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Interview with Kitchen United CEO Atul Sood about the power of relationships, communicating with authenticity, and sharing your struggles with others.

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Transcript
00:00 Welcome to Restaurant Influencers
00:01 presented by Entrepreneur.
00:03 My name is Sean Walsh,
00:04 I'm founder of Cali BBQ,
00:06 Cali BBQ Media.
00:08 We are coming to you from Spring Valley,
00:10 from the Master Smokehouse.
00:13 This is really cool because I have my friend,
00:15 Atul Sud, the CEO,
00:18 new CEO of Kitchens United.
00:21 Atul, welcome to the show.
00:23 - Thank you.
00:24 We are, I'm a new CEO, a new friend,
00:26 but you feel like an old friend to me, so.
00:28 - We're gonna get into that.
00:29 We are definitely gonna get into that.
00:31 First, I wanna give a shout out to Toast.
00:33 Thank you for believing in storytelling.
00:35 Thank you for giving us this opportunity
00:37 to connect with leaders,
00:38 hospitality leaders, storytellers,
00:40 the best in the class from all over the globe.
00:43 And Atul, thank you for coming all the way
00:45 to Spring Valley to see this BBQ Media studio.
00:49 - Oh, it's super, super enjoyable.
00:51 We just had a great meal.
00:53 The bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers are phenomenal.
00:55 The cheesesteak's great.
00:56 The beans are change-your-life beans,
00:59 so thank you for that.
01:00 - Wedding beans.
01:01 - Wedding beans.
01:01 - Beans so good, you'd wanna get married again.
01:03 - I will marry you any day of the week.
01:06 - Fantastic.
01:07 So we're gonna start with our favorite random question,
01:09 which is where in the world is your favorite stadium,
01:12 stage, or venue?
01:14 - Oh, favorite, oh, I got this.
01:19 Stratford-upon-Avon.
01:20 I'm a big Shakespeare fan.
01:22 I lived in London in my junior year in high school,
01:26 and I had an incredible, incredible Shakespeare teacher.
01:31 He used to take us to Hyde Park in the middle of the night
01:34 and make us recite sonnets,
01:36 and he took us to Shakespeare in Stratford-upon-Avon.
01:39 - Stratford-upon-Avon.
01:40 How many people-- - It's Shakespeare's
01:41 birthplace.
01:43 - How many people can fit at Stratford-upon-Avon?
01:44 - Probably 300, 350.
01:46 - 300, beautiful.
01:47 - Yeah, so a small, intimate stadium.
01:49 I wanna go to Wrigley Field.
01:51 Jeff Alexander of Wabau just took his team there,
01:53 so that's next on my list. - Jeff is going on the show.
01:56 I've seen that episode. - Yeah, he's been on the show.
01:59 So Stratford-upon-Avon, that's a really cool venue.
02:02 That's gonna set the scene nicely
02:04 for what we're gonna talk about,
02:05 but we're gonna go there,
02:06 we're gonna talk to Entrepreneur,
02:07 talk to Toast, talk to Kitchens United,
02:09 but we're gonna bring people that listen to this show,
02:12 people that want to level up their hospitality,
02:15 level up their storytelling,
02:16 and it's not gonna be a conference
02:19 like all the conferences that you go to.
02:20 This is gonna be something where it's more TEDx style,
02:23 where there's gonna be presenters,
02:25 people that are putting on their life's work on stage.
02:28 I'm gonna put you on stage, and I'm gonna say,
02:31 Atul, you said that we were gonna be friends forever.
02:35 What does friendship mean to you,
02:37 and what does friendship mean
02:38 to everything that you do in life?
02:40 - Friendship drives me.
02:41 Friendship means respect, it means trust, it means love.
02:47 I think love between friends is very powerful.
02:50 Love between family is powerful,
02:52 love between spouses and partners is powerful,
02:55 but there's no reason that love between friends
02:57 needs to be less powerful.
02:59 I have had a long career.
03:02 I'm older, hopefully, than I look,
03:04 and I have had the good fortune of making deep friendships
03:09 with almost everybody I've worked with,
03:11 and when you work with your friends,
03:15 it doesn't feel like work.
03:16 It really, really doesn't,
03:18 and you can have intimate conversations
03:21 about life choices and mistakes and ambitions,
03:26 and you can share things that you generally don't share
03:31 with people who you work with,
03:34 and that's nice, right?
03:37 That's the point of life to me,
03:38 and you said to me, I said to you that I have a philosophy
03:43 that I assume friendship, and I really do.
03:47 In people that I meet, I assume friendship,
03:49 and you responded with your favorite quote,
03:52 which I'll let you say.
03:53 - No, you please tell me.
03:54 - Well, the quote is from the, I have to say this,
03:58 the great philosopher Winnie the Pooh,
04:00 and it is, "We will be friends for life.
04:03 "Just you wait and see," and that blew me away, right?
04:06 Because sometimes people respond to assumed friendship
04:11 with tentative friendship.
04:13 (laughing)
04:14 - Not all in friendship.
04:15 - Not all in friendships, and when I said what I did,
04:17 and you came back with what you did,
04:19 I was like, I need to, and I'm here.
04:22 I flew down to San Diego to see you,
04:25 as I just assumed this new role,
04:28 and I could have hoped for nothing better
04:32 than to have this be the first public,
04:35 on-camera podcast experience for me,
04:38 so thank you so much for having me here.
04:40 - Well, I am honored that you came here.
04:45 I'm honored that you lived up to your word.
04:46 I knew you would live up to your word.
04:49 We only had that one real Zoom interaction,
04:52 and for me, I'm weirdly available.
04:57 Anybody that listens to this show,
05:00 anyone that reaches out on LinkedIn, on TikTok, on Twitter,
05:04 however you find me,
05:05 we are all trying to figure this thing out,
05:08 this thing we call life, this thing we call hospitality,
05:10 this thing we call content.
05:12 I know that I can't do it alone,
05:15 and I know that I have to ask for help.
05:18 Those are things that my grandfather taught me.
05:21 When I become friends with someone,
05:24 when I assume friendship,
05:26 I go into any meeting with a stranger.
05:29 You know, when you walked into our restaurant today,
05:32 you said, "I'm surprised by your warmth,"
05:35 and not in a bad way,
05:36 but you were just surprised of who I am.
05:39 I'm not surprised of who you are.
05:42 You're not surprised of where you came today
05:46 to come to see us in Spring Valley.
05:47 When you think about hospitality
05:49 and you think about kindness to strangers,
05:52 where did that come from for you?
05:55 - I think it came out of my upbringing,
05:58 and by the way, I wasn't surprised by it.
06:01 I just mentioned that you projected it.
06:03 - Oh, I projected it.
06:04 - It is a tangible projection.
06:09 I can feel it.
06:11 When I hug you, when I look into your eyes,
06:14 when I see the emotion in your eyes right now,
06:16 it is warm, right?
06:18 It is loving, it is kind, it is warm,
06:20 and that's powerful to me,
06:22 and I think I had the good fortune
06:25 of being raised by kind and loving parents.
06:27 I don't discount how important that was to who I am today,
06:32 and then I had other good fortune.
06:34 I was raised in seven countries before I moved here,
06:38 and they were mostly in East Asia,
06:40 partly in London, Saudi Arabia, India,
06:43 and when you move around as much as I moved around,
06:45 you kind of get forced into making new friendships quickly,
06:51 right, and then if you're an extrovert like I am,
06:55 and then if your nature combines with your nurture
06:59 to really deepen friendships with people
07:03 and make them quickly, right, you can make them quickly.
07:06 It doesn't take, it doesn't take time.
07:10 That, you know, I guess back to the question.
07:15 The question was what does hospitality
07:17 and warmth mean to me?
07:20 It means giving people respect,
07:22 first and foremost, giving people respect.
07:25 If somebody contacts me on LinkedIn,
07:27 and look, I'm encouraging people to do that, right?
07:30 Like, I've been there.
07:31 I've been the 27-year-old early stage at,
07:36 or 25-year-old early stage at a tech company
07:39 trying to get into doors that seem closed,
07:43 and a startup guy, when I was running my own startup
07:46 before this one, before McDonald's,
07:48 where I would cold email people on LinkedIn,
07:51 and most people don't give you time of day.
07:55 I will respond to anybody on LinkedIn, I will.
07:58 I will have a conversation with most people.
08:01 If they want 15 minutes of feedback,
08:03 and they're selling everything from LinkedIn sales solutions,
08:07 who's a great guy named Jesse,
08:09 to a new robotic startup, like, they deserve that time,
08:14 because they're just, they're working hard,
08:17 and it doesn't matter if I'm CEO,
08:19 or if you're running this big media company,
08:24 or if you're a GM at one of our kitchen centers.
08:27 People deserve respect when they reach out to you,
08:30 because they're making an effort,
08:31 and hospitality isn't just about the restaurant industry.
08:35 It's a, in my view, it's a way to live life, right?
08:40 Just be hospitable, be respectful, be kind.
08:43 I try to live my life that way.
08:45 I make mistakes sometimes, I get stressed sometimes,
08:47 I'm on planes too much, but you live life that way, right?
08:52 And I've admired you from afar,
08:54 and I'm just, it's so good to admire you from up close.
08:58 - Well, for me, to see the response,
09:02 LinkedIn's an incredible platform,
09:04 and we encourage people that watch the show,
09:05 listen to the show, to really tap into who they are,
09:09 because everyone's voice matters, everyone has a story,
09:13 and it doesn't matter if you're in marketing,
09:15 or if you're in sales, or if you're a founder,
09:18 you have a unique voice, and LinkedIn's a platform
09:20 where you can connect with other leaders
09:22 that can help move your business forward.
09:24 But when you made the announcement
09:26 that you were going to become the CEO of Kitchens United,
09:30 the response was incredible, absolutely incredible,
09:34 to see so many people of so many backgrounds,
09:38 not just a congratulations,
09:40 but like heartfelt yearbook style,
09:43 like back when you're in high school
09:44 and someone writes in your yearbook,
09:46 you'd get somebody that would write, have a good summer,
09:48 but then you'd have other people that would,
09:49 I was the person that would always write a half a page.
09:51 - Yeah.
09:52 - I guess that's just who I am,
09:53 but I would write a half a page,
09:54 but when I looked on your LinkedIn wall,
09:56 it was all of these people so excited for you
10:00 and for the opportunity, what did it mean to you?
10:02 - Oh, it meant the world to me.
10:03 You know, it was very touching, it was emotional.
10:08 It really moved me, it still does, right?
10:14 And, well, of course it still does, it was only a week ago.
10:18 I'm thankful.
10:23 I do a gratitude list every morning.
10:25 It's one of the things that I've taken up
10:28 in the last few years and I'm just grateful, right?
10:33 Not only was it meaningful and thoughtful of them to,
10:38 and a lot of them to write on my wall,
10:41 many of them called me,
10:43 dozens upon dozens of people texted me, emailed me,
10:47 but what it gave me the opportunity to do also
10:50 is just reconnect with old friends, right?
10:52 Some people hadn't contacted me in 10 years,
10:54 but they'd been paying attention to what I was doing.
10:57 They'd known that I'd had struggles in life
11:00 and they were tracking.
11:03 And then when they reach out because they're tracking,
11:06 it's more than happy birthday on Facebook, right?
11:11 It is care and that was touching.
11:15 - Huge news, Toast, our primary technology partner
11:18 at our barbecue restaurants in San Diego
11:21 and the primary technology partner of so many of the guests
11:24 that we have on this show have announced
11:26 they are expanding their business offerings with Google.
11:31 So now if you search on Google Maps
11:34 and you sign up for Toast Tables or Toast Waitlist,
11:37 you will have the opportunity
11:39 to improve the digital hospitality experience of the guest,
11:43 allow them to book through the maps
11:45 into the Toast reservation system.
11:48 One of the biggest difficulties that restaurant guests have
11:52 is when they search for your restaurant
11:54 and they want a table,
11:55 they do not have an easy solution to book a table
11:58 or to get on a wait list.
12:00 This is huge news for the restaurant industry,
12:03 huge news for guests and huge news for you,
12:05 the restaurant owner.
12:07 Check out Toast Tables today
12:08 and find out the new integrated solution that they have.
12:12 This is something that we've wanted for a long time.
12:14 How do you integrate reservations, wait lists
12:18 into your point of sale?
12:19 Toast has done it, check it out.
12:21 - It's amazing to me, I mean, we have a storytelling podcast,
12:25 we produce content for all the platforms,
12:27 but it's amazing when you do produce content,
12:30 you don't realize who's watching.
12:32 Sometimes you feel like, oh, someone has to like the post,
12:37 someone has to write on the wall,
12:39 but until something like that happens,
12:41 you realize that you're actually touching people
12:44 the more that you produce audio, video, words, and images.
12:47 And I've noticed you, especially, not just on LinkedIn,
12:51 but you made a commitment earlier this summer
12:55 that you said you're gonna start posting more content.
12:57 Can you walk us through why you were doing that
13:00 and what you learned from it?
13:01 - Yeah, absolutely.
13:03 I was at a bit of an inflection point.
13:06 I was coming to a point where after being co-founder
13:11 of this company, I was kind of deciding,
13:15 do I wanna continue, do I wanna not continue?
13:18 I'm very pleased that I've gotten to the state that I am,
13:22 but I realized that I had built my professional reputation
13:27 around Kitchen United.
13:31 And I also realized that that was a mistake, right?
13:36 And I know there are people, you just talked about
13:39 posting more on LinkedIn.
13:41 Look, I don't believe we're our companies.
13:45 I might be CEO, that's great, but I am not Kitchen United.
13:48 There are dozens upon dozens of people with me,
13:52 alongside me, who are Kitchen United as much as I am.
13:56 And my public persona might be led by the fact
14:01 that I'm CEO of Kitchen United now,
14:02 or was a co-founder, chief business officer
14:04 for the last six years.
14:06 And I did some things before that, but that's not me.
14:10 - Yeah. - Right?
14:11 And divorcing yourself from your job,
14:15 even on LinkedIn, I think is an important way to live life,
14:20 because what happens if your job doesn't go well?
14:23 What happens if, like so many people in this last 12,
14:27 18 month period, you get fired?
14:29 - Yep. - Right?
14:31 What happens if you go public?
14:34 That's not you either. - Yes.
14:36 - Right, that is good fortune and good circumstance
14:39 and right timing.
14:40 And so, when I said that to you,
14:44 I just decided to break out of the bounds
14:47 that I had put myself in, the box that I had put myself in.
14:51 And I have a couple of tips.
14:53 One, I do post a lot about Kitchen United, I should.
14:57 I'm the leader of the company, I'm proud of what we do.
15:00 But two, I will post a lot of other content
15:05 or thoughts on industry matters.
15:08 I post on Pickleball.
15:10 (laughing)
15:11 But also, importantly, I comment on other people's posts.
15:15 - Yes. - Right?
15:16 I engage outside of my wall.
15:19 And that's important too,
15:22 because there are other people who are building content.
15:24 And the way the algorithm works,
15:26 if I comment, it broadens the reach.
15:29 And I don't comment just to broaden the reach.
15:31 I don't like just to broaden the reach.
15:33 I like or comment if I have something meaningful to say,
15:37 but that allows me to engage
15:39 and build relationships with new people.
15:41 I comment, I see other people who've commented.
15:45 If somebody is interesting who's commented,
15:48 I will go to their page and reach out to them
15:51 and say, "Hey, we both know Sean."
15:53 And we just commented,
15:56 "Maybe we should spend 15 minutes on the phone."
15:58 Right?
15:59 And that engagement outside of your own profile,
16:04 I think is as important as engaging with your own audience.
16:08 Right?
16:09 Help other people engage with their audience
16:11 and give them exposure to yours.
16:13 - So what you're saying is business development
16:16 is really friendship development?
16:18 - It is in my world.
16:19 It is in my world.
16:21 Look, I don't know if this is the right thing
16:25 or the wrong thing.
16:26 I tend to not do business with people
16:28 I don't want to be friends with.
16:29 - Yeah.
16:31 - I said at the beginning, when you asked the question,
16:34 what is friendship?
16:34 I used the word trust.
16:36 I prefer doing business with friends.
16:42 And sometimes you do business transactionally.
16:46 I'm a business development guy.
16:47 I'm not a sales guy.
16:48 So--
16:50 - They're different.
16:51 - I believe they're different.
16:52 - What's the difference?
16:53 - I believe sales is about meeting an objective
16:56 in the short term.
16:59 I think there's some sales guys who have long-term goals,
17:02 but that is not how sales is organized as a function.
17:05 - Yes.
17:06 - Excuse me.
17:07 As a function, in most companies,
17:10 sales is organized on a monthly, quarterly, annual basis.
17:14 And therefore, that organization gives people the incentive
17:19 to close deals on a monthly, quarterly, annualized basis.
17:22 Business development is not managed that way
17:25 in most organizations.
17:26 So I think it attracts a slightly different personality type
17:30 that's not to say that all sales guys
17:33 cannot be business developers.
17:35 Many can, most can, but it is to say
17:38 that most business developers don't think like salespeople.
17:42 I have done business three years later, five years later.
17:46 I've raised money from investors 20 years
17:49 after I first met them or knew them.
17:51 Literally 20 years, I'm about to do it now.
17:53 Friends from college, right?
17:55 I've never talked to them about money before,
17:59 but I'm taking over CEO.
18:00 We're raising a little bit of money and, you know,
18:04 hey, remember me?
18:07 Yeah, I remember you.
18:07 I've been tracking.
18:08 We've been in touch.
18:09 I send people random comments every so often.
18:12 And now we're talking business because they're friends.
18:16 We're not talking friendship
18:17 because they're business partners necessarily,
18:19 but it goes both ways.
18:21 So that's the long answer to a short question.
18:24 - You've mentioned tracking multiple times
18:26 that people have been tracking you and your growth.
18:29 How do you track people that you're invested in
18:32 or interested in?
18:33 - I track, you know, I track in many different ways.
18:38 Obviously social media is a good one.
18:40 People have kids on Facebook.
18:42 They go on food tours on Instagram.
18:45 I don't do TikTok 'cause--
18:47 - Not yet.
18:48 - I know.
18:50 - You got to remove the logo.
18:51 It's just a video platform.
18:52 - I guess so.
18:53 - It's just a video platform.
18:55 - Maybe I'll do TikTok.
18:55 - You're doing more video.
18:56 You did a video tonight.
18:57 - I did a video tonight.
18:58 Is that going on TikTok?
18:59 - It's going on TikTok.
19:00 - Okay, I will open a TikTok account.
19:01 - That'll be the first TikTok video.
19:03 - I'll open a TikTok account.
19:05 - I think I have one for a minute.
19:06 - You're a restaurant influencer.
19:08 - I don't yet do TikTok.
19:11 - It's just video.
19:12 - I don't do Clubhouse.
19:13 - Not yet.
19:14 I'll get you on Clubhouse.
19:15 We'll get you on stage on Clubhouse.
19:16 It's just audio storytelling.
19:18 It's what we're doing right now.
19:19 - Right, exactly.
19:19 - Just with other people.
19:20 The Troy Hoopers of the world, Jason Berkowitz,
19:22 all these people, they're all there.
19:24 - Look, I'm practically a grandfather at this point.
19:27 But I'll do those.
19:30 But I track through social media.
19:32 That's an easy way, right?
19:33 That's low effort tracking.
19:35 But what's a little higher effort is when you track,
19:38 get somebody's phone number, and then text them.
19:42 Right, like, "Hey, congratulations."
19:44 Not like, "Happy birthday."
19:46 Right, like, "Happy birthday" is on,
19:48 like, it is literally on LinkedIn.
19:50 - It's an auto response.
19:51 - It's an auto response.
19:52 - Yeah, what you like to say.
19:53 - So don't do that, right?
19:56 If you want to do that on Facebook, great.
19:58 Like, it's still meaningful.
19:59 I'm not trying to discount it.
20:01 But get their phone number, put in your phone,
20:04 and send them a, "Hey, happy birthday."
20:07 It's not also, this is what some people, I think,
20:12 I think it took me a while to realize.
20:15 It's not just about asking, right?
20:17 It's not just, "Happy birthday.
20:19 "How are you? How are the kids?"
20:21 It is also, "Happy birthday.
20:23 "How are you?
20:24 "Hope the kids are good or well."
20:28 My English teacher, "Hope the kids are well."
20:31 Here's what's happening with me, right?
20:36 Give them, like, just give them a little bit context.
20:39 Give them context, right?
20:40 Like, you know, "My kid just won his basketball game,"
20:45 or something like that.
20:47 And give them the branch to come back with.
20:52 So, social media is one of them.
20:55 Another one is through friends, right?
20:57 My parents, and I have lots of friends in my life
21:00 that make fun of this, but my parents will say,
21:03 "Look, I'm with Sean.
21:04 "I'll tell them tonight on my way home,
21:07 "I had this great session with Sean."
21:10 And they'll say, "Oh, next time you see him,
21:12 "tell him we want to meet him and give him my love."
21:15 That's what my dad will say, or my mom will say,
21:16 "Give him my love."
21:17 Right?
21:18 It's, maybe it's Indian, maybe it's my family,
21:21 I don't know.
21:22 They say, "Give him my love."
21:23 And what I do when they say that is I give you their love.
21:28 - Yes.
21:29 - Right?
21:29 - And most people don't.
21:30 - Most people don't.
21:31 Like, say hello to Sean.
21:32 - Yes.
21:33 - Right?
21:34 Say hello to Bob.
21:35 That, like, that's meaningful, right?
21:39 I was just with Bob.
21:40 Say hello to him.
21:42 Hey, Bob, my parents said hello.
21:44 Or hey, Jamie, who's one of my best friends, or Misha,
21:47 my parents said hello.
21:48 They wanted to check in on you.
21:49 How's your dad doing?
21:50 - Yeah.
21:51 - Right?
21:52 And that's, like, and it doesn't need to be forced.
21:56 It doesn't, I tried to put on my calendar at one point,
21:59 like, reach out to a new friend, an old friend, once a day.
22:03 And I would put, like, I would talk to you
22:05 on, like, September 5th, and then I'd put it
22:08 on September 5th the next year, make sure you call Sean.
22:10 And that, I'm not that organized, it didn't work.
22:13 But I will see, this happened recently,
22:17 I forget the details, but I will see,
22:20 I don't know, McDonald's.
22:23 I'll go to McDonald's, or I'll go to Panera,
22:26 and I will see Panera doing a catering order.
22:30 And I will text Jim Rand, who started catering at Panera.
22:34 - Oh, wow.
22:35 - And I'll say, hey, here's a snapshot
22:37 of Panera doing a catering order.
22:38 I'll see something like a digital kiosk at McDonald's
22:41 and text one of my friends, or, you know, whatever it is.
22:44 When you see something, it's like the New York slogan,
22:47 when you see something, say something, right?
22:48 Like, how hard is it to actually see something,
22:52 oh, I was reminded of so-and-so,
22:56 let me just send them a note.
22:57 - It's never been easier.
22:59 - It's never been easier.
23:00 - It's never been easier.
23:01 We have a phone, a smartphone in our pocket.
23:03 We can capture a video, can capture a photo,
23:05 send a text, send a Snapchat,
23:07 like, you can literally do anything.
23:09 - Yeah, yeah.
23:11 - If you have an idea, if you have something
23:13 that comes into your mind that reminds you of someone else.
23:15 - And it takes seconds.
23:17 - Yes.
23:18 - Seconds.
23:19 - Correct.
23:20 - Everybody is worth time.
23:22 Most people will value that reach out
23:27 so much more than the time it took you to make it, right?
23:31 And they will remember it for a while, right?
23:34 And then you will have the context,
23:39 I mean, just speaking purely as a business developer,
23:42 you will have the context to reach out to them tactically
23:47 when you have a need without being afraid to, right?
23:52 I talked to somebody recently looking for a job
23:56 and they said, oh, I haven't talked to so-and-so
23:58 in three years, I can't reach out to him and ask him.
24:02 And I was like, you can, right?
24:04 First of all, you can 'cause he respects you
24:05 and he likes you, but secondly,
24:07 how much easier would that be
24:09 if in those intervening three years,
24:11 you'd seen something that reminded you of him
24:14 and you just shot him a text?
24:15 - Yeah.
24:16 - It is good business practice,
24:18 it is good friendship practice.
24:20 I try to live my life that way.
24:22 - When did you know that you wanted to take this new role?
24:29 - Not long ago.
24:31 Look, I was interviewed to be CEO at the beginning,
24:36 I wasn't in the right life circumstance to do so.
24:38 - You were employee one at Kitchen United.
24:39 - I was employee one at Kitchen United six years ago.
24:42 - Almost exactly.
24:43 - What was the big idea back when--
24:45 - Oh, it changed.
24:47 It changed.
24:48 - You're telling me.
24:49 - Look, it's changing again to some extent.
24:51 - You're in a place that used to serve breakfast.
24:53 - Right, exactly.
24:54 - And we're a barbecue media company, so things change.
24:56 - You gotta evolve--
24:57 - Be like bamboo.
24:58 - Look, when we first started Kitchen United,
25:00 it was a fractional workspace.
25:03 We work was all the rage.
25:05 And it was a fractional workspace
25:07 for food and beverage creators.
25:11 It had a restaurant angle too,
25:13 so 30% of the space was gonna be used
25:15 for restaurants to do delivery out of,
25:18 and 70% of the space was gonna be used
25:20 for creators to create granola or cookies
25:24 or whatever it might be, Rice Krispie treats.
25:26 And that business was gonna generate
25:29 in my initial financial model, the bulk of the revenue.
25:33 Because if you fractionalize your space
25:35 and you rent it out by the hour or block of hours,
25:38 you can charge a lot more in aggregate
25:40 than if you rent it out by the six month period,
25:42 three month period, a year period.
25:44 The problem was, when you do that,
25:49 when you try to rent to small businesses,
25:51 mom and pops or brothers and sisters
25:54 or boyfriends and girlfriends,
25:56 the cost of customer acquisition is high.
25:59 It's called CAC, right?
26:00 CAC is high and churn,
26:02 which is how often they come in and out is high.
26:06 So with high CAC, where you need to tour,
26:09 then your sister needs to tour,
26:11 then your mother needs to tour,
26:12 that just, it eats up six hours
26:15 for potentially a $600 engagement.
26:18 That doesn't make sense.
26:19 So we pivoted pretty quickly after the first three months
26:22 into serving restaurants.
26:24 First, we started with three month contracts,
26:27 then six, then we got Halal Guys,
26:29 then we got Chick-fil-A,
26:31 and then we got into year contracts
26:33 and then multi-year contracts.
26:35 So we, like any business,
26:37 we evolved based on market feedback
26:40 and based on investor direction.
26:44 And we continue to evolve today, right?
26:47 That's what should happen when you're running a business
26:49 for the future and the present.
26:52 You do what's right, you do what you think is right.
26:55 If it doesn't work, you pivot.
26:56 If you believe in it,
26:57 if you believe in the overall thesis,
26:59 which we did and we do,
27:00 and then you grow, hopefully, right?
27:04 Some people try to grow and they don't,
27:06 they should be respected and they should be memorialized
27:10 and thanks for the effort that they,
27:12 thanked for the effort they put in, right?
27:14 Even when businesses fail, they have an impact.
27:18 They have an impact on people's lives
27:20 and they have an impact on an industry.
27:22 And that's great, right?
27:25 Like there's nothing,
27:26 I've failed in several businesses before
27:28 and that's great, made me who I am today.
27:31 - What is Kitchen United's ghost kitchen thesis
27:35 moving forward now with you at CEO?
27:38 - I'm excited about it, Sean.
27:40 I am, I'm really excited about it.
27:41 I think we have, I think we have a winning formula.
27:46 I think it needs to be refined a little bit, right?
27:48 Like it, all the ones and zeros don't add up to 10,000 yet.
27:53 But they're getting there.
27:55 And they're getting above zero, right?
27:58 So the thesis is that ghost kitchens,
28:03 well, I'll say the thesis is that
28:07 the ghost kitchen industry is poorly named.
28:11 - Thank you.
28:12 - That is the first thesis.
28:14 We are not ghost kitchens.
28:16 We are front and center.
28:18 We are in retail locations like Kroger's.
28:20 We are in areas of commerce,
28:26 that serve business consumers in commercial real estate
28:30 and residential consumers.
28:32 Our, one of our flagship sites is in a Kroger,
28:36 actually a Ralph's, which is a Kroger brand in Westwood
28:39 on the edge of UCLA campus.
28:40 We have another one on the edge of SMU campus.
28:42 We serve college students.
28:44 We are not ghostly.
28:46 You walk into a Ralph's today
28:48 or Kroger in Houston or Texas or the Midwest,
28:50 and you'll see a Starbucks on the left
28:52 and you'll see a Kitchen United on the right.
28:54 There's nothing ghostly, nothing ghostly about that.
28:58 So it's misnamed.
28:59 Two, there are under leveraged, underutilized spaces
29:04 in grocery, convenience, retail, hospitality, and elsewhere.
29:09 And we intend to feed the market demand
29:11 that is latent, unmet, and undernourished
29:14 with a variety of options and mix of choice.
29:18 And we intend to feed that well.
29:20 We intend to grow aggressively
29:22 going into 2024 and 2025.
29:25 We intend to work with power brands.
29:28 A lot of emerging brands can really explode onto the scene.
29:33 We intend to be CapEx Lite.
29:35 We intend to nurture and grow our employee base.
29:39 You might start off as a assistant kitchen manager.
29:43 You could then be a GM like Dan Santos,
29:46 who's currently our VP of operations,
29:48 who started off as a GM.
29:50 There's room to grow at this company.
29:52 We have learned from some of the struggles we've had.
29:56 We're probably shifting away from the high expense effort
30:00 of building our own traditional,
30:02 we call them kitchen centers.
30:04 And we're gonna lean into smarter, more prudent marketing.
30:10 We're gonna lean into catering.
30:12 I think catering, as we talked about earlier,
30:14 is a terribly underserved part of the restaurant industry.
30:18 Goodness gracious, if more people could do catering better
30:21 than this industry would turn out.
30:23 I know a brand in Northern California, Saj Mediterranean.
30:28 They pre-pandemic did 45%
30:32 of their restaurant's revenue before 11 a.m.
30:34 If you're making 45% of your revenue before 11 a.m.,
30:38 you are a profitable restaurant.
30:39 You just are, right?
30:41 So they're down a little bit.
30:42 I think they're 25, 30% now, but they'll get back up there.
30:46 Like we have not leaned into catering.
30:48 There's some great companies, Easy Cater, Share Bite.
30:51 There are companies to fulfill that catering, fulfilled.
30:55 Catering is a must have, takeout, must have.
30:59 You cannot, in my opinion,
31:01 run a restaurant on delivery business alone.
31:03 I just don't believe you can.
31:04 You're not gonna make the AUVs,
31:06 and you're not gonna run a profitable restaurant,
31:08 particularly with the delivery fees
31:12 that the delivery service providers charge.
31:14 It is just too hard.
31:16 So we're gonna do more of that.
31:19 We're gonna layer in additional novel approaches
31:23 to scaling brands, which I can't talk about much yet.
31:27 We're gonna do something with Circle K in convenience,
31:30 which I can't talk about much yet.
31:32 But I'll come back.
31:35 - Breaking news, get all the scoops.
31:37 Can you talk about the marketing piece?
31:41 You said mismanaged marketing.
31:42 Where did you fail, and what do you plan to do better?
31:45 - Look, one of the big areas in which we failed
31:47 was we have this platform called Mix,
31:50 Kitchen United Mix.
31:51 We're rebranding as Mix Food Halls in our sites.
31:55 And for years, years, we believed in our central thesis
32:00 that a family of four, or four college kids,
32:06 or two college kids, generally don't want the same food.
32:09 So you might want barbecue, I might want Chinese,
32:14 Tony might want pizza.
32:16 And we promoted Kitchen United Mix aggressively
32:23 to the consumer base, both digitally
32:27 and traditional marketing, to try to get people
32:29 to order directly from us.
32:31 And it is hard.
32:33 It is hard for people to change their consumer behavior
32:37 and order through a new app or a website.
32:43 I mean, they're gonna open DoorDash, or Uber Eats,
32:45 or Grubhub, or Postmates in certain geographies.
32:48 And it's gonna be really hard to convert them.
32:51 So we had some loyalists who converted,
32:53 some people who ordered had many people
32:55 who ordered through our digital kiosks, which work great.
32:58 But we spent a lot of marketing on that,
33:01 and it hasn't worked.
33:02 So we're gonna try to get some of that variety of choice
33:06 up on the third-party platforms, right?
33:08 So you can do it directly through the third-party platform.
33:10 - Oh, wow, that's cool.
33:11 People do, we're gonna try, I can't guarantee we'll do it,
33:15 but we're gonna try.
33:16 People do order through native channels, right?
33:20 Wingstop, Portillo's, Panera Bread, Chick-fil-A,
33:24 the native channel does do well.
33:26 So for the brands that we have
33:28 where they have a strong native channel,
33:30 absolutely promote the heck out of that.
33:32 But are we gonna promote Mix as a brand?
33:36 Like Wingstop's gonna have a better brand than we do,
33:40 at least for the foreseeable future.
33:42 So probably spend less marketing dollars
33:45 on our own platform.
33:46 - You said in a LinkedIn post
33:50 to never discredit an elevator pitch.
33:54 Can you share a story and a lesson that you learned
33:57 closing Halal Guys in an elevator?
33:59 - Yeah, so I was in my apartment in LA,
34:02 and if you're ever in an elevator with me, I apologize.
34:09 - Give us the elevator pitch.
34:11 - I'm the type of guy who will comment on your shoes
34:14 or your baby or your dog.
34:18 I like meeting people in elevators.
34:20 It is, you know, you have 30 seconds together,
34:23 you never know what happens.
34:25 And in this case, I was in an elevator
34:27 in my apartment building in downtown LA with a guy,
34:32 and I started talking to him.
34:35 What do you do?
34:36 What do you do?
34:37 So I run these things called Ghost Kitchens.
34:40 Oh, I'm the franchisee of the Halal Guys.
34:42 And there was a Halal Guys
34:44 that had just opened around the corner.
34:46 And I love Halal Guys.
34:48 I'm one of the people who would wait at 3 a.m.
34:51 in the morning on, I think it was 46th and 6th in New York
34:56 at the original Halal Guys truck
34:57 who burnt the hell out of his mouth eating the hot sauce,
35:02 who only just realized the white sauce is 450 calories.
35:07 - Really?
35:08 - That one packet of white sauce, 450 calories.
35:11 - That's a lot.
35:14 - But I love Halal Guys.
35:14 - What is it, cheesecake?
35:16 - Yeah, exactly.
35:17 It is, it's lard, right?
35:20 I don't know, it's lard, but it is amazing sauce.
35:23 And that hot sauce is powerful stuff.
35:26 So I'm a Halal Guys fanatic.
35:29 I was there in New York back in like 1998, 1999,
35:34 eating Halal Guys at three in the morning.
35:36 And so when I found out the Halal Guys
35:38 was up around the corner and I met this guy,
35:41 I was like, look, I would love it
35:43 if you came out and toured our facility.
35:46 And this is what we're doing.
35:48 We're early stage.
35:50 We just opened, but we'll give you a deal.
35:54 And I remember I had a gentleman on my team
35:57 who had just recruited Landon Silvas straight out of UCLA.
36:02 And he's become a good friend.
36:05 And I introduced him to the Halal Guys.
36:09 It was technically his deal.
36:11 It was his first deal at the company,
36:14 but they got going, they're still there.
36:18 This is five years later, right?
36:20 And I've eaten a lot of Halal Guys
36:26 in the intervening time, right?
36:27 So you never know, right?
36:30 Like you're in,
36:34 you know, I was in line for a cup of coffee
36:39 at a PropTech conference I was at
36:41 or a PropTech event I was at
36:43 and a close friend found a job, right?
36:47 Like you never know where, everybody knows somebody.
36:51 Everybody has a network.
36:54 So you never know.
36:59 So talk to people, be open.
37:00 If you're struggling, be honest.
37:03 And then people will help.
37:06 That's another thing I wrote on LinkedIn.
37:07 When you need a job, just ask for help.
37:10 - Asking for help is definitely the most difficult lesson.
37:15 It's a lesson my grandfather taught me.
37:17 And it's one that we talk about
37:18 on these shows all the time.
37:20 For me, I'm always inspired
37:24 when I see a leader like yourself
37:26 willing to talk about mental health,
37:29 willing to talk about struggle,
37:31 willing to talk publicly.
37:32 Is there anything that you can say
37:34 to industry professionals that are listening to this
37:36 that might be scared to ask so publicly for help
37:40 if they need help in their journey?
37:42 - Yeah, it is.
37:46 Look, I've had some severe mental health issues
37:49 that surfaced about a decade ago
37:51 that I've overcome and medicated for.
37:53 And we should be less shy about them, I hope, right?
37:58 Everybody struggles with something.
38:01 So I think there is a lot of how we're trained,
38:06 maybe in my generation, right?
38:15 I'm a Gen Xer, and we were trained
38:17 to be private about struggles.
38:19 I think the younger generations are privileged
38:25 in that it is not a social stigma,
38:27 not a hangup to share that you might be bipolar
38:32 or schizophrenic or facing depression or whatever it is.
38:36 These are just health issues, right?
38:39 Diabetics have them.
38:41 Cancer patients have them.
38:43 People with broken bones have them.
38:45 It's okay.
38:48 And I think particularly, look, a lot of people struggle.
38:52 It's a very evident struggle when you lose a job, right?
38:57 It is right there in front of you.
39:01 I lost a job.
39:02 I got laid off.
39:03 I'm worried.
39:04 Okay.
39:07 What about when you're in a job
39:10 that isn't good for your mental health?
39:13 That's a struggle too, right?
39:15 And you should be open about that too, right?
39:18 Like there are people in jobs that are ruining them.
39:21 And they should leave those jobs, right?
39:25 Maybe they don't get a severance package,
39:27 but maybe it makes their blood pressure go down
39:30 and maybe it gives them time to spend with their families.
39:32 So I think, you know, I believe a lot in therapy.
39:37 I have a therapist.
39:38 I think everybody who can afford it,
39:42 who has a good fortune of good healthcare,
39:43 maybe they can, should.
39:46 And I think being open,
39:55 look, not everybody is like me.
39:56 I get that, right?
39:57 Like not everybody's that's extroverted.
39:59 Not everybody assumes friendship
40:01 and will reveal stuff to people and you that you just met.
40:05 But then pick your circle, right?
40:07 Who are your three people?
40:08 Who are your five people?
40:09 Outside of your family, outside of your spouse.
40:13 Maybe different perspectives from different genders
40:17 and share with them and share honestly
40:20 and openly and frequently
40:22 and listen to their heartfelt feedback.
40:26 It might not always be good.
40:28 It might not always be easy to hear,
40:30 but it will be sent from the right place
40:34 if they're your good friends.
40:35 So I'm all about openness and sharing struggles.
40:40 - I really appreciate that.
40:41 Yeah, it's something that I've been public
40:42 about my struggles with alcoholism.
40:44 I'm a recovering alcoholic.
40:46 I'm in a program of recovery.
40:49 I too go to a therapy outside of my program.
40:52 These things are very important to me
40:54 because in the hospitality business,
40:56 we try to wear these things as a badge of honor
40:59 where we're working all the time
41:01 and then we drink all the time
41:02 or we do whatever we need to do to cope
41:05 with the life that we live.
41:06 And it doesn't have to be like that.
41:09 People don't have to be alone.
41:10 They don't have to be afraid
41:11 and they are places that they can go to reach out.
41:14 And I appreciate you having the willingness
41:17 and openness to share some of those struggles
41:19 because when you look on social media,
41:23 it's rare and I hope that it's more
41:27 that people share the hard times that we have,
41:31 not just all the good times.
41:32 - Yeah, I'm bipolar, sorry.
41:34 I realized I didn't say that and I'm medicated.
41:37 I'm fine now, but losing your...
41:45 I had a bad manic episode about a decade ago,
41:48 a very bad one.
41:50 I was hospitalized and it presented late.
41:52 I was 38.
41:53 Losing your mind shatters your self-confidence.
41:59 It just shatters it.
42:01 And recovering from that was hard.
42:04 And I had a lot of love in my life, a lot of support.
42:07 And Brad Feld, I think from Founders Fund.
42:12 Yeah, Brad Feld is a big venture capitalist
42:15 who talks openly about his struggles with depression.
42:18 That helped me.
42:20 But it is like what you've gone through,
42:26 but it is shattering to be in a position at midlife.
42:31 I got divorced at the same time.
42:34 It is shattering to be in a position at midlife
42:39 where your foundation is taken away from you.
42:42 Then who am I?
42:43 I'm no longer married.
42:44 I don't have my mental health.
42:47 Who am I?
42:48 And you don't know.
42:54 That is scary.
42:55 It is scary.
42:57 And I feel very fortunate that I had the love in my life
43:01 to rebound from that.
43:02 And it's not been linear, the path.
43:04 Never is, nobody's life is.
43:07 But it's okay.
43:09 It is okay.
43:11 We are all on our own journey.
43:13 Some people struggle with mental health
43:16 or drug addiction or whatever it might be at 14.
43:21 Some people struggle with it at 80.
43:23 Whenever you overcome it, it's the right time for you.
43:26 It's your journey.
43:27 But it's easier to overcome
43:29 if you have love and support in your life.
43:31 And it's also easier to overcome
43:33 if you give love and support to others.
43:36 - What gives you hope?
43:38 - Everything.
43:39 Everything.
43:41 I find hope and inspiration in a lot of things.
43:45 I find hope and inspiration
43:46 when somebody holds the door open for me.
43:49 I find hope and inspiration when somebody picks up a baby.
43:52 I find hope and inspiration when I meet Jose
43:55 and I say thank you after putting the pork rub
43:58 or the pork butt in the smoker
44:00 and I offer him my elbow.
44:02 And he offers me his elbow back.
44:07 I don't know his life.
44:08 He doesn't know mine.
44:09 But that's a moment of bonding.
44:11 You can find hope and inspiration anywhere.
44:14 - What pulls you out of bed in the morning
44:17 knowing that the mission that you're now on
44:19 is CEO of Kitchen United?
44:21 - First of all, I have very weird sleep hours.
44:27 - Me too.
44:27 I wake up at 3.45 in the morning.
44:29 - Yeah, I wake up between three and four.
44:30 - Really? - Every morning.
44:31 Why don't we play tennis at five in the morning?
44:33 - Really? - We should.
44:34 If I put the lights on,
44:36 I have to make sure our court has lights.
44:37 - Yeah, let's play tennis at five in the morning.
44:39 - I would absolutely do that tomorrow morning.
44:41 - We'll do that.
44:42 - Okay.
44:42 - Hopefully the lights turn on.
44:44 - We'll let you get the lights turned on.
44:46 Yeah, I wake up between three and four.
44:48 I go to bed by 10.
44:51 I nap every day.
44:53 - Napping's good.
44:54 - Napping is great.
44:55 I put it on my work calendar.
44:57 People will verify this as nap time.
45:00 - How long is your nap?
45:01 - About an hour, 45 minutes to an hour.
45:03 I get out of bed in the morning
45:08 with energy and zest.
45:10 I have a morning routine where I read a little bit.
45:15 I write poetry almost every morning.
45:18 I talk to my parents in India
45:22 or my sister or other people abroad
45:25 'cause that's four in the morning
45:26 and nobody normal is awake.
45:29 And then--
45:30 - We'll start texting each other 'cause I'm awake.
45:32 - Yeah, I will.
45:34 I'll text you my poetry.
45:35 - That's great.
45:36 - Then I walk.
45:38 I walk 10,000 steps a day.
45:40 It's been 105 days at least, I think.
45:44 At least 10,000 steps, definitely 105 days.
45:48 And then I get to the gym or play tennis or do something.
45:51 I travel a lot, a lot.
45:52 So it's not always consistent
45:57 but what gets me out of the bed
45:58 with respect to Kitchen Unit, I like work, man.
46:02 I like work.
46:03 I believe in this company.
46:05 I believe in the people behind me.
46:06 I believe that our investors
46:08 are gonna have a fantastic return.
46:10 And it is easy to be motivated
46:16 to write an email to a partner or an investor
46:21 or a brand or an employee or a group of employees.
46:24 It is easy.
46:26 It is exciting.
46:27 It is not like what keeps you up at night, people say.
46:31 What keeps me up at night
46:33 is the enthusiasm for the next day.
46:35 - Yeah.
46:36 Yeah, I always prefer what pulls you out of bed
46:38 versus what keeps you up at night.
46:39 - Yeah.
46:40 - Lots of things keep people up at night.
46:41 I care about what gets you out of bed in the morning.
46:43 - That's good.
46:44 - How are you gonna go seize the day?
46:45 - Well, usually what gets me out of bed
46:46 is the water I drank the night before.
46:48 (laughing)
46:49 - That's fair enough.
46:50 That's a fair enough honest answer.
46:52 Well, every single Wednesday,
46:54 every single Friday on the social audio app Clubhouse
46:57 where Atul will join us one day
46:59 when this episode comes out,
47:01 either a Wednesday or a Friday,
47:02 10 a.m. Pacific time, 1 p.m. Eastern time.
47:04 It's a chance for you, the listener, the viewer,
47:07 to come on stage to share your story.
47:10 Your story matters.
47:11 If you're in sales, if you're in marketing,
47:12 if you're a content creator, if you own restaurants,
47:15 this is a place where people that are playing the game
47:17 within the game can come and interact.
47:19 So we have digital hospitality leaders
47:21 from all over the globe.
47:22 We also give a social shout out.
47:24 This week's social shout out goes to Vincenzo Pulio.
47:29 I believe is his name.
47:30 His wife is Alexa.
47:32 Alexa and Vincenzo.
47:33 Vincenzo makes great content on LinkedIn,
47:36 but his wife, Alexa, she makes incredible charcuterie boards.
47:39 So we're gonna put a link to her charcuterie boards.
47:42 She sent one to me and my wife.
47:44 They're absolutely phenomenal,
47:45 but it's a chance for people that listen to this show,
47:47 support this show, support this content
47:49 to get a shout out on Entrepreneur.
47:51 Atul, I need one person, the Kitchen United's team,
47:54 that you're gonna give a shout out to.
47:56 - Sam Sleeper.
47:58 He is our new VP of Finance.
48:00 Oh God, one person is so hard.
48:02 - I know.
48:03 - So hard. - That's why I make it
48:04 one person.
48:04 - I, it is so hard.
48:07 - What else, what else?
48:08 - Sam Sleeper, he is our VP of Finance.
48:10 He has been with the company for four years.
48:13 Just got promoted last week, a week ago.
48:16 When I got promoted, he got promoted.
48:18 He is balanced.
48:21 He is kind.
48:24 He is a finance guy with a sense of humor, which is rare.
48:29 And he does such good work
48:34 and is such an understated man
48:36 that I, you know, I'm just really impressed with him.
48:40 He is unflappable, which is required of a finance guy,
48:45 right, the numbers don't always look good.
48:47 And Sam tells it as it is
48:51 without the emotional hangover of anything, really.
48:55 And he's new to the role.
48:58 He's capable of it.
49:00 I hope to God one day, three years from now,
49:03 four years from now, we're doing really well
49:06 and we're, you know, on the path to a big outcome
49:11 of some kind and he's CFO.
49:13 Yeah, Sam Sleeper.
49:16 - That's awesome. - Great guy.
49:17 - So we're gonna ask you real quickly
49:19 about your smartphone storytelling habits.
49:21 Are you an iPhone or an Android user?
49:24 - Absolutely iPhone.
49:25 - And what version?
49:27 - I don't know.
49:28 - I am a very bad engineer.
49:30 I think it's iPhone 13.
49:32 - Have you updated your software?
49:34 - Probably not.
49:35 - Probably not.
49:36 How many notifications do you have on your phone right now?
49:39 - Oh no, I'm a zero text message guy.
49:41 - You're an inbox zero.
49:42 - No, no, inbox zero, but my email.
49:47 First of all, I clear out all important email
49:52 like as I go through the day.
49:53 - Yes.
49:54 - But yeah, that's not good.
49:57 - So.
49:58 - How many emails do you have?
50:01 - Gmail is 39,526. - 39,000.
50:05 - And KU is 15,000.
50:06 - This is unread.
50:08 - Unread.
50:08 - Unread.
50:09 - No, but look, a lot of it is spam.
50:13 - Spam.
50:14 - A lot of it is those like, you know,
50:18 Bloomberg's five daily tips to read
50:21 or New York Times or Amtrak emails.
50:23 So like I don't, I used to, okay.
50:27 I don't know if you can give me a tip
50:30 on how to get these back to zero once and for all.
50:34 - How, which app do you use?
50:35 Do you use a Gmail app?
50:36 - Yeah, I just use the iPhone app.
50:37 - See, this is why I have,
50:40 this is why we do this dumb segment
50:41 is because I started using the Gmail app
50:43 because my business partner, Eric,
50:45 made fun of me for using the Apple email app.
50:49 - Okay.
50:50 - And because I use a Gmail,
50:51 it's just easy to swipe through things that,
50:53 so I can see if I don't like it.
50:54 - Right.
50:55 - And then I just get to inbox zero,
50:56 but then I actually have inbox zero.
50:57 I don't have 39,000.
50:59 - Right, exactly.
51:00 That's the problem.
51:01 Now that I'm at 39,000.
51:03 (laughing)
51:05 - You just need to mark them all red and start from zero.
51:07 Tabula rasa, blank slate.
51:08 - But even doing that.
51:10 - Tabula rasa.
51:11 - I don't know if there's a way
51:12 to magically mark them all red.
51:14 - You can, yeah.
51:15 - You can?
51:16 - You need the Gmail app.
51:16 - Okay.
51:17 - This is a shout out to the Gmail app.
51:18 Good job, Google.
51:19 - Yeah, we're backed by Google Ventures, GV,
51:21 so I'm all for Google.
51:23 I'm Google everything, except my phone.
51:25 - Except your phone.
51:26 Do you listen to podcasts on Spotify or Apple Podcasts?
51:30 - Apple Podcasts.
51:31 - Apple Podcasts.
51:32 Where do you listen to music?
51:33 Which platform?
51:34 - Spotify.
51:34 - Spotify.
51:35 And do you listen to books or read books?
51:38 - Both.
51:39 - Which one do you prefer?
51:40 - Both.
51:41 I read poetry.
51:42 I read fiction and poetry.
51:44 - Do you read them digitally or do you buy physical books?
51:47 - Buy physical books.
51:48 - On Amazon?
51:48 - And then give them to people.
51:50 The Gift of Nothing is one of my favorite books.
51:54 My sister recommended I buy it.
51:57 I gave it to Sean.
51:58 I give it to people.
52:01 I buy books on Amazon, though I shouldn't.
52:03 Look, I read for enjoyment and then I read for learning.
52:08 When I read for learning, I generally listen.
52:11 When I read, I'm very good at remembering stuff
52:16 that I listen to.
52:18 I'm good at remembering stuff that I read,
52:20 but I read for pleasure physical books
52:23 and like the art of words, right?
52:25 I told you about Shakespeare at the beginning.
52:27 I love that.
52:29 So I love reading books that are fiction,
52:33 literary fiction, poetry, and spiritual texts.
52:38 And then when I read for learning, it is through Audible.
52:42 - Do you prefer texts or emails?
52:46 - Texts.
52:47 Well, depends.
52:48 - Depends on the context.
52:50 - Depends on the need that I,
52:53 like to be in touch with friends, texts,
52:55 'cause I will respond immediately.
52:57 If it's not urgent from work, email, which I'll get to.
53:02 Yeah, I don't like phone calls, generally speaking.
53:08 - So no FaceTime for sure.
53:12 - Yeah, with my kids, FaceTime with my kids.
53:15 FaceTime with my kids always.
53:18 But text, email, text, Slack, email, phone call.
53:23 But I believe in,
53:29 I don't know what you believe about this.
53:31 I would love to do a flipped where one day,
53:34 I know where one day we'll flip it.
53:36 I'm gonna have a podcast called
53:38 Interviewing the Interviewers.
53:40 - I like it.
53:41 - Where I get other podcast hosts on.
53:44 - There's enough podcast hosts.
53:45 - Exactly.
53:46 - There's enough to do.
53:47 - And the reporters from the industry on.
53:49 I'm gonna do that.
53:50 - That's a good idea.
53:51 - Thank you.
53:52 - I can help you with that.
53:53 - Please do.
53:53 - Let's do that.
53:54 - Let's do that.
53:55 - We just did a deal.
53:56 - Yeah, let's do that.
53:57 Do I have to relocate to San Diego?
53:58 - No, we'll make a virtual show.
53:59 - Perfect.
54:00 - Wherever in the world you are.
54:01 - Awesome.
54:02 - We'll make it happen.
54:03 - Awesome.
54:04 I...
54:04 - Inbox Zero.
54:08 - Inbox Zero to Interviewing the Interviewers to,
54:11 oh yeah, when you, no, I've forgotten it.
54:16 - You forgot it.
54:17 - I forgot it.
54:18 - That's all right.
54:19 - Yeah.
54:20 - This has been a pleasure.
54:21 - It has been my pleasure.
54:22 I love you.
54:23 I am so glad we have become friends.
54:26 Thank you.
54:27 - Yeah, Winnie the Pooh.
54:28 - Winnie the Pooh.
54:29 - Great philosopher.
54:30 How can people keep in touch with you?
54:32 - LinkedIn is best.
54:34 - And Instagram.
54:35 You're getting active on Instagram.
54:37 On your Instagram bio it says,
54:38 I usually write, what does it say?
54:40 - I prefer words to pictures, but I'm learning.
54:43 - But I'm here anyways.
54:44 - But I'm learning, yeah.
54:45 - But I'm learning.
54:47 - Yeah, Instagram's, I don't know.
54:49 - You put pictures on Instagram.
54:51 - Instagram's my personal life.
54:53 Maybe I should, I don't know if you think
54:54 I should have like a work Instagram.
54:55 - So I believe this is the way that,
54:58 I believe that I don't have a personal life
54:59 and I don't have a business life, I have one life.
55:01 - I completely agree.
55:02 - You get all of me and you referenced it earlier
55:04 in talking about the content that you put on LinkedIn.
55:07 I am who I am.
55:08 - Yep.
55:09 - You're gonna get Cali Barbecue,
55:10 you get Cali Barbecue Media,
55:11 you get Sean as a dad, Sean as a husband,
55:13 Sean as a Charger fan.
55:14 - Yep.
55:15 - Whoever I am, wherever I am in the world,
55:17 that's who you're gonna get
55:18 and I'm not gonna contextualize it and say,
55:20 oh, this is just for my barbecue content
55:22 or just for the podcast content.
55:24 - I actually ran something called Leaders Quest
55:27 15 years ago where that was my whole point.
55:29 So Atul Now is my Instagram.
55:31 That's my personal Instagram.
55:35 I have a poetry one as well but--
55:37 - What's the poetry one?
55:38 - Poetry by Atul.
55:39 - Okay.
55:41 - Then I have LinkedIn.
55:42 - Give me a book.
55:43 - I'm hoping to publish next year.
55:45 - I write a lot, a lot, a lot.
55:48 And then Facebook, I guess.
55:53 And then LinkedIn is probably,
55:57 I mean, if people care about the restaurant industry,
56:00 how to support it,
56:01 I'm very passionate about supporting independent
56:04 and growing restaurant brands,
56:06 emerging restaurant brands like Dog House
56:08 and Curry Up Now and Saj Mediterranean.
56:13 That type of content is on LinkedIn.
56:18 You'll be seeing more tennis victory shots on Instagram.
56:23 - We'll report back.
56:24 I challenged Atul to a tennis match
56:27 that I'm gonna gratefully regret.
56:29 But this is cool because our entire goal
56:32 was to build a master smokehouse,
56:34 which we have the back view of the master smokehouse
56:37 and they're gonna be putting on some briskets
56:39 and a media center.
56:40 So you're here in the beta.
56:43 This is the beta of what will be.
56:45 The next time that we do this,
56:46 we'll have a full fledged studio
56:48 for these kinds of interviews.
56:51 - I've never put a pork butt in a smoker before.
56:54 - No, if we make it,
56:56 we'll be able to put a brisket on a smoker too.
56:58 - Awesome.
56:59 - Well, thank you.
57:00 If you guys wanna connect with me,
57:00 it's @SeanPWalchef, S-H-A-W-N P-W-A-L-C-H-E-F.
57:05 Instagram's the quickest platform to get ahold of me,
57:09 but you can find me on all the platforms.
57:11 We appreciate you watching the show.
57:13 Please follow Kitchens United.
57:14 Please follow Atul.
57:15 - By the way, it's Kitchen United.
57:16 - Kitchen, singular.
57:18 - It's not plural.
57:18 - It's not plural.
57:19 - Even though there are multiple kitchens.
57:20 - We have many kitchens.
57:21 - Kitchen United.
57:24 What's Instagram for Kitchen United?
57:26 - Kitchen United Mix.
57:27 - Kitchen United Mix.
57:28 We'll put a link into the episode, into the article.
57:31 Thank you guys for subscribing.
57:33 And Atul, thank you for being a friend forever.
57:36 - Absolutely.
57:37 - Appreciate you.
57:37 - Just you wait and see.
57:38 - Just you wait and see.
57:39 - The best way that you can help us with the show
57:42 is to subscribe and write a review.
57:44 We love the opportunity to connect with you,
57:47 no matter where you are on the globe,
57:49 no matter what restaurant you are running.
57:51 Please send us a DM on social @SeanPWalchef.
57:56 If you are interested in toast,
57:57 if you want to improve your digital hospitality,
58:00 please send me a DM.
58:01 I will get you in touch with a local toast representative.
58:05 We appreciate you listening to the show.
58:07 The best way that you can help the show
58:09 is share it with a friend,
58:10 and we will catch you all next week,
58:12 or we will see you on one of the digital playgrounds
58:15 that we call social media.

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