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On his first day within the restaurant enterprise, Andrew Okay. Smith was the dishwasher.
Not the investor. Not the strategist. Not the man fixing tech stacks or analyzing labor margins. Simply the man on the sink, scrubbing trays, rinsing off sheet pans.
It wasn’t precisely what he had pictured when he instructed his spouse he was prepared for a brand new problem.
Right now, Smith is the managing companion and co-founder of Savory Fund, a restaurant funding agency recognized for serving to manufacturers scale nationally. However earlier than the boardrooms and portfolios, he began the place few buyers do: behind the dish pit.
Rewind a 12 months. His spouse had launched a bakery, a fast-casual dessert idea that opened in the midst of the 2008 monetary crash. Smith, nonetheless deep in his tech CEO function, did not precisely love the concept. “In my thoughts, I am like, that is the worst thought,” he now admits. “However you already know what I responded? I used to be like, ‘I feel it is an important thought. After all. And we must always completely do this.'”
It wasn’t sarcasm. It was marriage. And, as he places it, “due to that, I simply celebrated my twenty sixth anniversary.”
Associated: His Sushi Burger Obtained 50 Million Views — and Launched an Whole Enterprise
Quick-forward a 12 months, and his firm was steady. The bakery was bustling. And Smith was able to do one thing new. One thing much less theoretical. One thing actual. He known as his spouse and stated, “I feel I wish to come be a part of you within the restaurant enterprise.”
Her reply? “Good. My dishwasher simply known as out.”
In order that’s how Smith, a man who had bought firms, raised hundreds of thousands and constructed tech startups, walked away from the boardroom and stepped straight into the dish pit.
No enterprise playing cards. No title. Simply cleaning soap, steam and a head-first dive into restaurant life. It wasn’t glamorous, but it surely was the start. And ultimately, it led to the creation of Savory Fund.
How storytelling turned a development technique
In case your restaurant would not have a story, it would not have a model. That is Smith’s philosophy, and it is baked into all the things Savory Fund does. Earlier than the programs, funding and development playbook, there’s the story. Who’re you? Why do you exist? And why ought to anybody care?
“Storytelling is what galvanizes your client along with your model,” Smith says. “If you cannot clarify your function, it is a fairly hole enterprise.”
At Savory, storytelling is not fluff. It is foundational. It shapes how a model communicates, hires, markets, scales and builds tradition. From social media presence to inner coaching, it is the thread that holds all the things collectively.
However make no mistake. Savory is greater than a storytelling store. It is a severe development engine.
The agency combines greater than $750 million in belongings below administration with a confirmed operational playbook developed over 16 years within the restaurant business. Savory companions with high-potential, worthwhile, rising restaurant manufacturers and offers them greater than capital. It gives hands-on assist with operations, actual property, advertising and marketing, programs and coaching.
Savory’s workforce of greater than 85 folks contributes on to all points of development. The aim isn’t just enlargement, however sustainable replication. Founder involvement is a should. The early success of a restaurant typically hinges on instincts and insights that solely the founder can clarify. Savory helps translate that into scalable programs with out shedding what made the model matter within the first place.
It is a deeply private mission for Smith. His spouse, Shauna Okay. Smith, serves as CEO of Savory Fund and leads the cost on model assist and growth. Collectively, they’ve constructed an organization that does not simply put money into eating places. It invests within the individuals who make them work.
Household has at all times been central to that method.
When his sons had been youthful, Smith introduced them into his world — taking calls on the way in which to soccer observe, asking what they observed and realized. It wasn’t a balancing act between work and life. It was an intentional mix, designed to make each extra significant.
That mindset carries into how Savory works with founders. Enterprise ought to be private. And the very best manufacturers do not simply serve meals. They serve a function.
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