Outback Founder: How to Build a $4 Billion Company

Outback Steakhouse co-founder Chris Sullivan joins Nick Friedman to reveal how a plan for a nice little local company that might make $1 million a year turned into a $4 billion company, starting with the first Outback in Tampa in 1988. Chris breaks down how Outback grew through area joint venture partners and a managing partner program it called proprietors, how he kept partner turnover to about 5%, and how 50/50 joint ventures helped Outback add brands like Carrabba's. It's a conversation on entrepreneurship, leadership, culture, branding and franchising for founders, franchise owners, restaurant operators and business owners. Chris Sullivan is one of the four co-founders of Outback Steakhouse, along with Bob Basham, Tim Gannon and Trudy Cooper. Before Outback, he spent nine years at Steak and Ale, then ran Bennigan's with Bob Basham and grew it from 24 to 120 restaurants in three years. Tune into the full episodes: Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2paAXuH... Social Media: Instagram -   / hunkstalkingjunk   Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?... TikTok -   / hunkstalkingjunk   0:00 Intro 2:12 Early Life and Career Beginnings 7:29 Mentors Norman Brinker, Stephen Covey 10:01 Founding Outback Steakhouse 12:33 Joint Venture Partner Model 23:23 Building Culture, Avoiding Wobble 26:49 Carrabba's, Fleming's, and Roy's 33:03 The Bloomin' Onion Story 36:59 Taking Outback Public 40:44 Advice for Young Entrepreneurs