-and-mortar locations.
Howard Schultz - Mentioned in relation to a past podcast episode and a whiskey-flavored Starbucks coffee.
David Chang - Mentioned as a chef Shane Lyons worked with.
Daniel Boulud - Mentioned as a chef Shane Lyons worked with.
Nikki Lavikini - Cousin of Shane Lyons and restaurateur.
Drew Neipont - Legendary restaurateur who partnered with Shane Lyons.

Organizations & Institutions

Raising Cane's - Restaurant chain founded by Todd Graves, discussed for its business model and growth.
Whiskey Morning Coffee - Coffee company owned by Evan Sledge, seeking advice on expansion.
Midwest Pasta Company - Pasta manufacturer owned by David Burmeister, seeking advice on financing.
Vesty - Company specializing in chef-crafted snacks and sandwiches, owned by Shane Lyons, seeking advice on brick-and-mortar expansion.
Alred Coffee - Retail partner of Vesty, mentioned for carrying their sandwiches.
SBA (Small Business Administration) - Mentioned in relation to David Burmeister's past loan default.
Nickelodeon - Mentioned as a former employer of Shane Lyons.
Disney - Mentioned as a former employer of Shane Lyons.
CIA (Culinary Institute of America) - Culinary school attended by Shane Lyons.
Wondery - Podcast network producing "How I Built This."
Wondery+ - Subscription service for early and ad-free listening.
Apple Podcasts - Platform for listening to podcasts.
Audible - Audiobook and podcast platform.
Airbnb - Platform for booking accommodations and hosting.
Shopify - E-commerce platform for businesses.
American Express Business Platinum Card - Business credit card discussed for its benefits.
Claude AI - AI tool used by Guy Raz for research and creative partnership.
Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) - Mentioned as a competitor to Raising Cane's.
Chick-fil-A - Mentioned as a competitor to Raising Cane's.
In-N-Out Burger - Mentioned as an inspiration for Raising Cane's business model.
Trader Joe's - Grocery store mentioned as an example of a business with a focused product offering.
Walmart - Grocery store mentioned for comparison to Trader Joe's product selection.
Dave's Hot Chicken - Mentioned as an example of a successful spicy chicken concept.
Midwest Market - Location in Los Angeles where Vesty is doing a pop-up.
Vital Proteins - Company offering collagen peptides and shakes.
Vanta - Company providing security and compliance solutions for businesses.

Websites & Online Resources

hibt@id.wondery.com - Email address for submitting business questions to "How I Built This."
1-800-433-1298 - Phone number for submitting business questions to "How I Built This."
wondery.com/shows/how-i-built-this/episode/10386-raising-canes-todd-graves/ - URL for Todd Graves's founding story episode on "How I Built This."
twitter.com/HowIBuiltThis - X (formerly Twitter) account for "How I Built This."
instagram.com/howibuiltthis - Instagram account for "How I Built This."
guyraz.com - Website for Guy Raz's newsletter.
guyraz.substack.com/ - Substack newsletter for Guy Raz.
art19.com/privacy - Privacy policy link.
art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info - California privacy notice link.
audible.com/built - URL for Audible trial.
airbnb.com/host - URL for Airbnb hosting information.
shopify.com/built - URL for Shopify trial.
amextravel.com - Website for American Express travel bookings.
claude.ai/hibt - URL for Claude AI.
vitalproteins.com - Website for Vital Proteins.
vanta.com/built - URL for Vanta discount.

Other Resources

"One Love" - Concept associated with Raising Cane's brand.
"Lemonade" - Product offered by Raising Cane's.
"Soda fountain" - Product offering at Raising Cane's.
"Double Double" - Menu item at In-N-Out Burger.
"Hamburger" - Menu item at In-N-Out Burger.
"Cheeseburger" - Menu item at In-N-Out Burger.
"Creamy" - Peanut butter option at Trader Joe's.
"Crunchy" - Peanut butter option at Trader Joe's.
"Nashville hot chicken" - Food trend mentioned in relation to Dave's Chicken.
"Muffuletta" - New Orleans sandwich mentioned by Guy Raz.
"Pita chips" - Product associated with Stacy's Pita Chips.
"Potato chips" - Product offered by Vesty.
"Pepsi Challenge" - Mentioned as a comparison for taste testing.
"Chef-driven factory model" - Business model used by Vesty.
"Hub and spoke model" - Business strategy discussed.
"CPG goods" - Consumer Packaged Goods.
"Angel investor networks" - Source of investment capital.
"Subordinated debt" - Type of loan discussed for financing.
"Mezzanine lenders" - Type of financing.
"Food investment groups" - Organizations that invest in food businesses.
"Equipment leasing companies" - Companies that provide financing for equipment.
"Convertible debt" - Type of debt that can be converted to equity.
"Brand embassy" - Concept of a physical location serving as a brand representation.
"Fine dining" - Culinary background of Vesty's founders.
"Progress over perfection" - Business philosophy shared by Todd Graves.