Nick Kokonas - Know What You Are Selling – [Founder’s Field Guide, Forever Episode] | Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy podcast - Listen or read transcript on Metacast
Nick Kokonas - Know What You Are Selling – [Founder’s Field Guide, Forever Episode]
Today, we are running a special episode from our show Founder's Field Guide. In this conversation, Nick Kokonas shares his experience of bringing a business mindset to the restaurant industry. It is one of our favorites at Colossus and there is something for everyone in this timeless conversation. Nick is the co-founder of 3 of the best restaurants and bars in America - Alinea, Next, and The Aviary as well as the co-founder and CEO of Tock, a comprehensive booking system for restaurants. He majored in philosophy before becoming a derivatives trader and is now one of the most well-known names in the hospitality industry.
Listen to Founders Podcast
Founders Episode 311: James Cameron
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.
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Show Notes
(3:02) – (First question) – Why he thinks it’s so important to own something
(4:35) – Make decisions that have outcomes
(7:00) – His interest in the restaurant business
(8:54) – Why restaurants are so tough
(12:05) – How their business mindset changed their running of the restaurant
(14:35) – Words they would avoid in the restaurant
(16:19) – Asking the right questions in the restaurant business
(20:40) – Importance in taking the right risks
(22:02) – Coming up with innovative strategies for ticketing, selling meals ahead of time, and dynamic pricing
(30:08) – Can dynamic pricing be extended to other businesses
(31:20) – Origin of Tock
(36:17) – Early days of Tock and identifying the right customers/challenges
(41:33) – Importance of the first customer
(44:22) – The typical restaurant business model
(49:23) – Lessons from Tock and the importance of knowing what your selling
(53:47) – Lessons from publishing
(55:44) – Other aspects of business that people know but do nothing about
(1:00:19) – Their response to Covid and lessons learned
(1:07:43) – The real impact to the food delivery companies
(1:09:24) – How businesses communicate their end processes to their customers
(1:14:07) – Kindest thing anyone has done for him
![Nick Kokonas - Know What You Are Selling – [Founder’s Field Guide, Forever Episode] - podcast episode cover](https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/0fa154a0-3abc-11ee-b4a2-dffebed1c6d0/image/e83897.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress)
