My conversation with Todd Graves
Founders9 Nov 2025

My conversation with Todd Graves

Todd Graves is one of my favorite living founders. He owns over 90% of Raising Canes — a business that is worth at least $20 billion. Todd's maxim is "Do one thing and do it better than anyone else." It is impossible not to be inspired by his terminator levels of determination. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did. Episode show notes: ⁠https://www.davidsenra.com/episode/to... Made possible by Ramp: ⁠⁠https://ramp.com⁠⁠ HubSpot: ⁠⁠https://hubspot.com⁠⁠ Function: ⁠https://functionhealth.com/senra⁠ Chapters (00:00) The Entrepreneurial Mindset: Sleep and Business Obsession (02:13) The Birth of Raising Cane's: Overcoming Skepticism (03:29) Inspiration from In-N-Out Burger (07:17) The Importance of Quality and Focus (14:49) The Journey to Success: Hard Work and Sacrifice (19:21) The Early Days: Building Raising Cane's from Scratch (21:23) Financing the Dream: Unconventional Paths (32:28) The Relentless Pursuit of Success (33:02) Commitment and Oaths: The Camping Trip (34:02) Fanaticism and Relentless Focus (34:53) Learning from Others and Continuous Improvement (35:06) The Never-Satisfied Mindset (36:04) The Importance of Founders in Business (39:55) The Purpose Beyond Profit (51:52) Financing the Dream: Credit Cards and SBA Loans (55:47) Building the First Restaurant (57:56) Expanding the Vision (58:59) Positive Motivational Management (01:00:51) Creating a Coaching Culture (01:01:42) Intrinsic Motivation vs. Titles (01:02:41) The Importance of Being Present (01:06:35) Respect, Recognition, and Rewards (01:09:12) The Power of Encouragement (01:18:10) The Myth of Delegation (01:22:57) Focus on What You Do Best (01:30:07) Dining at Jiro in Tokyo (01:30:59) The Franchise Model Debate (01:32:50) Challenges of Franchising (01:35:21) Building a Business Authentic to You (01:37:07) Financing and Expansion Strategies (01:49:13) Surviving Hurricane Katrina (01:55:48) Lessons from Estée Lauder (01:58:06) Final Thoughts and Reflections

Episoder(436)

#411 Tortured Into Greatness: The Life of Andre Agassi

#411 Tortured Into Greatness: The Life of Andre Agassi

Andre Agassi's autobiography is a brutally honest story about a tennis legend who hated the game that made him famous. Agassi traces his journey from a harsh, obsessive childhood training regimen to s...

4 Feb 1h 1min

#410 Excellent Advice for Living

#410 Excellent Advice for Living

On his 68th birthday, Kevin Kelly began to write down for his young adult children some things he had learned about life that he wished he had known earlier. Kelly’s timeless advice covers an astonis...

25 Jan 37min

The Singular Life of Rick Rubin

The Singular Life of Rick Rubin

There's no one like Rick Rubin. He's a legendary music producer known for his minimalist approach and relentless pursuit of greatness. This episode is what I learned from reading ⁠Rick Rubin: In The S...

16 Jan 1h 20min

#409 The Creative Genius of Rick Rubin

#409 The Creative Genius of Rick Rubin

"I set out to write a book about what to do to make a great work of art. Instead, it revealed itself to be a book on how to be.” —Rick Rubin. This episode is what I learned from reading The Creative A...

8 Jan 43min

#408 How to Make a Few MORE Billion Dollars: Brad Jacobs

#408 How to Make a Few MORE Billion Dollars: Brad Jacobs

In 2024 Brad Jacobs wrote the book How to Make a Few Billion Dollars. In the book Brad explains how he built 8 separate billion dollar companies and other lessons from his 40+ year career as an elit...

29 Des 202543min

The Life of Jesus

The Life of Jesus

The Life of Jesus as told in the book Jesus: A Biography of a Believer by Paul Johnson. This episode was originally published on Christmas Eve 2023.

25 Des 202534min

#407 Bruce Springsteen Repairs the Hole in Himself

#407 Bruce Springsteen Repairs the Hole in Himself

A viciously unhappy childhood causes Bruce Springsteen to retreat into work in an extreme way as he searches for success (and control). He channels his pain into focus and drive and gets everything he...

14 Des 20251h 12min

#406 Christian von Koenigsegg

#406 Christian von Koenigsegg

Christian von Koenigsegg is unapologetically in the pursuit of greatness. Koenigsegg builds some of the fastest and most expensive cars on Earth, has a cult-like following, and relentlessly seeks out...

3 Des 202545min

Populært innen Business og økonomi

stopp-verden
dine-penger-pengeradet
e24-podden
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
rss-borsmorgen-okonominyhetene
pengepodden-2
utbytte
pengesnakk
finansredaksjonen
morgenkaffen-med-finansavisen
tid-er-penger-en-podcast-med-peter-warren
livet-pa-veien-med-jan-erik-larssen
rss-sunn-okonomi
okonomiamatorene
lederpodden
rss-markedspuls-2
rss-fa-makro
boligbobla
rss-andelige-tanker-med-camillo
lederskap-nhhs-podkast-om-ledelse