Jonathan Neman's guest appearances

Jonathan Neman

How I Built This with Guy Raz

Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy

Finding Mastery

Recode Replay

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

The Forbes Interview

The Creative Muscle

Secret Leaders with Dan Murray-Serter

Inc. Founders Project with Alexa von Tobel 

Foundation

Grit

The Peel

Tony Xu

Steve Case

Stewart Butterfield

Aaron Levie

Philip Krim

Katrina Lake

Matt Mullenweg

Will Ahmed

Howie Liu

Marcelo Claure

Ben Lerer

John Collison

Ali Ghodsi

Rahul Vohra

Vlad Tenev

OwlTail

Jonathan Neman is Co-Founder &amp; CEO of Sweetgreen, an American fast casual restaurant chain that serves salads. Jonathan and his co-founders started the company in 2007, opening their first restaurant just three months out of college. Sweetgreen opened its second and third locations in the middle of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, and went public in 2021 in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sweetgreen’s focus on locally sourced quality ingredients has built it into a national brand with more than 200 restaurants across the US. Brought to you by Secureframe, the automated compliance platform built by compliance experts: https://secureframe.com/request-demo-4?utm_source=partner&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=062023-thesplit In this episode, we discuss:- How the restaurant industry actually works- How the US food system leads to over $2 trillion in indirect healthcare and environmental costs- Sweetgreen’s origin story- The early constraints that led to Sweetgreen’s ingenious business model- Launching a music festival headlined by Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd, and The Strokes- Killing a major product line to double down on online ordering in 2015- How to build an enduring brand- Sweetgreen’s new salad subscription and gamified loyalty program- The surprising benefits of Sweetgreen’s new automated Infinite Kitchen- How the best entrepreneurs never give up Read the transcript: https://www.thespl.it/p/the-peel-episode-1-building-mcdonalds Where to find Jonathan:Twitter https://twitter.com/jonnynemoLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-neman-9a28aa8/ Where to find Turner:Newsletter: https://www.thespl.itwitter: https://twitter.com/TurnerNovakLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/TurnerNovakYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePeelPodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/ThePeelPodTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ThePeelPodcast Timestamps:(2:35) The state of the restaurant industry since 2007(6:03) How COVID-19 changed the restaurant industry(9:05) The bad incentives holding back the US health system(10:58) How Sweetgreen built a local AND national brand(13:07) How he made $40,000 a year in high school(15:30) How a stint in Australia inspired Sweetgreen(17:45) Sweetgreen’s 50-person friends &amp; family round(20:14) Challenges of opening the first restaurant(21:58) How a tiny 500-square-foot restaurant unlocked Sweetgreen's success(22:50) When sales suddenly dropped 70%(23:40) The moment he realized he wanted to start his own business(26:23) Opening early restaurants during the Global Financial Crisis(27:35) Using a farmer's market to start a music festival and promote Sweetgreen(29:49) Landing Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd and The Strokes as festival headliners(32:41) Why they shut down their second-largest product line(35:16) Launching Sweetpass (a gamified loyalty program)(38:19) Launching Infinite Kitchen (a fully automated restaurant)(42:05) Online ordering trends(44:13) The challenge with customizable food(45:36) Using automation to reduce preparation error rates(46:50) Acquiring a startup built by MIT grad students(49:04) The surprising benefits of Infinite Kitchen(52:25) The key to making healthy food accessible(53:30) Unfortunate facts of the US food system(57:25) How to “do the right thing” AND maximize profits(59:58) His favorite board game is...(60:52) We need to stop glamorizing overnight success Read the full transcript: https://www.thespl.it/p/the-peel-episode-1-building-mcdonalds Production and distribution by: https://www.supermix.io For sponsorship inquiries: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSebvhBlDDfHJyQdQWs8RwpFxWg-UbG0H-VFey05QSHvLxkZPQ/viewform

Jonathan Neman is Co-Founder &amp; CEO of Sweetgreen, an American fast casual restaurant chain that serves salads. Jonathan and his co-founders started the company in 2007, opening their first restaurant just three months out of college. Sweetgreen opened its second and third locations in the middle of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, and went public in 2021 in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sweetgreen’s focus on locally sourced quality ingredients has built it into a national brand with more than 200 restaurants across the US. Brought to you by Secureframe, the automated compliance platform built by compliance experts: <a href="https://secureframe.com/request-demo-4?utm_source=partner&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=062023-thesplit" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://secureframe.com/request-demo-4?utm_source=partner&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=062023-thesplit</a> In this episode, we discuss: - How the restaurant industry actually works - How the US food system leads to over $2 trillion in indirect healthcare and environmental costs - Sweetgreen’s origin story - The early constraints that led to Sweetgreen’s ingenious business model - Launching a music festival headlined by Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd, and The Strokes - Killing a major product line to double down on online ordering in 2015 - How to build an enduring brand - Sweetgreen’s new salad subscription and gamified loyalty program - The surprising benefits of Sweetgreen’s new automated Infinite Kitchen - How the best entrepreneurs never give up Read the transcript: <a href="https://www.thespl.it/p/the-peel-episode-1-building-mcdonalds" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.thespl.it/p/the-peel-episode-1-building-mcdonalds</a> Where to find Jonathan: Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/jonnynemo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/jonnynemo</a> LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-neman-9a28aa8/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-neman-9a28aa8/</a> Where to find Turner: Newsletter: <a href="https://www.thespl.it" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.thespl.it</a> witter: <a href="https://twitter.com/TurnerNovak" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/TurnerNovak</a> LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/TurnerNovak" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/TurnerNovak</a> YouTube: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@ThePeelPod" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/@ThePeelPod</a> Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/ThePeelPod" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/ThePeelPod</a> TikTok: <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@ThePeelPodcast" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.tiktok.com/@ThePeelPodcast</a> Timestamps: (2:35) The state of the restaurant industry since 2007 (6:03) How COVID-19 changed the restaurant industry (9:05) The bad incentives holding back the US health system (10:58) How Sweetgreen built a local AND national brand (13:07) How he made $40,000 a year in high school (15:30) How a stint in Australia inspired Sweetgreen (17:45) Sweetgreen’s 50-person friends &amp; family round (20:14) Challenges of opening the first restaurant (21:58) How a tiny 500-square-foot restaurant unlocked Sweetgreen's success (22:50) When sales suddenly dropped 70% (23:40) The moment he realized he wanted to start his own business (26:23) Opening early restaurants during the Global Financial Crisis (27:35) Using a farmer's market to start a music festival and promote Sweetgreen (29:49) Landing Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd and The Strokes as festival headliners (32:41) Why they shut down their second-largest product line (35:16) Launching Sweetpass (a gamified loyalty program) (38:19) Launching Infinite Kitchen (a fully automated restaurant) (42:05) Online ordering trends (44:13) The challenge with customizable food (45:36) Using automation to reduce preparation error rates (46:50) Acquiring a startup built by MIT grad students (49:04) The surprising benefits of Infinite Kitchen (52:25) The key to making healthy food accessible (53:30) Unfortunate facts of the US food system (57:25) How to “do the right thing” AND maximize profits (59:58) His favorite board game is... (60:52) We need to stop glamorizing overnight success Read the full transcript: <a href="https://www.thespl.it/p/the-peel-episode-1-building-mcdonalds" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.thespl.it/p/the-peel-episode-1-building-mcdonalds</a> Production and distribution by: <a href="https://www.supermix.io" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.supermix.io</a> For sponsorship inquiries: <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSebvhBlDDfHJyQdQWs8RwpFxWg-UbG0H-VFey05QSHvLxkZPQ/viewform" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSebvhBlDDfHJyQdQWs8RwpFxWg-UbG0H-VFey05QSHvLxkZPQ/viewform</a>

Building McDonald’s for the Next Generation | Jonathan Neman (Co-founder and CEO, Sweetgreen)

Jonathan Neman is the Co-Founder and CEO of Sweetgreen, a farm-to-table restaurant chain making fast food healthy.Unless you’re one of our American listeners, you probably won’t be familiar with Sweetgreen but they’re a staple of the LA, New York and Washington food scenes. They’ve got over 200 sites across the country.You probably don’t think of salad and tech in the same sentence but Sweetgreen love a bit of tech.They’ve run pilots to test the viability of blockchain technology to track and trace their ingredients and stock. And, having acquired a robotics startup in 2021, they’re now creating an automated restaurant where robots will prepare ingredients which are then assembled by human chefs. Pretty wild.Where is the restaurant industry heading?---------------We'd love your feedbackhello@secretleaders.com---------------Sponsor links:evelyn.com/secretleaders/vorboss.com/secretleaderspersonio.com/secretleadersvanta.com/secretleaders

Jonathan Neman is the Co-Founder and CEO of Sweetgreen, a farm-to-table restaurant chain making fast food healthy.Unless you’re one of our American listeners, you probably won’t be familiar with Sweetgreen but they’re a staple of the LA, New York and Washington food scenes. They’ve got over 200 sites across the country.You probably don’t think of salad and tech in the same sentence but Sweetgreen love a bit of tech.They’ve run pilots to test the viability of blockchain technology to track and trace their ingredients and stock. And, having acquired a robotics startup in 2021, they’re now creating an automated restaurant where robots will prepare ingredients which are then assembled by human chefs. Pretty wild.Where is the restaurant industry heading? ---------------We'd love your feedbackhello@secretleaders.com---------------Sponsor links:<a href="https://www.evelyn.com/campaigns/secret-leaders/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">evelyn.com/secretleaders/</a><a href="https://eu1.hubs.ly/H02drBk0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">vorboss.com/secretleaders</a><a href="https://personio.com/secretleaders" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">personio.com/secretleaders</a><a href="https://vanta.com/secretleaders" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">vanta.com/secretleaders</a>

Sweetgreen: How to make a $1b farm-to-table restaurant chain, with Founder Jonathan Neman

When Sweetgreen CEO Jonathan Neman and his co-founders opened their second-ever store, it was a “complete mess.” Located in Washington D.C.’s Dupont Circle and opening in the middle of the Great Recession, it was clearing less than $1000 per day at first. But Neman &amp; co turned that crisis into opportunity the only way three 23-year-olds knew how: They bought a big speaker, started blasting music in the park, and turned their sleepy storefront into a party. That desperate play underscored one of Sweetgreen’s core values that they still work towards today: Healthy living can be fun.In this episode, Jonathan and Joubin discuss Sweetgreen’s new office, its new tofu, avocado volatility, frozen yogurt, Persian families, the power of capitalism, the “House of Equilibrium,” the problem with franchising, healthy music festivals, scalable brands, people-driven companies, giving workers equity, “Behind the Greens,” overachievers, building a better McDonalds, and “conscious achievers.”In this episode, we cover: Where the name Sweetgreen came from (05:42) Online ordering and the “second line” (08:34) Jonathan’s family and post-COVID attitudes about work (11:30) Returning to the office (17:20) Jonathan’s brief detour to Bain &amp; Company, and the difference between entrepreneurs and consultants (20:58) The unusual way Sweetgreen raised its first several rounds, and scaling sustainably (27:00) Turning crisis into opportunity, and the Sweetlife Festival (33:10) Winning your category vs. becoming a lifestyle brand (37:40) Why Sweetgreen calls the general managers of its stores “head coaches,” and gives them equity (44:20) The health journeys of Sweetgreen’s staff, and the importance of the fundamentals (47:24) Shifting Sweetgreen’s strategic focus to build the restaurant company of the future (53:09) COVID-19 and “getting your ass kicked” (55:05) Letting go as a founder (59:51) Links: Connect with JonathanLinkedIn  Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com    Learn more about Kleiner Perkins This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm 

When Sweetgreen CEO Jonathan Neman and his co-founders opened their second-ever store, it was a “complete mess.” Located in Washington D.C.’s Dupont Circle and opening in the middle of the Great Recession, it was clearing less than $1000 per day at first. But Neman &amp; co turned that crisis into opportunity the only way three 23-year-olds knew how: They bought a big speaker, started blasting music in the park, and turned their sleepy storefront into a party. That desperate play underscored one of Sweetgreen’s core values that they still work towards today: Healthy living can be fun.In this episode, Jonathan and Joubin discuss Sweetgreen’s new office, its new tofu, avocado volatility, frozen yogurt, Persian families, the power of capitalism, the “House of Equilibrium,” the problem with franchising, healthy music festivals, scalable brands, people-driven companies, giving workers equity, “Behind the Greens,” overachievers, building a better McDonalds, and “conscious achievers.”In this episode, we cover:<ul> <li>Where the name Sweetgreen came from (05:42)</li> <li>Online ordering and the “second line” (08:34)</li> <li>Jonathan’s family and post-COVID attitudes about work (11:30)</li> <li>Returning to the office (17:20)</li> <li>Jonathan’s brief detour to Bain &amp; Company, and the difference between entrepreneurs and consultants (20:58)</li> <li>The unusual way Sweetgreen raised its first several rounds, and scaling sustainably (27:00)</li> <li>Turning crisis into opportunity, and the Sweetlife Festival (33:10)</li> <li>Winning your category vs. becoming a lifestyle brand (37:40)</li> <li>Why Sweetgreen calls the general managers of its stores “head coaches,” and gives them equity (44:20)</li> <li>The health journeys of Sweetgreen’s staff, and the importance of the fundamentals (47:24)</li> <li>Shifting Sweetgreen’s strategic focus to build the restaurant company of the future (53:09)</li> <li>COVID-19 and “getting your ass kicked” (55:05)</li> <li>Letting go as a founder (59:51)</li> </ul>Links:<ul> <li>Connect with Jonathan<ul><li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-neman-9a28aa8/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a></li></ul> </li> <li>Connect with Joubin<ul> <li><a href="https://twitter.com/Joubinmir" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/joubin-mirzadegan-66186854/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a></li> <li>Email: <a href="grit@kleinerperkins.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">grit@kleinerperkins.com</a> </li> </ul> </li> <li><a href="https://www.kleinerperkins.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Learn more about Kleiner Perkins</a></li> <li>This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from <a href="https://lightningpod.fm/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LightningPod.fm</a> </li></ul>

Co-founder & CEO Sweetgreen, Jonathan Neman: The Restaurant Company of the Future

Founder Jonathan Neman

Jonathan Neman is Co-Founder &amp; CEO of Sweetgreen, the mission-driven restaurant brand that serves healthy food at scale. Alongside his co-founders, Jon has scaled Sweetgreen from one small restaurant to one of the US' leading food brands with over 5,000 employees, over 140 locations and $300M+ in revenue. If that was not enough, Jon is also an active board member of MeUndies.   In Today’s Episode with Jonathan Neman You Will Learn:   1.) How Jon took the decision to leave his "dream job" as a consultant at Bain to start Sweetgreen? What did his Bain boss tell him that persuaded Jon it was the right decision to leave? How does Jon think about and advise people when it comes to choosing the safe vs the risky path?   2.) How Sweetgreen was not an Overnight Success:    At what moment did Jon really not think that Sweetgreen would make it? Why? How did he deal with those moments of intense stress and pressure? How does Jon test for true grit and resilience both in hires and in founders today?    3.) Brand + Capital + Business Strategy:    How does Jon think deeply about what brand means today? What did Sweetgreen do right when it comes to their brand building? How did they marry art and science in the right way? What do the unit economics look like on a per store basis? What is the payback period on a per store basis? How has this changed over time? How does the store design impact the profit per store? How has store design changed over time? What have been some of the biggest lessons in terms of when, where and how to open new stores?    4.) Leading Through COVID:    What were some of Jon's biggest lessons from leading a consumer brand through COVID What were some of the toughest elements for Jon? How did he overcome them? How can founders bring people along with their thought process and inspire? Who is Jon's biggest mentor? What has he learned from them?    Item’s Mentioned In Today’s Episode with Jonathan Neman   Jon’s Favourite Book: Thinking, Fast and Slow: Daniel Kahneman

<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-neman-9a28aa8/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jonathan Neman</a> is Co-Founder &amp; CEO of <a href="https://www.sweetgreen.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sweetgreen</a>, the mission-driven restaurant brand that serves healthy food at scale. Alongside his co-founders, Jon has scaled Sweetgreen from one small restaurant to one of the US' leading food brands with over 5,000 employees, over 140 locations and $300M+ in revenue. If that was not enough, Jon is also an active board member of MeUndies. In Today’s Episode with Jonathan Neman You Will Learn: 1.) How Jon took the decision to leave his "dream job" as a consultant at Bain to start Sweetgreen? What did his Bain boss tell him that persuaded Jon it was the right decision to leave? How does Jon think about and advise people when it comes to choosing the safe vs the risky path? 2.) How Sweetgreen was not an Overnight Success: <ul> <li>At what moment did Jon really not think that Sweetgreen would make it? Why?</li> <li>How did he deal with those moments of intense stress and pressure?</li> <li>How does Jon test for true grit and resilience both in hires and in founders today?</li> </ul> 3.) Brand + Capital + Business Strategy: <ul> <li>How does Jon think deeply about what brand means today?</li> <li>What did Sweetgreen do right when it comes to their brand building? How did they marry art and science in the right way?</li> <li>What do the unit economics look like on a per store basis? What is the payback period on a per store basis? How has this changed over time?</li> <li>How does the store design impact the profit per store? How has store design changed over time?</li> <li>What have been some of the biggest lessons in terms of when, where and how to open new stores?</li> </ul> 4.) Leading Through COVID: <ul> <li>What were some of Jon's biggest lessons from leading a consumer brand through COVID</li> <li>What were some of the toughest elements for Jon? How did he overcome them?</li> <li>How can founders bring people along with their thought process and inspire?</li> <li>Who is Jon's biggest mentor? What has he learned from them?</li> </ul> Item’s Mentioned In Today’s Episode with Jonathan Neman Jon’s Favourite Book: <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/0141033576" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Thinking, Fast and Slow: Daniel Kahneman</a>

20VC: Sweetgreen Founder Jonathan Neman on Leadership Lessons from Managing Through COVID, The Importance of Failing Fast and Iterating & How the Best Leaders Bring Together Brand, Capital Allocation and Strategy

My guest this week is Jonathan Neman, the co-founder and CEO of Sweetgreen. Sweetgreen is a fast-casual restaurant chain that Jonathan co-founded in 2007 during their senior year at Georgetown when he realized they couldn't find a healthy, affordable, and convenient place to eat. Today, Sweetgreen operates in 11 markets and will have about 160 restaurants across the US by the end of 2021. In our conversation, we cover the origins of Sweetgreen and how it builds a direct relationship with its customers, how Jonathan thinks restaurants should work with marketplaces like DoorDash, and the economics of operating restaurants. While Sweetgreen is primarily a restaurant concept, Jonathan brings a tech-first mindset to the food industry, focusing less on single-store economics and more about customer lifetime value and the importance of owning the relationship with the customer. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Jonathan Neman.   For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page  here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. Klaviyo is the ultimate marketing platform for e-commerce. With targeted segmentation, email automation, SMS marketing, and more, Klaviyo helps you create your ideal customer experience.    See why Klaviyo is trusted by more than 50,000 brands, like Living Proof, Solo Stove, and Nomad to help them grow their business. For a free trial, check out klaviyo.com/founders.  ----- This episode is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. With LinkedIn, you get access to an active community of professionals with more than 722 million members worldwide. LinkedIn is the easiest place in the world to post a job and message qualified candidates. Getting started is easier than ever, and now you can do this all from your mobile device.    When your business is ready to make that next hire, find the right person with LinkedIn Jobs. And now, you can post a job for free. Just visit linkedin.com/fieldguide to post a job for free. Terms and conditions apply.  ----- Founder's Field Guide is a property of Colossus, Inc. For more episodes of Founder's Field Guide, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.   Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.   Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus   Show Notes [00:03:04] - [First question] - The origins of Sweetgreen [00:05:47] - Something they did from a position of naivete, working their supply chain [00:07:18] - Most common reason restaurants go wrong [00:08:35] - Building the first restaurant and lessons along the way  [00:12:22] - Effective menu building [00:14:36] - The Sweetgreen network and how they view the restaurant as a network [00:21:05] - What their digital business means compared to other restaurant businesses [00:23:55] - How they have improved at converting people into their ecosystem [00:27:40] - Creating win-win partnerships [00:29:12] - The pros/cons of the marketplaces in the food industry [00:32:58] - The general economics of a restaurant [00:36:58] - Allocating capital differently when the focus is the customer and not the store [00:39:36] - How tech trends aimed at improving personal health plays into Sweetgreen’s plans [00:45:11] - Their focus on sustainability for the business [00:47:56] - The core values of ‘Add the Sweet Touch’ and ‘Live the Sweet Life’ [00:50:18] - Kindest thing anyone has done for him [00:51:38] -  Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time

My guest this week is Jonathan Neman, the co-founder and CEO of Sweetgreen. Sweetgreen is a fast-casual restaurant chain that Jonathan co-founded in 2007 during their senior year at Georgetown when he realized they couldn't find a healthy, affordable, and convenient place to eat. Today, Sweetgreen operates in 11 markets and will have about 160 restaurants across the US by the end of 2021. In our conversation, we cover the origins of Sweetgreen and how it builds a direct relationship with its customers, how Jonathan thinks restaurants should work with marketplaces like DoorDash, and the economics of operating restaurants. While Sweetgreen is primarily a restaurant concept, Jonathan brings a tech-first mindset to the food industry, focusing less on single-store economics and more about customer lifetime value and the importance of owning the relationship with the customer. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Jonathan Neman. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page <a href="https://www.joincolossus.com/episodes/94245865/neman-building-the-modern-restaurant" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> here</a>. ----- This episode is brought to you by <a href="https://www.klaviyo.com/founders" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Klaviyo</a>. Klaviyo is the ultimate marketing platform for e-commerce. With targeted segmentation, email automation, SMS marketing, and more, Klaviyo helps you create your ideal customer experience.  See why Klaviyo is trusted by more than 50,000 brands, like Living Proof, Solo Stove, and Nomad to help them grow their business. For a free trial, check out <a href="https://www.klaviyo.com/founders" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">klaviyo.com/founders</a>.  ----- This episode is brought to you by <a href="http://linkedin.com/fieldguide" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn Jobs</a>. With LinkedIn, you get access to an active community of professionals with more than 722 million members worldwide. LinkedIn is the easiest place in the world to post a job and message qualified candidates. Getting started is easier than ever, and now you can do this all from your mobile device.  When your business is ready to make that next hire, find the right person with LinkedIn Jobs. And now, you can post a job for free. Just visit <a href="http://linkedin.com/fieldguide" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">linkedin.com/fieldguide</a> to post a job for free. Terms and conditions apply.  ----- Founder's Field Guide is a property of Colossus, Inc. For more episodes of Founder's Field Guide, visit <a href="https://www.joincolossus.com/episodes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">joincolossus.com/episodes</a>. Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up <a href="https://www.joincolossus.com/newsletter" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>. Follow us on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/patrick_oshag" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@patrick_oshag</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/JoinColossus" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@JoinColossus</a> Show Notes [00:03:04] - [First question] - The origins of Sweetgreen [00:05:47] - Something they did from a position of naivete, working their supply chain [00:07:18] - Most common reason restaurants go wrong [00:08:35] - Building the first restaurant and lessons along the way  [00:12:22] - Effective menu building [00:14:36] - The Sweetgreen network and how they view the restaurant as a network [00:21:05] - What their digital business means compared to other restaurant businesses [00:23:55] - How they have improved at converting people into their ecosystem [00:27:40] - Creating win-win partnerships [00:29:12] - The pros/cons of the marketplaces in the food industry [00:32:58] - The general economics of a restaurant [00:36:58] - Allocating capital differently when the focus is the customer and not the store [00:39:36] - How tech trends aimed at improving personal health plays into Sweetgreen’s plans [00:45:11] - Their focus on sustainability for the business [00:47:56] - The core values of ‘Add the Sweet Touch’ and ‘Live the Sweet Life’ [00:50:18] - Kindest thing anyone has done for him [00:51:38] - <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Never-Eat-Alone-Secrets-Relationship/dp/0385512058" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time</a>

Jonathan Neman - Building the Modern Restaurant - [Founder’s Field Guide, EP. 24]

Nicolas Jammet

Nicolas Jammet and Jonathan Neman met at Georgetown University in 2003 and quickly bonded over their frustration at the lack of healthy food on campus. So during their senior year, along with a third friend, Nathaniel Ru, they decided to open a 500 square-foot restaurant serving fresh salads made with organic produce. They had no idea what they were doing and almost ran out of money five months in. But today, Sweetgreen has over 100 locations, and is using new technology to re-imagine the fast-casual model, even as it faces unprecedented challenges from the coronavirus crisis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nicolas Jammet and Jonathan Neman met at Georgetown University in 2003 and quickly bonded over their frustration at the lack of healthy food on campus. So during their senior year, along with a third friend, Nathaniel Ru, they decided to open a 500 square-foot restaurant serving fresh salads made with organic produce. They had no idea what they were doing and almost ran out of money five months in. But today, Sweetgreen has over 100 locations, and is using new technology to re-imagine the fast-casual model, even as it faces unprecedented challenges from the coronavirus crisis. See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Sweetgreen: Nicolas Jammet and Jonathan Neman

In this episode: Jonathan Newman, Co-Founder, and CEO of Sweetgreen shares how to build a brand that stands out, scaling to 100+ restaurants, building a Sweetgreen OS to adapt to food delivery, and challenges and lessons learned along the way.

In this episode: Jonathan Newman, Co-Founder, and CEO of Sweetgreen shares how to build a brand that stands out, scaling to 100+ restaurants, building a Sweetgreen OS to adapt to food delivery, and challenges and lessons learned along the way.

Jonathan Neman, CEO, Sweetgreen

After meeting as freshmen at Georgetown, Jonathan and his two-cofounders set out to open a healthy fast food restaurant in a 500 square feet storefront. From those quaint beginnings, Sweetgreen has grown into a massive food platform, with over 100+ locations and 200+ outposts. Jonathan shares why authenticity is core to the brand, why their inexperience actually enabled innovation, and how he thinks about falling on the right side of this equation: as companies get bigger, they either get better or worse.

After meeting as freshmen at Georgetown, Jonathan and his two-cofounders set out to open a healthy fast food restaurant in a 500 square feet storefront. From those quaint beginnings, Sweetgreen has grown into a massive food platform, with over 100+ locations and 200+ outposts. Jonathan shares why authenticity is core to the brand, why their inexperience actually enabled innovation, and how he thinks about falling on the right side of this equation: as companies get bigger, they either get better or worse.

How to Build Community, with Jonathan Neman of Sweetgreen

This week’s conversation is with Jonathan Neman, Co-Founder &amp; CEO of sweetgreen, the destination for simple, seasonal, healthy real food.Jonathan and his co-founders Nathaniel Ru and Nicolas Jammet started sweetgreen in 2007, opening their first location in Georgetown, DC, just three months out of college.The mission driven brand's strong food ethos, embodiment of passion and purpose, tech-forward thinking and investment in local communities has enabled sweetgreen to disrupt the fast casual space and grow into a national brand with over 90 locations.Jonathan passionately believes in the democratization of real food - it should be convenient and accessible to everyone, which is why sweetgreen is on a mission to build healthier communities by connecting people to real food.He has been recognized as a key innovator in food and business, named to Fast Company's "50 Most Innovative Companies", Inc’s “30 Under 30”, Forbes’ “30 Under 30” and Food &amp; Wine’s “40 Big Food Thinkers 40 and Under,” among other accolades.I wanted to speak with Jonathan because I went to his restaurant in New York City, loved the vibe.I wanted to understand how it was built and sure enough, you'll get a feel for just how thoughtfully they've curated their business.--------------Please support our partners!We're able to keep growing and creating content for YOU because of their support. We believe in their mission and would appreciate you supporting them in return!!Click here for all links and codes to take advantage of deals from our partners.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week’s conversation is with Jonathan Neman, Co-Founder &amp; CEO of sweetgreen, the destination for simple, seasonal, healthy real food.Jonathan and his co-founders Nathaniel Ru and Nicolas Jammet started sweetgreen in 2007, opening their first location in Georgetown, DC, just three months out of college.The mission driven brand's strong food ethos, embodiment of passion and purpose, tech-forward thinking and investment in local communities has enabled sweetgreen to disrupt the fast casual space and grow into a national brand with over 90 locations.Jonathan passionately believes in the democratization of real food - it should be convenient and accessible to everyone, which is why sweetgreen is on a mission to build healthier communities by connecting people to real food.He has been recognized as a key innovator in food and business, named to Fast Company's "50 Most Innovative Companies", Inc’s “30 Under 30”, Forbes’ “30 Under 30” and Food &amp; Wine’s “40 Big Food Thinkers 40 and Under,” among other accolades.I wanted to speak with Jonathan because I went to his restaurant in New York City, loved the vibe.I wanted to understand how it was built and sure enough, you'll get a feel for just how thoughtfully they've curated their business.-------------- Please support our partners!We're able to keep growing and creating content for YOU because of their support. We believe in their mission and would appreciate you supporting them in return!!Click <a href="https://findingmastery.net/partner/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a> for all links and codes to take advantage of deals from our partners. See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Jonathan Neman, sweetgreen Co-Founder and CEO

No one believed three college students could take a desire for fast, healthy food and turn it into a successful business and community. Jonathan Neman, cofounder and CEO of Sweetgreen, talks about living the sweetlife, while staying true to the company’s core value: win, win, win. Create solutions where the company wins the customer wins and the community wins.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

No one believed three college students could take a desire for fast, healthy food and turn it into a successful business and community. Jonathan Neman, cofounder and CEO of Sweetgreen, talks about living the sweetlife, while staying true to the company’s core value: win, win, win. Create solutions where the company wins the customer wins and the community wins.See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.