StarZero All shows Try the podcast clipper →

Dec 27, 2016 · 20m · top-founders

EP 521: $5.5M Burger Business, Gets Into Monthly Subscriptions with BurgaBox CEO Chuck Sillari

Chuck Sillari · 10m spoken Nathan Latka · 7m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

In this episode of 'The Top,' host Nathan Latka interviews Chuck Sillari, founder of Boston Burger Company and BurgaBox, who details how he transitioned from practicing law to building a $5.5 million restaurant chain and launching a nationwide subscription meal kit service.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Nathan holds 41.6% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.4 Guest teaching 2.8 Guest disagreement 1.2 Nathan pushing back 3.0
05100:0010:0020:000:28–4:48 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Weekly Cash Giveaway and Subscriber Contest Nathan introduces the show and guides Chuck through his transition from legal practice to launching Boston Burger Company. The exchange is highly cordial and exploratory as Chuck shares his revenue baseline and media exposure.4:50–10:10 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Capital Financing, Buildout Costs, and Partnership Terms Nathan presses Chuck on why the second restaurant buildout was over ten times more expensive than the first, teasing Chuck's legal background when evaluating his partner deal structure. Chuck justifies the capital cost by contrasting a raw buildout with a turnkey space.10:14–12:36 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Restaurant Unit Economics and Operating Margins Nathan drills into the unit economics, distinguishing between gross margin and net margin before catching a reversal in Chuck's COGS calculation. Chuck clarifies food costs at 30%, labor at 30%, and net profit at 20 cents on the dollar.12:37–16:37 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Launching and Scaling BurgaBox Subscription Meal Kits Nathan pushes Chuck to convert kit volume into monthly gross revenue and queries logistics on cold chain packaging. Chuck explains BurgaBox's order progression and why gel packs outperform dry ice.16:39–19:13 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 Acuity Scheduling Extended Workflow and Offer Following an Acuity sponsor read, Nathan runs through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions, closing out with an episode recap.0:28–4:48 · Guest teaching 2/10 Weekly Cash Giveaway and Subscriber Contest Nathan introduces the show and guides Chuck through his transition from legal practice to launching Boston Burger Company. The exchange is highly cordial and exploratory as Chuck shares his revenue baseline and media exposure.4:50–10:10 · Guest teaching 4/10 Capital Financing, Buildout Costs, and Partnership Terms Nathan presses Chuck on why the second restaurant buildout was over ten times more expensive than the first, teasing Chuck's legal background when evaluating his partner deal structure. Chuck justifies the capital cost by contrasting a raw buildout with a turnkey space.10:14–12:36 · Guest teaching 4/10 Restaurant Unit Economics and Operating Margins Nathan drills into the unit economics, distinguishing between gross margin and net margin before catching a reversal in Chuck's COGS calculation. Chuck clarifies food costs at 30%, labor at 30%, and net profit at 20 cents on the dollar.12:37–16:37 · Guest teaching 3/10 Launching and Scaling BurgaBox Subscription Meal Kits Nathan pushes Chuck to convert kit volume into monthly gross revenue and queries logistics on cold chain packaging. Chuck explains BurgaBox's order progression and why gel packs outperform dry ice.16:39–19:13 · Guest teaching 1/10 Acuity Scheduling Extended Workflow and Offer Following an Acuity sponsor read, Nathan runs through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions, closing out with an episode recap.0:28–4:48 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Weekly Cash Giveaway and Subscriber Contest Nathan introduces the show and guides Chuck through his transition from legal practice to launching Boston Burger Company. The exchange is highly cordial and exploratory as Chuck shares his revenue baseline and media exposure.4:50–10:10 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Capital Financing, Buildout Costs, and Partnership Terms Nathan presses Chuck on why the second restaurant buildout was over ten times more expensive than the first, teasing Chuck's legal background when evaluating his partner deal structure. Chuck justifies the capital cost by contrasting a raw buildout with a turnkey space.10:14–12:36 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Restaurant Unit Economics and Operating Margins Nathan drills into the unit economics, distinguishing between gross margin and net margin before catching a reversal in Chuck's COGS calculation. Chuck clarifies food costs at 30%, labor at 30%, and net profit at 20 cents on the dollar.12:37–16:37 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Launching and Scaling BurgaBox Subscription Meal Kits Nathan pushes Chuck to convert kit volume into monthly gross revenue and queries logistics on cold chain packaging. Chuck explains BurgaBox's order progression and why gel packs outperform dry ice.16:39–19:13 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Acuity Scheduling Extended Workflow and Offer Following an Acuity sponsor read, Nathan runs through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions, closing out with an episode recap.0:28–4:48 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Weekly Cash Giveaway and Subscriber Contest Nathan introduces the show and guides Chuck through his transition from legal practice to launching Boston Burger Company. The exchange is highly cordial and exploratory as Chuck shares his revenue baseline and media exposure.4:50–10:10 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Capital Financing, Buildout Costs, and Partnership Terms Nathan presses Chuck on why the second restaurant buildout was over ten times more expensive than the first, teasing Chuck's legal background when evaluating his partner deal structure. Chuck justifies the capital cost by contrasting a raw buildout with a turnkey space.10:14–12:36 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Restaurant Unit Economics and Operating Margins Nathan drills into the unit economics, distinguishing between gross margin and net margin before catching a reversal in Chuck's COGS calculation. Chuck clarifies food costs at 30%, labor at 30%, and net profit at 20 cents on the dollar.12:37–16:37 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Launching and Scaling BurgaBox Subscription Meal Kits Nathan pushes Chuck to convert kit volume into monthly gross revenue and queries logistics on cold chain packaging. Chuck explains BurgaBox's order progression and why gel packs outperform dry ice.16:39–19:13 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Acuity Scheduling Extended Workflow and Offer Following an Acuity sponsor read, Nathan runs through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions, closing out with an episode recap.

speaking balance: gold is Nathan, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Nathan 80.8% · guest 19.2%0:00 · Nathan 80.8% · guest 19.2%3:00 · Nathan 10.3% · guest 89.7%3:00 · Nathan 10.3% · guest 89.7%6:00 · Nathan 20.1% · guest 79.9%6:00 · Nathan 20.1% · guest 79.9%9:00 · Nathan 33.6% · guest 66.4%9:00 · Nathan 33.6% · guest 66.4%12:00 · Nathan 18.2% · guest 81.8%12:00 · Nathan 18.2% · guest 81.8%15:00 · Nathan 68.7% · guest 31.3%15:00 · Nathan 68.7% · guest 31.3%18:00 · Nathan 65.5% · guest 34.5%18:00 · Nathan 65.5% · guest 34.5%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 9:20 Chuck defends profit-sharing agreement

Chuck pushes back against the implication that he made a poor legal negotiation by explaining the value of a passive, reliable capital partner.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 9:18 Teasing Chuck's deal structuring skills

Nathan refuses Chuck's deferential framing of giving away a heavy return, calling him out as a lawyer who is supposed to be a ruthless negotiator.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 6:35 Explaining the massive buildout cost discrepancy

Chuck educates Nathan on restaurant infrastructure by contrasting a fully ventilated turnkey location with an unequipped raw commercial space.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 11:00 Catching inverted COGS percentages

Nathan immediately catches that Chuck inverted his food cost and margin ratios and walks through the exact dollar breakdown.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Weekly Cash Giveaway and Subscriber Contest 3212 Nathan introduces the show and guides Chuck through his transition from legal practice to launching Boston Burger Company. The exchange is highly cordial and exploratory as Chuck shares his revenue baseline and media exposure.
Capital Financing, Buildout Costs, and Partnership Terms 6425 Nathan presses Chuck on why the second restaurant buildout was over ten times more expensive than the first, teasing Chuck's legal background when evaluating his partner deal structure. Chuck justifies the capital cost by contrasting a raw buildout with a turnkey space.
Restaurant Unit Economics and Operating Margins 6414 Nathan drills into the unit economics, distinguishing between gross margin and net margin before catching a reversal in Chuck's COGS calculation. Chuck clarifies food costs at 30%, labor at 30%, and net profit at 20 cents on the dollar.
Launching and Scaling BurgaBox Subscription Meal Kits 5313 Nathan pushes Chuck to convert kit volume into monthly gross revenue and queries logistics on cold chain packaging. Chuck explains BurgaBox's order progression and why gel packs outperform dry ice.
Acuity Scheduling Extended Workflow and Offer 2111 Following an Acuity sponsor read, Nathan runs through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions, closing out with an episode recap.

Statements from this episode (8)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Boston Burger Company generated about $5.5M across three locations in 2015
“2015 revenue was about 5.5 million. That was between three locations that we have.”
Chuck Sillari Dec 27, 2016 ▶ 2:19
Assertion Supported
Boston Burger Company was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and Rachael Ray
“We were on the Food Network, Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. Guy Fieri came in and filmed the show there. We were on the Rachel Ray show. The Travel Channel has been in our place to film.”
Chuck Sillari Dec 27, 2016 ▶ 4:16
Disclosure
Boston Burger Company's second location cost around $750,000 to build
“The second location, he approached us, and he put up the money to build it out, and I think it was around 750,000 dollars.”
Chuck Sillari Dec 27, 2016 ▶ 5:20
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Boston Burger Company grossed around $700,000 in its first year
“First year that we opened, we were doing maybe 700 grand out of a little tiny space in the first location, and that was gross, but you gotta keep in mind, the place is tiny.”
Chuck Sillari Dec 27, 2016 ▶ 7:56
Disclosure
Boston Burger Company targets food costs between 28% and 29% of revenue
“Your food costs, we try to keep them under 30, probably try to keep around 28, 29%.”
Chuck Sillari Dec 27, 2016 ▶ 10:44
Assertion Not checkable as stated
BurgaBox sold 100 kits in month one and 150 in month two
“Our first month we sold about a hundred kits. The second month we sold about a 150.”
Chuck Sillari Dec 27, 2016 ▶ 14:09
Prediction Not checkable as stated
BurgaBox was slated to sell 400 kits in its third month
“We're probably slated to sell about 400 kits this month.”
Chuck Sillari Dec 27, 2016 ▶ 14:20
Assertion Supported
BurgaBox meal kits were priced between $45 and $80
“The kits range anywhere from 45 dollars to like 80 bucks, depending on what you put in it.”
Chuck Sillari Dec 27, 2016 ▶ 14:33
Made with StarZero

Turn any episode into a week of clips.

This entire site, over 2,600 episodes transcribed, diarized, checked and made playable, runs on the StarZero media pipeline. Drop in your own episode and the podcast clipper finds the moments worth sharing, cuts them, captions them, and reframes them for every feed.

Try the podcast clipper Learn more