No Business Skills, No Loans, No Problem: How Todd Graves Built A Billion Dollar Chicken Finger Empire Against All Odds

Todd Graves' idea to open a restaurant in Louisiana with his partner Craig Silvey got them the lowest grade in Silvey's undergraduate business class because they planned to sell only chicken fingers. Their business concept was also rejected by banks when they applied for loans. However, the rejections didn't deter Graves from bringing his fast-food concept to life, which eventually became known as Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers. In the fast half of 2024, the restaurant chain generated $2.3 billion in revenues while expanding outreach with dozens of new stores in the US, taking the total store count to over 800.

Founded in 1996, Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers' rapid expansion and consistently high demand have made Graves one of the wealthiest men in America, with a net worth of approximately $9.5 billion. The 52-year-old founder is a majority stakeholder, owning 90% of the company.

90-Hour Work Weeks In An Oil Refinery

Without sufficient money to start his own business, Graves moved to Los Angeles from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to work as a boilermaker at an oil refinery. He worked 90 hours a week. "If people tell you something can't be done, it makes you strive so much more to do it," Graves told students at Nicholls State University in 2009. While at the oil refinery, a fellow boilermaker told him he could earn much more in commercial fishing. Acting on this advice, Graves travelled to Alaska and camped for a month in the Tundra before getting a job to fish sockeye salmon in Bristol Bay. His unshakable determination to open his restaurant drove him to fish for 20 hours daily in harsh weather conditions.

Once he saved up, Graves returned to his roots and invested up to $50,000 of his hard-earned money in renovating an old building near Louisiana State University. He also borrowed $100,000 from friends and family and took out a Small Business Administration loan to kickstart his venture. While Graves initially considered naming the restaurant "Sockeye's," he took his friend's advice to name the place after a Labrador, Raising Cane, who frequented the construction site.

Learning Business Skills On The Job

Raising Cane's was inaugurated in August 1996. The restaurant stayed open until 3:30 a.m. on the first day as cash registers started filling quickly. However, Graves and Silvey had no business skills when they started. Graves worked all days of the week, over 16 hours daily, and slowly learned how to recruit workers, shape them into leaders, and raise money for expansion. "I was building a plane while I was flying it," he told CNBC.

While most businesses are financed through a mix of debt and equity, Graves shared in a 2022 podcast how he entirely relied on debt in the company's early days. He would secure 15% interest-rate private loans and leverage them to secure more financing from community banks since they viewed the private debt as equity. However, he feels the strategy was "stupid," as he almost lost the entire business in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana, rendering most Baton Rouge outlets inoperable. However, taking debt and avoiding investments helped him retain majority company ownership. "Debt to equity, you should have proper balances in your business, and that helps you get through tough times like a major hurricane — but I levered everything," he said.

However, he doesn't plan to take the company public or dilute his stake in exchange for private capital. "I want my kids in the business to be able to carry our values on after their mom and I are gone," said Graves. "They can turn this into a worldwide business and continue to grow."

Identifying The Best Business Opportunities Is Key

While Graves initially believes in fast expansion regardless of how he secured funding, he understands the importance of not jumping the gun whenever an opportunity comes. He avoids impulsive business decisions at his brand's expense but is determined to expand the business in global locations. While his restaurants have a cool culture and promote active community involvement that has led to meteoric growth over the past three decades, Graves highlighted the need to remain disciplined. He explained that opportunities begin to flood in when we become successful, and many of them might not be the best for our business.