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Chad Walldorf had just graduated college when he and two high school friends decided to open a restaurant. With little prior experience, they created the first Sticky Fingers restaurant in Mount Pleasant, SC and grew it from one restaurant to sixteen locations with one thousand employees across five states just fifteen years later. The three founders started without much experience, but constantly learned and grew as the business developed. Along the way, Chad and his partners exemplified the eagerness to learn and the drive required to succeed as an entrepreneur. On this episode, Chad tells his story of starting and growing a successful restaurant chain with two close friends. He shares about why they decided to sell and his offers his lessons learned about what it takes to succeed as a leader, manager, and entrepreneur while growing a thriving business. Covered in this episode: The origin story of Sticky Fingers Starting a restaurant with no prior experience Learning by doing as an entrepreneur Working with friends The advantage of being young and naive Growing from one to sixteen locations When is the right time to sell? How do you create great company culture? How do you hire great people? What do most franchisees and entrepreneurs need to know, but don’t know