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Aug 15, 2016 · 20m · top-founders

EP 387: Restaurant Founder Hits $2m+ Revenue, Doubling Locations

Regina Pradham · 9m spoken Nathan Latka · 8m 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 Episode 387 of 'The Top' podcast, host Nathan Latka interviews entrepreneur Regina Pradhan, who details how she built, valued, and exited her first restaurant before scaling Tarka Indian Kitchen into a high-margin, multi-unit fast-casual brand.

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 49.3% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 2.3 Guest teaching 2.0 Guest disagreement 1.3 Nathan pushing back 2.3
05100:0010:0020:001:18–5:03 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 Introducing Regina Pradhan and the Fast Casual Concept Nathan introduces Regina and asks broad questions about launching Tarka and why people enter the restaurant business. Regina explains the fast-casual Indian concept and the common misconceptions outsiders have about restaurant ownership.5:03–8:30 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 Regina's Background and Funding Clay Pit with Microsoft Stock Nathan presses Regina playfully to disclose the purchase price of the building in 1998, noticing her reluctance to name figures. Regina recounts funding her initial stake using a credit card cash advance invested into Microsoft stock splits.8:30–15:22 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Selling Clay Pit, Restaurant Valuation, and Margins The conversation focuses on business fundamentals, valuations, and Tarka's unit economics. Regina corrects Nathan on the distinction between single dish price and average ticket size with add-ons while Nathan breaks down the percentage margins.15:24–19:36 · Nathan as informed peer 1/10 Sponsor Break: HostGator and FreshBooks Endorsements Segment features host sponsor reads followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire and concluding remarks in a warm, relaxed tone.1:18–5:03 · Guest teaching 2/10 Introducing Regina Pradhan and the Fast Casual Concept Nathan introduces Regina and asks broad questions about launching Tarka and why people enter the restaurant business. Regina explains the fast-casual Indian concept and the common misconceptions outsiders have about restaurant ownership.5:03–8:30 · Guest teaching 2/10 Regina's Background and Funding Clay Pit with Microsoft Stock Nathan presses Regina playfully to disclose the purchase price of the building in 1998, noticing her reluctance to name figures. Regina recounts funding her initial stake using a credit card cash advance invested into Microsoft stock splits.8:30–15:22 · Guest teaching 3/10 Selling Clay Pit, Restaurant Valuation, and Margins The conversation focuses on business fundamentals, valuations, and Tarka's unit economics. Regina corrects Nathan on the distinction between single dish price and average ticket size with add-ons while Nathan breaks down the percentage margins.15:24–19:36 · Guest teaching 1/10 Sponsor Break: HostGator and FreshBooks Endorsements Segment features host sponsor reads followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire and concluding remarks in a warm, relaxed tone.1:18–5:03 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Introducing Regina Pradhan and the Fast Casual Concept Nathan introduces Regina and asks broad questions about launching Tarka and why people enter the restaurant business. Regina explains the fast-casual Indian concept and the common misconceptions outsiders have about restaurant ownership.5:03–8:30 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Regina's Background and Funding Clay Pit with Microsoft Stock Nathan presses Regina playfully to disclose the purchase price of the building in 1998, noticing her reluctance to name figures. Regina recounts funding her initial stake using a credit card cash advance invested into Microsoft stock splits.8:30–15:22 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Selling Clay Pit, Restaurant Valuation, and Margins The conversation focuses on business fundamentals, valuations, and Tarka's unit economics. Regina corrects Nathan on the distinction between single dish price and average ticket size with add-ons while Nathan breaks down the percentage margins.15:24–19:36 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Sponsor Break: HostGator and FreshBooks Endorsements Segment features host sponsor reads followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire and concluding remarks in a warm, relaxed tone.1:18–5:03 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Introducing Regina Pradhan and the Fast Casual Concept Nathan introduces Regina and asks broad questions about launching Tarka and why people enter the restaurant business. Regina explains the fast-casual Indian concept and the common misconceptions outsiders have about restaurant ownership.5:03–8:30 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Regina's Background and Funding Clay Pit with Microsoft Stock Nathan presses Regina playfully to disclose the purchase price of the building in 1998, noticing her reluctance to name figures. Regina recounts funding her initial stake using a credit card cash advance invested into Microsoft stock splits.8:30–15:22 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Selling Clay Pit, Restaurant Valuation, and Margins The conversation focuses on business fundamentals, valuations, and Tarka's unit economics. Regina corrects Nathan on the distinction between single dish price and average ticket size with add-ons while Nathan breaks down the percentage margins.15:24–19:36 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Sponsor Break: HostGator and FreshBooks Endorsements Segment features host sponsor reads followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire and concluding remarks in a warm, relaxed tone.

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

0:00 · Nathan 64.3% · guest 35.7%0:00 · Nathan 64.3% · guest 35.7%3:00 · Nathan 31.7% · guest 68.3%3:00 · Nathan 31.7% · guest 68.3%6:00 · Nathan 33.7% · guest 66.3%6:00 · Nathan 33.7% · guest 66.3%9:00 · Nathan 33.9% · guest 66.1%9:00 · Nathan 33.9% · guest 66.1%12:00 · Nathan 37.5% · guest 62.5%12:00 · Nathan 37.5% · guest 62.5%15:00 · Nathan 82.4% · guest 17.6%15:00 · Nathan 82.4% · guest 17.6%18:00 · Nathan 66% · guest 34%18:00 · Nathan 66% · guest 34%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 8:41 Regina withholding private transaction terms

Regina explicitly refuses Nathan's request for the sale valuation of Clay Pit because her partners still own the business.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 6:01 Nathan pressing on the 1998 acquisition price

Nathan refuses to let Regina deflect on the purchase price of their original building, teasing her on air and demanding a ballpark figure.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 12:40 Correcting dish pricing versus ticket economics

Regina corrects Nathan's assumption on average spend by explaining customers regularly add naan and beverages to raise the total ticket size.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 12:56 Synthesizing per-dish margins and overhead

Nathan demonstrates financial fluency by breaking down how the 27 percent COGS, rent, and labor map across a typical twelve-dollar order.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Regina Pradhan and the Fast Casual Concept 2211 Nathan introduces Regina and asks broad questions about launching Tarka and why people enter the restaurant business. Regina explains the fast-casual Indian concept and the common misconceptions outsiders have about restaurant ownership.
Regina's Background and Funding Clay Pit with Microsoft Stock 2224 Nathan presses Regina playfully to disclose the purchase price of the building in 1998, noticing her reluctance to name figures. Regina recounts funding her initial stake using a credit card cash advance invested into Microsoft stock splits.
Selling Clay Pit, Restaurant Valuation, and Margins 4323 The conversation focuses on business fundamentals, valuations, and Tarka's unit economics. Regina corrects Nathan on the distinction between single dish price and average ticket size with add-ons while Nathan breaks down the percentage margins.
Sponsor Break: HostGator and FreshBooks Endorsements 1101 Segment features host sponsor reads followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire and concluding remarks in a warm, relaxed tone.

Statements from this episode (4)

Prediction Didn’t hold up
Pradhan planned to double Tarka locations across Texas within 2.5 years
“And in the next two years to two and a half, we're planning to double our units between Houston, Austin, and San Antonio.”
Regina Pradham Aug 15, 2016 ▶ 2:02
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Pradhan turned a $5,000 Microsoft stock investment into $20,000
“So, bought 5000 dollars worth of Microsoft stock, and sure enough, it was just that time when it split, and split, and that turned into 20,000 in a matter of, I don't know, couple of years.”
Regina Pradham Aug 15, 2016 ▶ 7:17
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Tarka Indian Kitchen's first location generated $1M to $2M in year one
“It was north of a million, a little shy of two, I think.”
Regina Pradham Aug 15, 2016 ▶ 10:06
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Tarka Indian Kitchen's average ticket size was $11 to $12
“So average ticket size is about 11 to 12.”
Regina Pradham Aug 15, 2016 ▶ 12:51
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