Podcast Summary: How I Built This with Guy Raz

Episode: Advice Line with Todd Graves of Raising Cane’s

Date: December 25, 2025
Host: Guy Raz
Guest: Todd Graves (Founder, Raising Cane’s)
Format: Advice Line - Call-in Q&A with founders and entrepreneurs

Overview

This episode of How I Built This features an “Advice Line” format where Guy Raz invites Todd Graves—the founder of Raising Cane’s and a previous guest—back to the show. Together, they take live calls from founders and small business owners seeking advice on scaling, franchising, financing, and business strategy. The episode is a mix of practical, hard-earned wisdom, real-life founder struggles, and signature How I Built This storytelling, with a strong focus on maintaining brand integrity, sustainable growth, and the realities of entrepreneurship.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Todd Graves' Reflection on Raising Cane’s Growth

• Big Milestone: Raising Cane's has surpassed KFC as the third largest chicken quick-service restaurant in the U.S.—a major moment for the brand given its origin story.
  • "I grew up with KFC, right? ... Just all of a sudden you’re like, wow, it just blows you away." — Todd Graves (04:17)
• Growth Model: Fewer units, but high average unit volumes per restaurant.
  • "It’s kind of a different way to grow ... having the highest of the highest average unit volumes per restaurant, that really adds up." — Todd Graves (04:29)
• Maintaining Standards in Franchising: Todd stresses the importance of picking the right franchise partners and maintaining quality, especially internationally.
  • "Picking the best franchisees is so clutch, so clutch." — Todd Graves (05:20)
  • Example: Todd’s partnership in the Middle East took years to develop, focusing on shared values and quality.

2. The Power of Simplicity and Consistency

• Simple Menu Philosophy: Inspired by In-N-Out Burger, Cane’s has stuck with a simple menu and resisted relentless “innovation” fads.
  • "If you try to be all things to all people, you’re not really going to serve any of them very well." — Todd Graves (08:54)
• Against LTOs (Limited-Time Offers): Todd thinks that frequent menu changes sap energy and erode consistency.
  • "If I had LTOs ... my managers would have to, like, then be putting up point of purchase materials, getting training everybody ... and it would wear them all out." — Todd Graves (09:41)
• Operational Efficiency: Maintaining speed and quality is easier with fewer variables/menu items.

3. Callers & Advice

Caller 1: Evan Sledge – Whiskey Morning Coffee (Tolar, TX)

• Business: Flavored coffee (bourbon barrels, BBQ smokers), DTC and events, $924k revenue last year.
• Question: Should we franchise our planned drive-thru coffee stands in small towns, or grow more slowly through company-owned locations?
• Key Advice:
  • Cash Flow Comes First: “The quickest thing out there, if you bought this property, you got $150,000 in that... those payments don’t stop. So being profitable out of the gates is very, very important. I made 30 bucks my first month.” — Todd Graves (18:23)
  • Franchising Lessons:
    • You can scale faster with franchisees’ capital, but you lose some control and quality.
    • "Our franchisees were about at 85 [out of 100], which is exceptional ... but that 85 to 95 just drove me crazy..." — Todd Graves (21:01)
  • Guy’s Perspective: Prove your concept with the first few company-owned stores ("the laboratory"), then consider franchising only if it’s highly repeatable and you’ve dialed in training and operations (22:46).
  • Final Consensus: Focus first on learning and refining in your own stores; franchising is only viable after solidifying unit economics and brand voice.

Caller 2: David Burmeister – Midwest Pasta Company (St. Louis, MO)

• Business: Fresh & frozen pasta for restaurants, groceries, $800k revenue.
• Challenge: Wants to scale up (needs $1.4M–$5.5M), but can’t get traditional loans due to past bankruptcy/SBA default; doesn’t want to lose equity/control.
• Key Advice:
  • Angel Investors & Subordinated Debt: "I got angel investors ... I did not want to give up equity ... It was a 15% interest rate subordinated debt ... but there was no equity being done..." — Todd Graves (36:51)
  • Other Creative Financing Options: Guy suggests seeking local angel groups, government grants, strategic supply chain partnerships (e.g. minimum contracts), and equipment-focused loans (37:44–39:08).
  • Leverage Existing Relationships: "Those restaurant owners you’re selling to right now are a good place to go look [for investment]." — Todd Graves (41:15)

Caller 3: Shane Lyons – Vesti (Los Angeles, CA)

• Business: Chef-crafted sandwiches, CPG snacks, supplies 45+ retail/café partners, aiming for $1M sales.
• Question: Should we open a brick-and-mortar shop, or focus on scaling B2B and direct-to-consumer?
• Key Advice:
  • Stay Focused on What’s Working: "You can take that 45 retail partners and you can make a goal to say we want 90 retail partners ... double your sales ... I would table that brick and mortar thought." — Todd Graves (48:43)
  • Pop-Ups as Brand Builders: Guy notes temporary pop-ups can serve as marketing and experience without the overhead of permanent locations (51:17–52:19).
  • Beware of Distraction & Scope Creep: "It happens to all success. ... When you lose the focus, you mess up what really is your concept." — Todd Graves (55:43)
  • Hybrid "Embassy" Model: Guy floats idea of a commissary-plus-counter as a low-risk way to build brand without jumping fully into restaurants.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On founder discipline:
  "Staying focused is so clutch. It's so key. Knowing what you're good at and doing that ... is what will make you successful." — Todd Graves (09:41)

• On franchising vs. company-owned stores:
  "If this is something where you just ... you don’t even leave your shift if things aren’t right ... you’re not going to feel good if franchisees don’t have that same passion." — Todd Graves (20:12)

• On bouncing back from bankruptcy:
  "A lot of people think that once you default, you’re finished. But actually, there are all kinds of ways to find that cash." — Guy Raz (41:23)

• On progress vs. perfection:
  "Concentrate more on progress rather than perfection. Progress is way more important than perfection." — Todd Graves (56:17)

• Founders’ humility:
  "We went to every bank in town ... with our chicken finger business plan ... like somebody was going to steal our chicken finger business plan." — Todd Graves (57:54)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:18–06:21]: Todd Graves on Raising Cane’s growth and franchising philosophy
• [06:21–11:22]: Guy & Todd on menu simplicity, resisting trends, operational focus
• [11:34–24:22]: Call #1 - Evan Sledge, Whiskey Morning Coffee: scaling, franchising, profit focus
• [30:22–41:21]: Call #2 - David Burmeister, Midwest Pasta Company: creative funding, growth without equity loss
• [44:30–54:44]: Call #3 - Shane Lyons, Vesti: brick-and-mortar vs. scaling B2B, brand-building, focus
• [56:17–57:54]: Todd Graves’ closing advice on progress vs. perfection; early fundraising stories

Concluding Takeaways

• Consistency and focus trump chasing every new opportunity—especially in food.
• Quality is easier to maintain with direct control; franchising means trade-offs.
• Creative financing is possible through relationships, community, and innovative structures—don’t default to giving up equity.
• If your core business is working, don’t get distracted by “shiny objects” or pressures to expand in new directions before perfecting and scaling what you do best.
• Entrepreneurial growth is about progress, not perfection.

Episode captures Guy Raz’s thoughtful, probing style and Todd Graves’ candid, practical founder wisdom. Valuable listening—and reading—for any business builder.