Derrick Hayes

I wanted to grow.

I wanted to be respected.

And I want to be respected in rooms that don't look like me.

I want to be respected in rooms that shock them when they hear this come out of my mouth because they can't believe it.

Because you know why?

That's going to allow them to see a broader eyesight on generations of kids around the world that have good ideas, that have businesses, and they look broader at it as a whole.

I got 40-something tattoos on my body.

I don't look like the average CEO in Fast Casual.

I come from a very dangerous place, but I'm dangerous here, you know?

So me knowing that, knowing that I can sit with anybody and make it work, create a partnership.

But now with both wisdom, knowledge, you know, sometimes I'm sitting around.

Honestly, humbly speaking, and I could be in certain rooms and there's conversations in Fast Casual or anything.

And I'd be like, they just don't know I'm about to be the face of Fast Casual.

This is about to be my world.

I know what I have.

I am creating something that's bigger than food that's never existed.

And as an African-American where we own less than 8% of franchises worldwide,

Now I can actually show the world that you don't have to have a college degree.

You don't have to have these certain certifications that they say you have to have.

You got to be smart enough to use this and meet the people around you that's smarter than you to be able to scale the brand.