Chris Sempeles - Helping Restaurants and Chefs Grow Their Businesses (#13)

ProtoTaste is a low-cost food truck rental program. Restaurants and chefs can use ProtoTaste’s food trailers to go to events and test new markets, thereby reducing the costs and risks associated with doing so.

CEO Chris Sempeles and his team handle all of the logistics, including the clean-up, so members can focus on serving their customers.

It’s a small B2B play, but Chris and co-founder, Kyle Pellman, have big plans. Their goal is for ProtoTaste to be in every city in the U.S. Currently located in Denver, they’re growing in spite of COVID-19.

Chris and I have been friends since childhood and in this interview we caught up about entrepreneurs and celebrities we look up to: Jay Z, Kobe Bryant, Gary Vaynerchuck, and Warren Buffett among others.

We also discuss the ups and the downs of entrepreneurship: the thrill of signing your first client, the devastation of losing clients, such as when COVID-19 hit, and everything in between.

Chris’s entrepreneurial lessons include:

• Believe in yourself first and foremost.
• Have a support system of family, friends, and like-minded individuals.
• Learn to take losses. Learn to learn from your losses. And never give up.
• In your darkest nights, remember the vision you had in the beginning.

For resources, businesses, and people mentioned go to: aaroncaulfield.com/podcast-feed/chris-sempeles-helping-restaurants-and-chefs-grow-their-businesses

Connect:

• Check out prototaste.com
• Follow ProtoTaste on Instagram: @prototaste
• Like ProtoTaste on Facebook: facebook.com/prototaste
• Follow ProtoTaste on Twitter: twitter.com/prototaste
• Connect with Chris on Facebook: facebook.com/chris.sempeles
• Follow Chris on Instagram: instagram.com/therealsempeles
• Subscribe to Aaron’s YouTube channel: youtube.com/aacaulfield24