THE NEXT CHAPTER

A Crazy Idea?

Way back in 2009 I found myself asking this question: If I could do anything in this life, what would it be??The answer wouldn’t leave me alone:?Build a plant-based fast-food restaurant chain.?Something like McDonalds, Burger King or Jack in the Box but 100% vegan.?It’s seemed like an insane idea at the time and there was no shortage of well-meaning friends and colleagues (all smarter than I) who confirmed that this might be just plain dumb.?But, what if working with a team of like-minded people I could be part of building a scalable business that offered millions of people the opportunity to experience delicious, plant-based meals in the convenient fast-food format they were already familiar with??And what if “regular folks” were exposed to the idea of a healthier, cruelty-free and ecologically friendly diet just by enjoying the plant-based version of a tasty burger, some fries, a 'milk' shake and some 'chicken' nuggets???What if team members could opt in for health insurance, be treated with genuine respect and work in a place where they could grow both personally and professionally? What if a group of inspired and committed individuals put together the right brand and the right team and demonstrated the viability of an entirely new plant-based fast-food paradigm? I literally remember where I was when this notion, once a nascent inkling of an idea, hit me like a tsunami.?That’s crazy, I thought to myself.?Where would I even start? After a few years of searching for partners who had the operational expertise I lacked, I met Mitch Wallis and Zach Vouga who strangely enough, were thinking exactly the same thing.

Manifestation

Flash forward to today: Working with my partners and an inspiring team of brilliant, revolutionary co-conspirators, Plant Power Fast Food now has 11 locations and hundreds of team members.?We’ve racked up over 60 million in sales, served more than four million guests and, assuming for a moment that 75% of our guests are omnivores, taken over 100,000 animals off the plate.??Not only that, but plant-based fast food is now actually “a thing”.??

Change

Being part of building Plant Power Fast Food with this extraordinary team has been one of the most exciting and soul satisfying things I’ve ever done.??Yet, as we all know, the one constant in life is change.???Effective November 29th,?2022 I no longer serve as the Chief Executive Officer and acting Chairman of the Board of the Plant Power Restaurant Group.?I expect to remain on the Board of Directors for a period of time to support the transition to new leadership.???Plant Power Co-founder, Chief Operating Officer and President Zach Vouga will serve as the interim Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder Mitch Wallis will continue as our Chief Legal Officer.??

It Takes a Village

I’m grateful beyond words to have had the opportunity to serve the community of team members, franchisees, advisors and investors who through their hard work, devotion, wise counsel (and sometimes cold hard cash) have given birth to and sustained this ambitious enterprise.??I've learned so much from each one of them. I’d like to express my heartfelt thanks to:?

Co-founders Mitch Wallis & Zach Vouga for their vision and dogged persistence.?

Passionate team members past and presenting including?Fabien Cervantes, Ed Har, Dan Lowe, Rita Ugarte, David Diekmann, Michelle Lange, Lori Bosserman, Jenny Ellsworth, Chase Nuttall, Zach Risinger Kym Matheny, Linda Abud, Manjary Levins, Andrew Koszkalda, Devin Dollinger, Keegan Dollinger, Eric Rousslet, Getzhel?Castellanos, Irma Soria-Garcia, Adrian Rodriguez, LaDana Reed, Marisol Jordan Sanchez, Tori Keeshin, Christina Hernandez, Jordan Vouga,?Luke Antunes, Steve Figliola,?Elber Herrera Villa, Tristan Cerenzie, Naseem Enser, Haley Boyd, and Jose Cabezas.? There are hundreds more who deserve recognition for their hard work and amazing contributions.

Brilliant franchise partners Gagan Batta, Aman Batta, Marty Sanders, Michelle Sanders & Robert Betz.?

Company and personal advisors including Robert Duskin, Don Robinson, Loren Wallis, Jeff Morgen, Moshe Engelberg, Frances Allen, Elysabeth Alfano, Prabhat Gautam, Yonatan Shemesh, Thomas Dollinger and of course my life partner Lani Reagan.?

I’d like to thank our generous and kind investor family however they are too numerous to mention here plus I’m not sure how many non-disclosure agreements I’d be breaking. You know who you are.??

The Future

I’m eager to watch Plant Power Fast Food continue to grow and prosper and fulfill its mission to revolutionize the fast-food industry with a healthier, cruelty-free, sustainable, plant-based alternative to traditional fast food.??I’m also excited about the next chapter of my own journey in the plant-based and sustainability segments.?

All of Us

If you’ve read this far, my apologies for boring you with the details of one person’s journey.?But in a way, all of our journeys, our successes and setbacks and our evolutionary breakthroughs are really not so different from each other.?Beyond what we think we might be doing, it’s really all about the movement from despair to hope, from non-alignment to alignment, from vision to manifestation and of course ultimately, from fear to love.? Always remember who you are.? Be bold. And if it feels right, go out there and change the world a little. We need you.

The Beatles summed it all up perfectly at the end of their Abbey Road album: “And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make.”?