Episode Transcript
[00:00:11] Speaker A: Hello and welcome to the Forward Together podcast. I'm Rick Muma, president of Wichita State University.
Today I'm joined by two proud Shocker alums who have made their mark in.
[00:00:21] Speaker B: The world of business.
[00:00:22] Speaker A: And now they have brought a popular national restaurant chain to our hometown. Jacob o' Connor and John Peterson are the co franchisees of another Broken Egg Cafe, a fast growing brunch concept that recently opened its first Wichita location. Their journey is one of vision, partnership and entrepreneurial spirit we strive to foster.
[00:00:43] Speaker B: Here at Wichita State.
Well, welcome Jacob and John, to the podcast. It's really good to sit down with you, particularly being on this side of it. Cause I'm Ellen Jacobs podcast in the past.
So the purpose of us getting together is just to see what you've been up to since you graduated a couple years ago and hear more about that.
So it's a good segue.
Tell us a little bit more about your experience as a student. What led you to Wichita, Because I know this is not where you all are from. Maybe a little bit of background about how you know each other and, and I know that it goes way back.
[00:01:24] Speaker C: Yeah, we.
[00:01:24] Speaker B: Whoever wants to start, we.
[00:01:25] Speaker C: If we go way back, I'll. I'll start first on our background. And then Jacob could kind of run in. He came to Wichita State first.
But Jacob and I grew up together back in St. Louis.
We went to high school, we played basketball together. We did the whole AAU route and stuff like that.
[00:01:43] Speaker B: I didn't know that.
[00:01:44] Speaker C: Yeah, so we, we did a lot of competitive basketball stuff back in the day and, and had such a blast with it. And then, you know, he's a year younger. So I went to Illinois State before going to Wichita and. And Jacob came out here.
[00:01:57] Speaker B: So did he talk to you into. Is that. Yeah, that's what I heard.
[00:02:02] Speaker D: So it was kind of. We started a business together for kind of what led me to Wichita State and then I'll segue into that part too.
I never heard of Wichita State University prior to coming here, which was just the craziest thing. Somehow I missed the March Madness hype. Even though I was a big basketball fan, I just wasn't tracking it. And my senior year was actually during COVID in 2020. And so I just started mass applying to different universities. And I had kind of an entrepreneurship background. I'd started a podcast and apparel company in high school, just interviewing people that I found to be successful and trying to kind of break down what had led to that success for them. And I applied for the Jabera scholarship, Wichita State. And they emailed me that I'd won that scholarship. Nancy Kersbrock, actually. And I never answered. Like, she kept following up. And I thought it was just one of those spam, because when you're applying to colleges, you get all these emails from different universities offering you money and tuition and things like that, and a lot of them just are junk. And she actually called me. She's like, jacob, like, this is kind of a big deal. We offer one to one, one to one male and one to one female every year, only two recipients. And you're not answering me. And I was like, oh, shoot, this is a real person. Like, this is a real opportunity. And so I came out here once and I was like, you know what? I don't know anything about Wichita or Wichita State University, but I like the people I met and let's just give it a shot. And I always joke that I got lucky, that Wichita State was just the best thing for me, even though I didn't know it at the time. So that led me out here. And then two years into Wichita State, Name, Image and Likeness came around where you could work with college athletes to help them monetize their name, image and likeness. And so John and I, still being friends, still interested in business, we'll just hop on the phone and talk about a company that we could start. What could we do in that space? Since we were former athletes in high school and since we both interested in business, so we actually started that business. And I don't want to speak for you, but I think that's what led to you making the transfer out here.
[00:03:51] Speaker C: Yeah, we started working on the business and. And came to the point where it was like, you know, if we wanted to continue this thing and see it grow, one of us would have to make a move. And so I've. I've figured Wichita was a great place to start.
I loved Illinois State. Nothing bad to say about it at all, but I really. I really think Wichita was the. The place for me.
[00:04:14] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, we're glad you all made it here as I'm listening to you.
What. What happened in your life, or can you point to anything in your life when you were younger, before you.
You know, Jacob, you're saying that you're doing podcasts when you're in high school.
[00:04:30] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:04:31] Speaker B: And you start a business.
What was it about you two that. That led you to that kind of a thinking? Because it's not typical that high school students, you know, form a business and do podcasts, and that's probably becoming more typical as student behavior changes. But what is it that you can point to? Is it a teacher? Was it some experiences? Your family, parents?
[00:04:58] Speaker D: I don't have entrepreneurship in my family. Besides farming. I guess John's got that too.
[00:05:02] Speaker C: Same way. Yeah.
[00:05:03] Speaker D: But When I was 16, I had a class my junior year of high school that actually took students out of the high school, like fiscal school, and put them in the community with business leaders. It's called the startup program. And the idea was the first two hours, the day they're going to put you in the community where you can learn from local business owners. You can ask them the questions that you've been taught your whole life not to ask, which is, how much money do you make doing this? How do you generate income? You learn about business models, like, you learn about all these different things so that we're just terms in a book. And things, things that you never had any life behind because you never got to talk to the person who was doing it. And at the end of that year, they challenge you to start a business. And it's a competition. And I ended up starting a business making seat cushions for truck drivers to help alleviate back pain. And it sounds super fancy, but really I just had this bag that I blow up and the idea was that when you're sitting on a bag with air, as you shift, it will alleviate different pressure on your buttocks in that region. And so I targeted that towards truck drivers because they have a lot of flow back pain. So I won that competition that got me an internship with a global manufacturing company when I was 16. And there's this huge age gap where I'm sitting there not really providing any real value because I'm a 16 year old and the next youngest guy is like 36. So I'm like, what do I do with my time while I'm working this internship and learning? I started stumbling upon podcasts because I realized there was this knowledge gap of things I needed to learn if I wanted to succeed in the business world one day. So I started listening to podcasts and I thought, you know what? Like, the best way for me to learn besides listening would actually be the one asking the questions. And so I just started researching, like, how do you start a podcast? And then I, for my 17th birthday, I sat in my bedroom with a computer and Apple headphones and plugged it in, launched Zoom and did my first interview. And it's been seven years since then.
[00:06:43] Speaker B: And so you mentioned this product that you developed for back pain for how did you Come about that is it. Do you know someone or farmers actually have to drive trucks and stuff like that?
[00:06:57] Speaker D: Yeah. I mean, the application of it, it actually started with myself because I was sitting in the room and I needed to have a project. I didn't have one. And I don't like to procrastinate. I don't like to be behind. So I'm sitting there just like, what am I going to do? And I was actually sitting on a medicine ball at my desk, and I was like, why do I sit on this medicine ball? She's like, well, I played a lot of basketball, and I spent a lot of time in the defensive stance, which is a kind of a low position that curves your back. So I myself, as a high schooler, was having a little bit of low back pain, so I started sitting on the medicine ball, trying to alleviate that. So I started asking myself, well, why does this seem to work for me? And then I tried to kind of target that towards, well, who's sitting the most and who is most affected by this?
[00:07:32] Speaker B: Truck drivers. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's great. So, John, what about you? I mean, what. What? So some similar things.
[00:07:40] Speaker C: I would say some similar things, for sure. Not as cool of a story at all.
But Jacob. Jacob and I being really close friends and him kind of having that entrepreneurial experience as well, kind of fueled my idea. But at the same time, when I was in high school, we were working some pretty terrible jobs. I worked for a janitorial company in the. In the summers. And so I was cleaning bathrooms during the summer at the airport, which is a great experience. Which is a great experience.
It was. It was an experience. But I told myself that summer that I didn't want to work for somebody else and that I couldn't see myself doing that for long term. And so it kind of drove me to look for other options and see what else was out there.
[00:08:26] Speaker B: So, yeah, yeah, it's amazing, those kind of experiences, when you're younger, you learn what you want to do and what you don't want to do. But all of them, I think, are pivotal in terms of, you know, how we get to where we are.
So you all have started this friendship way back when and then came here, graduated. I know you stayed connected all along, and now you started a restaurant. And so when I heard about that, I know someone who's involved in your business, I was kind of surprised, but then I wasn't, because you guys are very entrepreneurial thinking.
I just wasn't thinking restaurant.
I was thinking more, you know, like this little product that you developed for back pain.
So really happy to hear that. And of course, been to another broken egg several times.
So what led you to that? How did that happen?
[00:09:29] Speaker C: So I think, you know, as entrepreneurs, we were kind of looking for an opportunity. Right.
We were graduating. We didn't really want to take the nil business to a different market that would be starting from ground zero.
And it was something that we were not fully invested in in Wichita. It was great. It was so fun because we got to work with the athletes who are also our friends.
And so there was a great synergy there. We got to network within the community and meet so many great business people just in Wichita.
But after we graduated, we had to take a step back and really evaluate if that's what we wanted to do long term. And. And I think there was some. There were some questions there.
And so we ended up shutting that business down and looking for other opportunities.
There's a concept, it was Acai bowls that we were looking at doing. It was a small footprint franchise that we wanted to bring to Wichita.
[00:10:26] Speaker B: What kind of business was that?
[00:10:30] Speaker C: Acai bowls.
[00:10:31] Speaker D: So it was like a healthy smoothie shake and then you have bowls that have different nutrients in them and fruits.
[00:10:39] Speaker B: And vegetarian kind of plant based kinds of things.
[00:10:43] Speaker D: Yeah, it's a healthier franchise.
[00:10:45] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:10:46] Speaker C: So we were looking at that and we had been meeting with mentors that we had met in college and, and kind of bringing them this idea. And we knew somebody that had developed out a strip center. And we were like, hey, you know, we like this concept. We want to maybe bring it into this strip center.
And so we had lunch about it and she kind of expressed, hey, you know, that's a great idea. Support you 100%. But we're also looking for maybe a brunch concept to come in.
And so obviously both of our eyes perked up and we were like, okay, this is the opportunity. We either pass and go Acai bowl and see if it works out or chase the opportunity. And so that's what we ended up doing.
[00:11:29] Speaker B: Yeah. And so how did another broken egg come together? Because there's lots of edge concepts, right?
[00:11:37] Speaker D: That, that was a blast. Like, we go from knowing nothing about restaurants or franchising. John and I have never worked in the hospitality industry. Like, we weren't servers or busers or anything growing up. And so it, it really is. Like, you look back at it, it's like, why did we do that? But like, along the way, we just knew we were going to figure it out. And make it work. So we just said, I all right, they want to do brunch. Let's figure out criteria. Like, let's look at this like an investment. Like we were taught to do witch to state, how do you analyze investment? You set your criteria, then you start to filter it and narrow it down from there. And so we said, okay, we've got 3,500 square ft. We're looking for a full service concept. We're looking for something that is more upscaled because we think the market needs that. We have a great upscale option here in witcha that we all know. But how could we be different from them? So what's our differentiation between them?
And so we just kind of started looking at that. We had the investment range for the amount of money that we could invest into it as well. And we made a spreadsheet of, like, 20 different concepts. And we're just sitting at the house, we've got plugged into the tv, and we're just sitting there like, oh, I found this one. Add it to the list and add the filter. And then just started narrowing down, narrowing it down. And then we got down to about 10 concepts. And we started hopping on calls with the corporate development team for the franchise, getting to actually meet the people, ask some more specific questions.
And then all franchises have this document. It's called an FDD. It's a franchise disclosure document. It's like 200 pages. And it gives you kind of the investment, the legal investment information that they can provide to you. So then we started learning how to read those. What are the key numbers to look at? Again, we're calling our network from people we had met at Wichita state that are successful franchisees and asking the questions. Then we get narrowed down to three concepts, and all three were great concepts, but we figured this was the point at which we need to start actually trying the food and watching the operations in person. So then John and I started traveling around the US and just eating our way through all these different brands and meeting with these teams and sitting in these meetings where literally the corporate development teams are looking at us like, how are you guys in here? Like, I just turned 21 and we're looking at a brand that wants to sell alcohol. And they're like, how did you guys make it through our, like, our process?
[00:13:38] Speaker B: This.
[00:13:38] Speaker D: We started telling our story, and they just took a chance on us.
[00:13:41] Speaker B: Yeah, that's great. So another broken egg is more of a. It's. It started in the south, right?
[00:13:49] Speaker D: Yep. Louisiana.
[00:13:50] Speaker B: Louisiana. Okay. So it's got that sort of Louisiana kind of.
[00:13:54] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:13:55] Speaker B: Flair to it in the food and maybe a little spicy and.
[00:13:58] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, it is. It is such a cool concept. I mean, I think that's really what pushed us over the edge is just that differentiation.
So we've got a full service bar, the Mimosas, Bloody Mary's, anything you can think of. We've got cool mocktails as well, but that's. That's always available.
And then. Yeah, just the different food options. I mean, I don't think anywhere in Wichita, especially for brunch, you can get lobster, crab, you know, shrimp, jambalaya, shrimp and grits. I mean, that. That is really an interesting twist on brunch we bring to the area.
[00:14:35] Speaker B: Yeah. And you said that the.
I'm going to call your. The person that you were talking to, your investor. Yeah, yep, she was.
There was a hotel there. I think they're planning further developments. Yeah, there's been pickleball that's moved in there. So they wanted people to be able to have those options when they were finished or having breakfast or whatever, so. And then for us, it's really convenient because it's just, you know, what, a mile away north of the. Of the campus for early morning meetings. So that's what I do a lot, so.
Well, good.
And by the way, listeners or whoever's watching, it's really good food. You should try it.
And it is different than what you see in other kinds of restaurants here locally. And nothing against any of the other ones, but we all want options. Right. We want to be able to do different things and see different things.
All right, so you've been accredited or you have credited your time with Shaw State as a major influence on your journey. We talked a little bit about that already.
Can you tell us a little bit more about your experience?
Both of you were Barton School business majors.
Who did you come across? I just want to make sure listeners know that Jacob got the Gerbera Scholarship and named after Fran Gebera, who's a major player in the field of entrepreneurship in the country, really.
And still supported by the Jabera family. So what are some of the experiences that you can pick out that was really influential for you as a student and helped you grow and to where you are today?
[00:16:26] Speaker D: I feel like one of the most important takeaways from our time at Wichita State is that the university is willing to offer you as many opportunities and resources as you're willing to take.
And so that's really what we found is like, John and I generated this momentum behind like we're the guys that people started putting in meetings because we showed the curiosity and the follow up and the willingness to do whatever work may be there. So for myself, that started with I met Rob Gerlock through the Department of Tech Transfer and Commercialization and he's a hit. He's a big podcast junkie. So with myself having a podcast, he listened to all 150 episodes, like two weeks. So him and I instantly hit it off.
And I realized that he was licensing technology from the university with these different startups in the community. And he knew I was interested in business and that I loved learning about that and needed more actual expertise operating in businesses. And so he created and crafted this role and curated it for me where I would kind of go in as the entrepreneur in residence for these companies that he was, these startups that had licensed the technology from the university. So I worked with like two or three different startups for Rob and kind of like a business development capacity and really getting to make my own decisions, learn the sales process, learn marketing, kind of dive in as deeply as I wanted. And then through that I started, or I guess we started getting more involved with Larissa Jennin, Dean Jennin, through the BARN School of Business. And then I'll let you kind of talk about the big advisory meeting for us. But we got really plugged into a lot of the network through the Wichita State University.
[00:17:51] Speaker C: Yeah. So I think when we were. It was either junior or senior year, I can't remember spring of 22, we were able to present at the Fab 50 Dean's Advisory Board.
[00:18:02] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:18:03] Speaker C: And we presented Player Card to the board. It was just such a good experience to get up in front of 50 successful people and kind of tell our story, show them what we were working on and really showcase the business and the impacts that it's having. And so we ended up doing that and meeting so many people. We stayed for the networking session and stuff like that. And then after, after the meeting, you know, got business cards, things like that.
But we started going down the list and trying to get individual meetings with every single person on that list. And I think that was the most impactful thing that we did because we had something and we brought it to them and said, hey, you know, we, we presented at the advisory board, we want to just meet you in person.
[00:18:52] Speaker B: And yeah, and I heard about that through Dean Jennin and how impactful that was for that advisory group. And these are for the listeners. These are high power people. And not just in Wichita, but in the Broader community and the nation too. So to be able to be in front of those individuals, I'm sure that's helped.
[00:19:17] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah.
[00:19:18] Speaker B: That you've been in this role.
[00:19:20] Speaker D: It was huge. One of the funny stories from that that I'll share was one of the people at that meeting was the namesake of Barton School business. Craig Barton was there. Obviously his father was super successful and involved in the ran.
But Craig had sent us a cold email after that. He was I think the only one to reach out to us first. And John and I kind of pinched each other and we're, it's just I think the summer at the point that Craig reaches out to us, we're back in St. Louis and he emails us. He was like, I'd like to talk to you about your business. I enjoyed your presentation. Something along the lines of that. And John and I were looking at you like, are you kidding me? And he'd sent this date of like, I'm available this day, this time. And we're in St. Louis and that's seven hours from Wichita State. And we're like, I don't know when we're going to get this opportunity again. Like he's the type of person you don't want to reschedule for was the opinion we come to. So John and I devised this plan where he was like, he wanted me two days later. And so John and I devised this plan where we wake up at 3am, drive to Wichita for our 11am meeting with Craig for one hour and then get back in the car and drive back to St. Louis. So he spent 14, 15 hours in the car for a one hour meeting. But that relationship was so fruitful and he eventually introduced us to Tom Devlin and then just a whole skew of other people came from that. And it's been one of the best things that we've done.
[00:20:35] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. And that's what we want students to do and learn these connections that are so impactful. You can say something, John.
[00:20:43] Speaker C: Yeah, I was just after that point I was going to add because I think it, it means so much to me. I came in as a business admin major and I started taking real estate classes with Dr. Stan Longhofer.
[00:20:56] Speaker B: Oh yeah.
[00:20:57] Speaker C: And he was one of the reasons why I picked up a second major in real estate finance. And, and his classes were just so impactful and I know Jacob took some of his classes as well and just that program was, was so good for us in the beginning to, to just get into that community and it was really awesome.
[00:21:18] Speaker B: And Dr. Longhofer is a real estate expert, runs a center for real estate at Wichita State. He's actually going to be retiring soon, but yeah, he's. And I'm sure that that experience has helped with this business too, because you had to. Probably had to learn a lot about leases and yeah, I know that you had the location already, but I'm sure that that was helpful.
[00:21:42] Speaker D: We still meet with Dr. Longhofer quarterly. We were with him last week. Like, he still has just been so much help. And that's really a testament to Wichita. Like that's what we found through most these people is if you ask for help, they're willing to give it. I think that's so cool.
[00:21:53] Speaker B: Yeah, you know, definitely. And just my experience here as well.
A community this size, you have more access to individuals than a much bigger city. You know, multimillion population city like St. Louis, I don't know, you might have connections there, but. Or Houston. It's just easier to have access to people on a community this size. And I do think that that's why there's been a lot of businesses that have started up here and they get this specialized support from people here that really does make a difference.
So this kind of leads me to another question.
I've been here for 29 years in Wichita, so I've seen the community change a lot. I've seen this university change dramatically. And what year did you all start?
[00:22:47] Speaker D: I came here 2020.
[00:22:48] Speaker B: 2020. So that was kind of right when the innovation campus was really kicking up. And.
And so you've been able to see the change too, on campus.
But all this momentum. We're building Wichita Biomedical campus downtown in partnership with KU and WSU Tech. There's all kinds of economic development around that. We learn from the innovation campus. If you build infrastructure, businesses will come because they see that that infrastructure is there for them.
Restaurants are a part of an infrastructure.
What excites you most about being a part of this growth in Wichita and where do you see yourselves going next?
And maybe you don't want to say exactly because, you know, it's a secret or whatever, but.
Who wants to start?
[00:23:38] Speaker C: I can start.
We have always said this publicly, but Wichita is a hidden gem. I mean, there is so much here that people don't realize. There's so much business, there's so much entrepreneurship, entertainment. People don't realize what Wichita is because nobody's passing through.
But I think that's starting to become more known. And I love this question because there is momentum happening. There's momentum in the entertainment space, the education space, the biomedical campus, in the entrepreneurship space. I know there's big moves there.
We just love to see it. We want to be a part of it. We want to help growth however we can.
I don't know where that leads us. We want to be in the hospitality space moving forward, but we're really, really excited for what the next 5, 10, 15 years of Wichita looks like.
[00:24:38] Speaker B: Well, just follow up on that comment you make. You want to be in the hospitality space. I know that's what. Not where you thought you'd be, which is awesome. I think that's. Any kind of situation, I think actually makes more for an enriching career when you move into something that just did not expect.
I think there's more momentum about that.
So what do you all think about working? And I'll get to.
I want you to answer this question too. But I know that the hospitality industry, that's hard business.
[00:25:11] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:25:12] Speaker B: Get up early.
You're pretty much open every day of the year.
Your brand is a little bit different because you close around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. So you'll get that little reprieve there. But what's that like for you? What do you. I've kind of thought about that with you guys. They're probably getting up about 4 or 5 o' clock in the morning.
[00:25:33] Speaker C: Yeah, it's different for sure.
I think that's kind of expected.
Uh, it's kind of what we expected going in to. To just work long hours. I mean you hear all the time people are like the restaurant industry is very tough. And it is, it is. There's.
[00:25:49] Speaker B: The margin's pretty narrow, isn't it?
[00:25:51] Speaker C: In terms of margin for error is just so small.
But we love it.
[00:25:58] Speaker B: It's.
[00:25:59] Speaker C: It's an area that we didn't see ourselves in.
But getting up every day having something different to do more problems than we know what to do with ourselves, unfortunately.
But we're able to problem solve on the spot. It's. It's a lot of fun. We, we have such a good time with it.
[00:26:18] Speaker B: And do you guys divide up that work in any way or are you. It's just equal kind of a partnership.
[00:26:27] Speaker D: I say we're starting to kind of be able to differentiate our roles a little bit. I mean at the end of the day, it's like a gap coverage. If one thing needs to get done, either a person's hands are tied, then whoever's going to jump on it needs to jump on it.
I'd say we're starting to find a little bit of separation in our skill sets, which is great.
[00:26:42] Speaker B: And so what is your main role in the restaurant? Are you.
I see you do lots of different things. You're out on the floor, then back and forth in the kitchen. Are you cooking?
Are you doing the books, or. Just trying to make sure that I'm.
[00:27:01] Speaker D: Not a great cook. I can't lie to you.
[00:27:02] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:27:03] Speaker D: That's how my 2025 New Year's resolution, resolution list has become a better cook. So I am making progress, and the guys in our back house can testify to that.
But we really do whatever is necessary. Like, when it comes to the weekends, that's our time to shine. That's when we're crazy busy. And I'll be in the dish pit. John will be in the window. We'll be wherever we need to be to get the job done.
I will say the team has really evolved, and they're stepping up now, and we're able to focus less on being hourly employees of the business, which was necessary to work on the business and work in the business. And now we're being able to work on the business and do more of those administrative tasks, the back office, the books, financial modeling. We do a lot of models, spreadsheets. And I'd say that's more of where John and I are suited for from our time, Wichita State, the skills that we developed and the way we think, really trying to play a long game. And I would say that the hope is that we're creating a platform for a hospitality group, because at scale is kind of where we want to play. We always like to shoot big.
We've tried to kind of document this whole journey, which has been pretty cool, too. But the goal is one day to be able to look back and for someone to be at Wichita State or to be in high school to say, I want to do something, I don't know what it is. Well, here's two guys that shared every step along the way of trying to figure it out, and hopefully something worked for them.
[00:28:18] Speaker B: So you said the long game, so you're in it for the long game. So what. What are you thinking in.
In terms of here in Wichita or wherever else you're thinking in terms of your ventures?
[00:28:31] Speaker C: Yeah. Right now we're really happy with the end of the Broken Egg brand.
We've kind of built the first restaurant out.
We're evaluating a second as of now, but we're kind of riding the wave, if you could say that.
We're trying to see what makes the most sense and what the next best thing is.
We want to get into the QSR space eventually.
Quick service restaurants.
We think that's kind of the way.
[00:28:59] Speaker B: What would be an example of that?
[00:29:02] Speaker C: Freddy's or Chipotle or. Or something like that?
[00:29:05] Speaker B: Us. Okay. Yep.
[00:29:06] Speaker C: So right now we're in full service. So that's. A server comes up to your table, they're taking care of you the whole time.
Quick service is a little bit.
A little bit more quick, I guess you could say.
[00:29:17] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:29:17] Speaker D: I don't know if people realize Wichita has such a rich history of franchising. From Pete's Hut with Ducarnis, Reddy's with Scott Red, Rent a Center with Tom Devlin. Like, there are some big, big names in town that have made great success through being a franchisor and franchisees. And a lot of those people have opened their arms to John and I, which we're super appreciative of. They're kind of helping us to curate and help us plan intentionally our next steps because they know that we want to operate at scale. I think Wichita will always be an important place for what we do and where we operate. I think the goal will be to grow beyond that. But I think we always want to maintain a strong presence in Wichita because we're just so grateful. All the opportunities been given to us.
[00:29:56] Speaker B: I like how you said the long game, because students sometimes, when they graduate, they are, you know, they want to be the CEO.
And there's a. There's a certain amount of experience you need before you become the CEO.
And it's definitely all this work that any of us do. It's. It's. It's not a sprint, it's a marathon. And it takes a while to kind of master things and, you know, making sure that you got the right experience. And so I'm glad to hear that you're. You're thinking along those lines. So what does Another Broken Egg company think about the Wichita location?
[00:30:40] Speaker C: I think.
I think they're pretty surprised, to say the least. I mean, the. The average. Another Broken Egg is outside of a. An anchor tenant, so they're outside of a Walmart or something like that.
[00:30:53] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:30:54] Speaker C: And they're focused in the. In the east and the south, mainly. So you're looking at Orlando Market, you're looking at Fort Lauderdale Market, Panama City beach, the bigger markets that are more touristy destinations.
So when Wichita comes onto their radar, I think they probably were a little bit hesitant, but I think they. They saw Jacob and I and, and saw the drive that we had and, And Took the chance on us.
[00:31:23] Speaker B: They.
[00:31:23] Speaker D: They did take kind of a gamble on us. I mean, like I said, I was 21, you were 22. No hospitality experience.
And Wichita's not like the market that they typically operate in. We're kind of.
We're the main franchisees in the Midwest right now. And one of the things that we did actually to kind of help make that deal happen was since we had no hospitality experience, John and I moved to Orlando, where they're headquartered, for three to four months and actually worked in their cafes as general managers. So we were there from open to close every day, even beyond that, like learning everything about how to run a restaurant. Then after that, we'd sit in our little condo in Florida and work on the restaurant build out here in Wichita and that real estate piece of it. And that was such a wild, fun ride, too. But they really kind of bet on us, and we're appreciative of that because, I mean, if you just look at us on paper, it's like, why would you let them do that? But then here we are, nine months into business, and I'd say they're pretty happy with what they're seeing.
[00:32:16] Speaker B: Yeah, well, that's great. And so they saw you and your commitment. I'm sure that's what did it. I mean, and. And of course, meeting you both.
[00:32:24] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:32:24] Speaker B: So that's great. So have you thought about writing a book?
[00:32:29] Speaker D: No.
[00:32:29] Speaker C: No, not yet. Not yet. I don't think we're there yet.
[00:32:32] Speaker B: Yeah, well, I mean, I say that just for a reason, really. But a lot of times people like you who have ended up where you are today is different. And so that's why I was asking that question. What is it in your.
There had to be something in your. In your. In your world when you were in high school or younger, that.
I think that's important for people to know and to tell that story. It's all about telling stories and how you. How you communicate that to people to get them excited. So, anyway, I just thought maybe.
You thought about that. All right, so last question. Sort of just a fun question.
Either one, whoever wants to go first, tell us about something that people just really don't know about you. I mean, I know a few things about you guys that are interesting, but what is it that. That. That the listeners would like to know about or you'd like them to. To know about? You.
[00:33:44] Speaker D: Gotta start.
[00:33:44] Speaker C: That's a. That's a bold, bold. Last question.
Just from a business aspect, I guess, we're open books.
If there's students out there, anybody in the industry or wherever that has questions or wants to help out or see what it's like to run a restaurant. We're open books.
We're really willing and able to share anything about the business. We've had students come up to us and say, hey, can we look at some of your data?
[00:34:16] Speaker B: So what you're saying is that you're approachable, and I do agree with that. Just getting to know you and being around you, your open book, but also approachable and, you know, just down to earth people. And that. That's. That's important.
[00:34:32] Speaker C: Yeah, that's what we try to be.
[00:34:34] Speaker B: Yeah. I would.
[00:34:35] Speaker D: I would say we realize this is bigger than us. Like, when he says we're an open book. We've documented this entire journey. I started when I was 16, and then you jumped in on it. But, like, this is all on YouTube, Instagram, my podcast. Like, we talk about the business since before we were even open. We were recording episodes in Florida, talking about how we were feeling leading up to this, what led to it, how things have happened as they did and transpired. Because we know the great amount of this isn't because of us. It's because people are willing to take chances on us. That's where I'd like to mention, like, we have incredible partners, like, with their backing and coming into this, like, they really helped another broken egg be willing to take that chance on us, you know, because we had someone else who believed in us, and it's really important to have people like that. So I think by hopefully us sharing what we're doing and being so open and transparent about it, hopefully that can kind of inspire more people to come up and give them a little bit of hope that they can do these things too. And, yeah, I think it's been an absolute blast. And John and I are always happy to help however we can.
[00:35:29] Speaker B: So I was actually also just knowing you all, that you engage in some different practices that might be unusual.
So I remember when I was on your podcast, you asked me, or maybe recording about if I do these ice baths.
[00:35:50] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:35:52] Speaker B: So tell me about why you do that.
[00:35:55] Speaker D: So we. We play the long game. Everything we conceptualize is like, what compounds and what will get you the best return on effort, on investment, on time, et cetera. And ice bath started because I run ultra marathons. It's an ice bath will help you recover, but it's also got great mental benefits. It calms anxiety. It helps you to relax, decompress. And one of the things for myself personally is like all these meetings. We first were getting started to rover drinks and getting a drink is fine, but it's like I don't know if I need to get a drink five times a week. And so for myself it's like how can I set up meetings that are sustainable and that make everyone better and where you get to know someone through a difficult challenge or process? So I'll often try and do meetings in a sauna, in an ice bath, on a run, lifting weights. I mean, you and I have had plenty of meetings literally in the sauna together. And it's very unconventional.
[00:36:42] Speaker B: Sauna sounds more align with what I'd want to do. I don't know about those ice baths. Those are so shocking.
[00:36:49] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:36:51] Speaker B: How often do you do stuff like that?
[00:36:53] Speaker D: At least once a week, I'd say.
[00:36:55] Speaker C: Yeah, as often as we can. I mean the ice bath in the summer is a little bit hard. You know, if you're going to do it outside, it's like a. It's like an hour thing and then all the ice is melted and you just have a cool bath at that point.
[00:37:08] Speaker B: Well, it's good talking to you. We are super proud of you as alums at Wichita State. And I know you're a state staying connected. But you know, we have other degree programs too that you might want to be interested. You might want to. You. You could be interested in graduate degrees and that sort of thing. And. And then of course, mentoring students would be awesome too. And it sounds like you're open to that as well. So it's good to see you.
We'll probably see you soon in the restaurant, so take care.
[00:37:38] Speaker D: Thank you, Dr. Mo.
[00:37:38] Speaker C: Thank you.
[00:37:39] Speaker A: Thanks again for joining me today. It's always great to see Shockers taking bold steps and bringing fresh energy and ideas back to the community.
If you want to learn more, check out another Broken Egg Cafe in northeast Wichita at K96 and North Oliver. Speaking of writing a book, I want to mention my new book, Student Centered Innovation Driven. It's a warts and all. Look at the choices and changes that have shaped Wichita State University into a place where students are at the center. Innovation drives our work and its impact ripples far beyond our campus. Visit Wichita for more information or to purchase your own copy. And thank you all for listening and be sure to rate, review and subscribe wherever you listen to the Forward Together podcast go Shockers.
[00:38:34] Speaker C: Sponsorship for the Forward Together podcast is provided by Scott Rice officeworks and the Shocker Store.
Additional thanks to Nair Amp WSU Carpentry shop and go create.
