How a high school dropout built the $1 billion Dave’s Hot Chicken empire

Dave’s Hot Chicken founders went from selling chicken on the streets of East Hollywood to building a nationwide chain with hundreds of locations.

Transcript

00:00Dave's Hot Chicken founder was a high school dropout who manifested the company at a kitchen table.

00:05Meet the chain's four founders, Dave Kapushin, Armin Oganessin, and Tommy and Gary Rubenian.

00:10The group began selling fried chicken in the streets of East Hollywood back in 2017,

00:15and they've gone from $40 in sales on their first day to a reported $1 billion acquisition by private equity firm Rourke Capital.

00:23Founders Dave and Armin say they've dreamed of building a business together since their middle school days,

00:27and the company's CEO, Bill Phelps, told Fortune the restaurant's success can be credited to perseverance and grit.

00:33And the company has had to adapt too, to navigate hurdles like an uptick in online orders during COVID and recent tariff impacts.

00:40The company is now tasting American pickles to avoid levies on Mexican goods.

00:45And now Dave's Hot Chicken is doing over $600 million in sales, according to data from research firm Techno Mike.