As a part of the Game-Changers Series for Startup Week, Caleb Talley sat down for a conversation with Tom Gordon, the co-founder, president, and CEO of Slim Chickens. They talked about the early days of Slim Chickens, how the company has adapted through the pandemic, the current and future expansion of Slim Chickens, and much more. You do not want to miss out on this tremendous episode!
Shownotes
(1:20) The beginnings of Slim Chickens
(6:12) Handling finances with a young business
(8:21) Taking outside capital after initial investors
(11:15) Building a culture that welcomes everyone from the community
(13:40) Going international
(15:33) Making menu decisions
(18:49) Adjusting to the pandemic environment
(23:55) Tom gives advice to his younger self
Links
Quotes
“We say none of us really ever lost. Everybody who has a company that they start from scratch makes sacrifices. And those are things you’ve got to do. You know, you don’t pay yourself. You sell a car to make payroll. You know, you take your money to the bank after Friday lunch to make sure you make Friday payroll for your people. That’s real life in business. That’s real life in American capitalism, and if you stick to it, you know, often you can get to the next level.” (7:45)
“You know, those are lessons that are learned and will always be valuable to me and Greg Smart. And it just takes time. Surviving is the key, and if you can survive long enough and have enough time and adjust quick, you know, I think that anybody in the US, anybody in this country has a shot at it.” (25:26)
From a Garage to a Global Hit
As a part of the Game-Changers Series for Startup Week, Caleb Talley sat down for a conversation with Tom Gordon, the co-founder, president, and CEO of Slim Chickens. Slim Chickens is a quick-service restaurant franchise that specializes in chicken tenders. From their first store opening in Fayetteville, Arkansas, in 2003 to now having 116 locations in 17 states and three countries, Slim Chickens is a marvelous example of a game-changing business.
Tom co-founded Slim Chickens with his business partner Greg Smart in February of 2003. The two of them were recently out of college and looking to make a splash in the world however they could. Tom was working in the restaurant industry, and Greg was working in retail. After observing different quick-service restaurants throughout the southeast, they decided that serving fresh chicken tenders in Northwest Arkansas might be their opportunity to impact the world around them.
As many business owners do, Tom and Greg met many challenges in the early years of running their business. From flipping a coin to see which partner had to sell their car to make payroll, to not taking a salary, to making special communication with the bank to make sure specific bills got paid after the weekend sales hit the account, Tom and Greg found inventive ways to keep their restaurant running.
“We say none of us really ever lost. Everybody who has a company that they start from scratch makes sacrifices. And those are things you’ve got to do. You know, you don’t pay yourself. You sell a car to make payroll. You know, you take your money to the bank after Friday lunch to make sure you make Friday payroll for your people. That’s real-life in business. That’s real-life in American capitalism, and if you stick to it, you know, often you can get to the next level.” (7:45)
As the years passed, Slim Chickens grew, and successful franchisees reached out about jumping in on Tom and Greg’s growing business. Last year, the company finally decided to partner with 10 Point Capital to take on capital from the outside for the first time since their initial investors. Slim Chickens had talked for years about doing this but had been quite selective about who they wanted to work with moving forward.
“You know, those are lessons that are learned and will always be valuable to me and Greg Smart. And it just takes time. Surviving is the key, and if you can survive long enough and have enough time and adjust quick, you know, I think that anybody in the US, anybody in this country has a shot at it.” (25:26)
With his business running successfully and smoothly now, Tom looks back on the company’s early years fondly. He notes that the key to building a successful business is surviving through the struggles for long enough to stand on your own. He attributes his ability to endure a young company’s hardships to his lack of understanding of how difficult those years were while he was going through them.
When it comes to building a successful restaurant franchise, Tom and Gregg are, without a doubt, game-changers. Their endurance and commitment to building a business that serves its community well are enough to inspire an army.
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