Ashwin Cheriyan is a recovering corporate lawyer. Leaving New York @ age 30, he moved to San Fran and started Thistle: a leading cold-pressed juicery and food-delivery startup. Once a struggling industry , particularly with online grocery, food delivery is h-o-t today. On top of Thistle, Ashwin is an investor and advisor in startups. Listen to his story:

• On the Kerala, India phenomenon, the highest literacy rate in the world.
• How to know if you should stay in an industry
• The inspiring Thistle philosophy
• Ashwin's startup investing/advisory
• The cold-pressed juice nutrition scam (watch out Apples!!)
• Bonus: Suggestions for your business profile photos

Selected links from the episode:

Thistle.co
Check out Thistle's Menu
Thistle - Philosophy
Why you Should Not Go to Law School
Charge
Modern Wheat

About Ashwin:

Ashwin Cheriyan is an entrepreneur, recovering corporate lawyer and a mediocre surfer. He is currently the co-founder and CEO of Thistle, a San Francisco-based cold-pressed juice and healthy food startup.

Prior to Thistle and WeGoFair, he spent 4 years in New York as an M&A associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, where he worked alongside senior management and cross-functional deal teams in collective transactions valued at over $100 billion. He received his A.B. in Economics from Brown University and his JD from The University of Texas School of Law.

He currently spends his energy working with, advising and investing in startups, suiting up in neoprene to surf the "world-class" waves of Pacifica, and enjoying the abundant culinary delights the Bay Area has to offer.

"I look at my losses as great lessons and they take the place of the MBA I never got."

What most stands out to me about Mark is his evolution as an entrepreneur. Starting as a teenager many years ago, Mark keeps learning and growing. Without a doubt, he has had some failed ventures (like all of us). As of today, he is running a restaurant ordering app that has managed over $32,000,000 in purchases. Pay attention. This episode is full of actionable advice. We learn:

• How Mark's early experiences shaped his entrepreneurial philosophy as an adult
• Why it is so difficult to make money in the restaurant business
• Overcoming resistance in the sales process / Creating awareness
• Asking the question: Why are most restaurants incredibly precise in most parts of their operation, but not in purchasing?
• Mark's take on investing in the stock market after having been part of a publicly traded company

Selected links from the episode:
Orderly  
Hankook Taqueria (Mark's restaurant in ATL)  
Area restaurants go high-tech to take stock of their business
The Ultimate Question
Setting The Table (Note from Matt: This book is a MUST read on customer service)

Mark Haidet's Professional background:

Out of school I worked for Arthur Andersen as an accountant but after a couple years found I liked learning about the companies I was working at more than doing the accounting side of it.  I transferred to the consulting side and spent five years doing management consulting across a dozen or more companies.  

I learned from this that I liked doing project work but I also wanted the accountability of owning a P&L and being driving tangible results, not just a consulting report.  I ended up finding Radiant Systems which was a growing technology company that provided point of sale and management systems to restaurants and retailers.  

I started out managing large customer accounts and worked my way across various operational roles over 6 years, ultimately leading our hospitality division.  I then became the CFO when we had a management change and spent the next 7 years overseeing the accounting, finance, investor relations, legal, IT and acquisition activities.  

During that time we re-vamped our internal systems and completed about a dozen acquisitions.  During my last few years at Radiant, my job became more and more administrative with increased SEC regulations and the scale of running a $400 million business.  

I was itching to have a creative outlet and spent a few years looking for ways to invest in a restaurant, an area I was interested in learning more about and felt I could have an impact with my operating skills.  I eventually ended up connecting with a Chef named Tomas Lee who had created a great Korean Mexican Fusion restaurant in Atlanta called Hankook Taqueria.  We hit it off and decided to work together to bring this unique food to more people.  This was my first true company that I started from scratch.  

It was a great learning experience and we eventually opened another location.  During this timeframe Radiant ended up getting purchased by NCR giving me a nice payout and the freedom to go pursue other ventures.  I spent the first year working with a private equity firm evaluating potential tech company acquisitions in the retail and hospitality space.  

Over time the convergence of my restaurant experience with the technology background lead to what is now Orderly.  My partners and I, who were all executives from Radiant, decided there was a gap in the market that technology could address.  We founded Orderly to fill this gap and that is my focus today.  

The short version of the story is that I like making things.  My hobbies include home renovation, cooking, building the neighborhood haunted house, making videos for school productions, creating restaurants and building technology.  Anything that requires creativity, design, and execution for a tangible result.

When I first read Alan Hahn's bio, I thought: "What does it feel like to have a 9 figure per year revenue company?" What about a 1.1 billion ROI? Alan is smart, passionate and knows how to scale businesses.

He is back in startup mode with Mycotech: a Food Technology company that has created a new process using gourmet fungi that transforms agricultural products through a fermentation process to improve taste, value and health. They enhance foods like coffee, tea, and rice. Alan teach us quite a bit:

• What drives and motivates Alan to be a serial entrepreneur
• How to effectively scale companies
• Tips for working with lawyers
• Understanding diabetes and carbohydrates

Selected links from the episode:
Mycotech
The Mycotech Process

Ed Robinson is the Chairman & CEO for Acadia Harvest - They are working up in Maine on sustainable farm raised fishing. As you'll learn, it's important stuff! The California yellow tail and black sea bass are their first two "crops".

Ed gives us an insider's view of the seafood industry:

• Acadia's role in fighting overfishing in the oceans
• Benefits of recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS)
• The myth of farm raised salmon and toxicity
• Tips for eating healthier seafood
• Defining an “organic” certification of seafood.

Selected links from this episode:
Acadia Harvest
Mission Blue
The End of the Line

About Ed Robinson: He has more than 30 years of experience launching products, services and growth companies in the life sciences, including 4 years with Acadia Harvest.

Ed is also a board member for a San Diego based biotechnology company, Promosome LLC. In his career, Ed has managed groups dealing with fine chemistry, mammalian and tissue cell culture, industrial enzymes as well as aquaculture.

Ed has experience in 40 countries, including assignments in England, Mexico, Singapore and Australia. He was educated at Clarkson University (BSc), Rochester Institute of Technology (MBA) and Pennsylvania State University (Executive Management Program).