Raising Cane's: How Todd Graves Turned Rejection Into a Billion-Dollar Chicken Finger Empire
Banks said no. A professor flunked his plan. Todd Graves worked refineries and fished in Alaska to self-fund the first Raising Cane's near LSU in 1996. Today, the chicken-finger chain has 830+ restaurants, 60,000 crew, and big goals: 1,600+ locations and $10B in sales by decade’s end. Graves, now worth $17.2B, built a culture of quality, simple menus, and community giving.