In this episode of the RealLifeSuperPowers podcast, we speak with Chef Guy Vaknin, a vegan entrepreneur, owner of Beyond Sushi – a NY Sushi Chain that currently serves over 2 million people.
Guy had a lot of experience working various jobs in the restaurant business. But before going all in he enrolled in college to study computer engineering. Then, like many entrepreneurs we speak with, the college system didn’t feel right and he dropped out after 3 months. In his unique case, his father, who was already in the business, encouraged him to drop out and join him in business.
6 years later, after working alongside his dad, who enabled and empowered him to fail and experience the real world, he felt ready to open up his own business and Beyond Sushi came to life. He realised there’s business potential in the vegetarian food business and despite most people around him telling him he’s insane, he took all his money, loaned more from his father and invested it all, fully believing in his idea. When he opened the first restaurant he had 1000 USD left in his bank account, it HAD to work or else he’d have to close and go back to working for his father.
Guy says that when you’re unique you draw attention. It’s then a matter of executing at a high level. He’s referring to the restaurant industry but we think this can be applied in all industries.
He’s a master at pitching. Not long ago he was on Shark Tank and got the sharks to invest 1.5 million dollars for 15% in Beyond Sushi and 30% in another business he’s working on. He shares insider tips on how to pitch. Among other things he says it’s important to show business potential and back it up with numbers “the numbers don’t lie”.
He knows how to combine creativeness with pragmatism, listening to him can be very inspiring for creatives trying to figure out how to ground their passion.
We hope you enjoy your listen.
Zooming out, if you like listening to this podcast, make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss new conversations with peak performers, serving as a reminder we can all tap into the best versions of ourselves.
You’re also welcome to follow Ronen and Noa on Linkedin
And if we may ask for a favor – please leave us a review on your native podcast app.
Some further resources:
In this episode, we’re excited to be joined by Donna Griffit, a world-renowned... Read more
E70 - Roy Gottlieb (Co-founder & CEO of a VC backed stealth cybersecurity startup) Read more
In this episode, we speak with Liron Azrielant, a Founding Managing Partner at... Read more
In this episode, we speak with Asaf Yanai, a visionary entrepreneur and the... Read more
In this special wartime episode, we speak with Asaf Shamly, a visionary entrepreneur... Read more
In this special episode, we’re pleased to have Andy Ram as our guest. ... Read more
