Ten Year Plan: How the Founders of Tender Greens Scaled Their Heart-Centered Brand

"Ten Year Plan is replete with crucial lessons learned along the path of a dream realized -- with value for entrepreneurs across all organizations. Tender Greens helped pioneer the fast casual restaurant sector, and while their road to success was inevitably bumpy, these founders prevailed, thanks to their collective vision, humanity, humility to learn and generosity to teach."\nDanny Meyer, CEO Union Square Hospitality Group, Author, Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business\nTen Year Plan follows the journey of three young chef entrepreneurs who opened a radically fresh, disruptive restaurant concept in the heart of Los Angeles. Defying the worst economic downturn in a generation and the already long odds stacked against everyone in the food business, these founders and their skilled team built and scaled Tender Greens, named by Conde Nast Traveler as one of "The Ten Best Restaurant Chains in the World," and by Forbes as one of the "25 Most Innovative Consumer Brands."\nTen Year Plan lays out a practical, proven approach to creating enduring value. This book is equal parts founders' business memoir and conscious capitalism startup playbook including missteps, misgivings, setbacks, and successes. Applicable to any industry, this practical, hands-on entrepreneur operating system gives equal emphasis to margins and mission reflecting on the lessons learned about...\nChoosing the right business partners Elaborating a compelling business plan and values statement Seeking patient like-minded seed investors Having an unflinching commitment to quality and value Fostering a purpose-driven business culture that includes mutually beneficial supply chain management, committed servant leadership, holistic human development and true community engagement Seeking win-win outcomes for all stakeholders in the company's universe Proactively building systems for scaling the enterprise Taking on institutional money Formalizing advisory boards and boards of directors Key hire professionalization while protecting culture Innovation and brand evolution during an economic downturn Planning for and managing a liquidity event Contemplating exit strategies and transitioning from founder to guide on the sideYour business, especially now, can be a powerful engine for needed social change. Ten Year Plan shows you how.