Happy Thursday

Have you ever had an idea to build or create something, and you're so excited about it, but you do your diligence and realize it's not novel?  That lots of people have had the same idea, and there are already businesses doing it.  You see some Reddit threads about it, some news articles.  And then you table it.  

My conversation on the podcast with Jenn and Chat, founders of 55 Hospitality in NYC (Fish Cheeks, Bangkok Supper Club, and Buns Bakery), is a great example of this.

They opened a Thai Restaurant in NYC.  There are a lot of those in New York and most cities.  They had worked in some of the better ones, too.  It would be easy to say it's a crowded space, so why start another one?  But that is the beauty of being an entrepreneur.  You get to inject your unique perspective on something that people likely already have a preconceived notion of, and the great founders have a vision of the world that others just don't see.  

The hard part is sticking with it.  95% of people you share your idea with will tell you why it's a bad idea.  Why is it too much risk?  It's nothing new.  But when you have conviction coupled with perseverance and ability, those just become the signal that you're on to something special.  

Not only did Jenn and Chat create an incredible concept, but it also turns out to be a more true version of actual Thai food than existed before.  It took a lot of guts to stick with it.  And 10 years later, they are only growing faster.

They did the same thing again with an insight about gluten-free (and generally allergen-free) bakeries.  They did not accept that it could not be better, even though there are hundreds of gluten-free bakeries.  They put the same level of rigor, R&D, and detail into creating that concept, Bubs Bakery, and of course, it's an altogether new and delicious concept of its own now.  

They say ideas are not nearly as important as execution. This is 100% true.  But before you ever get to the execution of your idea, you have to have the belief in yourself that no matter how novel it is, you are going to make it your own and change people's perception altogether about it.   If we didn't have entrepreneurs doing this, we'd still be hailing cabs on the street, buying books from Borders, and stuck choosing between Pad Thai and Pad See Ew on Thai night.

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🎙️ The meez Podcast

Ming-Tai Huh on Square's 40% Layoff, the Restaurant Tech Stack, and the Dream of One Day Quantifying the ROI of Marketing.

Mike and I chased Ming-Tai Huh for three consecutive roles before this finally happened. He built Toast's online ordering and API platform over seven years, ran Square for Restaurants until Block cut 40% of the company in February, and owns Cambridge Street Hospitality, the largest independent restaurant group in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Very few people have both sold restaurant tech and bought it for their own restaurants at this level.

• Getting married in an unfinished restaurant, hot plates and all
• Block's 10,000 to 6,000: how much was AI, how much was COVID overhiring
• Consolidation vs point solutions, and what goes obsolete
• The restaurant agent Ming is building for his own group
• Why is the supply chain and procurement still a white space
• His five-year wish: true marketing ROI, ad spend to walk-in

👉 Listen to the episode

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🤔🌶️ Hot Take

No Idea Is Novel. Do It Anyway.

Two clips to check out and chime in on if you like from my conversation with Jenn and Chat.

👉 Watch Jenn and Chat on Bubs Bakery: Instagram or LinkedIn

👉 And on Fish Cheeks: Instagram or LinkedIn

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📔 Chef Notes

The Highlander Effect

I really resonated with Chef Greg Baxtrom's notion here.  It's obviously a bit of an aggressive visual lol, but it's a premise I have always lived by as well.  Every new venture we jump into and every room you enter, no matter how much experience or skill you have in other parts of your life, if you assume there is always something to learn from others, you'll walk out of that room and that venture knowing everything you already do, PLUS everything you can absorb from them.  And it compounds over time.

Greg worked for Chef Grant Achatz at Alinea, Chef Thomas Keller at Per Se, and Chef Dan Barber at Stone Barns before opening his own spots.  He treated every one of those kitchens the same way: accumulate the knowledge, then move on. He calls it the Highlander effect. "I cut off Grant Achatz's head, I cut off Dan Barber's head, and I get all their knowledge."

Once he could make their food and really do a good job of it, there was no reason to stay.  There are varying beliefs on this.  I remember Chef Gavin Kaysen sharing that he believes there is also tremendous value in spending the lion's share of your time with one mentor and developing a deep relationship.  Both approaches are great.  But if you are not thinking about everything you can be absorbing and learning wherever you are, you're certainly wasting time, no matter how long you stay.

👉 Watch the clip on Instagram or LinkedIn

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Recipe:

Lemongrass Kaffir Lime Marinade

The July 4th weekend is coming up.  This is another one of my all-time favorite marinades.  

Don't worry if you can't get Kaffir lime leaves (aka Makrut).  Just use an extra stalk of lemongrass and some lime zest.  If you don't have coriander seed, that's ok too.  And if you don't have whole peppercorns to toast, just fresh-crack pepper into the blender.  

This marinade is best with shellfish, firm whitefish, or chicken (spatchcock is great or thighs), or pork belly or shoulder.  Also great for a whole suckling pig if you're into that.  Ideally, you are grilling this, and even more ideally, you're doing that over open fire or coals.  But totally fine if it's in a pan.  It may be my all-time favorite marinade.

👉 Get the full recipe on meez

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💬 Want to Be a Guest on The meez Podcast?

If you’re building at scale, or wrestling with hard zero-to-one problems worth talking about, I’d love to hear from you.

Apply to be a guest or nominate someone we should talk to.

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