Stan Chia

Darden Restaurants recently reported its quarterly results, showcasing resilience amidst a challenging environment. While Olive Garden faced a decline in same-store sales for the second consecutive quarter, Darden's overall performance remained steady, with earnings per share surpassing expectations at $2.65 and revenue reaching $2.96 billion. Looking forward to fiscal 2025, Darden projects a promising outlook with expected earnings per share between $9.40 and $9.60 and anticipated net sales of $11.8 billion to $11.9 billion. The company's LongHorn Steakhouse segment notably reported a 4% increase in same-store sales, underscoring Darden's effective management and operational strength. With plans to invest $550 million to $600 million in capital expenditures, Darden is poised to enhance its offerings and maintain its competitive edge in the market. Read More Here: https://lnkd.in/eFgDC97p #hospitality #restaurants #technology #innovation Branded Hospitality Ventures Angelo Fama Jr. John Espy Dave George Daryl L. Cunningham Lisa McDowell Robert Anderson Ali Charri

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For years, an #MBA has been a key to landing top tech jobs at companies like Alphabet, Amazon, and Netflix. And despite recent changes, it’s still valuable! Even with some big tech firms downsizing, there are over 210,000 tech job openings in the U.S. today. Tech companies are looking for candidates with hands-on experience and practical skills, and an MBA can set you apart. 👉 Read our latest Fortune article to learn more: https://ow.ly/KPq150Sjjmz #TechJobs #MBACareers #TargetTestPrep #TTP #PrepareWithTheBestRockTheTest

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Excellent perspective from Professor Mike Kitz (Notre Dame) on: 1) teaching contemporary marketing, 2) areas where perhaps schools are falling behind in preparing students for the business world, and 3) getting an adjunct job at a university. Love the comment that "students join a story and a vision - not a spreadsheet" and the importance of creating a foundation of marketing knowledge that then needs to be integrated across different disciplines. Anybody interested in getting an adjunct job? Around the 21 min mark - terrific advice to "get on the radar of the department chair". Note: Mike, I'd love to see the Korn Ferry assessment you mentioned. Jim Lecinski (great mention of you), Mike Linton Ryan Langan Ali Besharat, Ph.D.

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I interviewed four impressive leaders at the forefront of incorporating AI into product live at BuildGroup’s Annual Meeting this year:  - Ben Eachus (CEO) and Jason Harbert (CTO) of Flowspace, which powers fulfillment for merchants with software and a network of warehouses  - Mickey Alon (CTO/CPO) of VidMob, which helps enterprise brands measure & optimize creative effectiveness.  - Liam DeCoste (CTO) of PressW, a consulting firm which helps companies adopt AI into their workflows. Here are four takeaways from our discussion: 1. Tech execs should focus on real ROI for the power user as opposed to just leveraging cool technology for its own sake. For Flowspace, the power user could be a single person at a DTC company with all of the responsibility of ensuring the right product gets to the right consumers on time at minimal cost. The ability to tell a system to “freeze orders from this bad batch of dogfood” can save hours and improve consumer happiness.  VidMob’s brand manager power user can instantly interpret what creative ads are appropriate for different audiences and automatically ensure that all ads adhere to brand best practices. 2. I saw this at the Pablo Escobar museum: “El dinero fácil no dura" (Easy money doesn’t last). Putting a simple wrapper around GPT and up-charging customers is challenging to sustain. The hard work of automating workflow and building a proprietary data asset bolsters a company’s ability to provide outsized value to users. In the land-grab that the latest AI wave has kicked off, founders should take the high ground that they are uniquely capable of defending. For VidMob, this means leveraging 18 million analyzed videos and insights from the feedback loop of knowing which ads were successful. For Flowspace, this means leveraging millions of historical order history of addresses, warehouses, shipping times, and costs. 3. This Time Really Is Different: While prior innovative cycles in AI over the decades were followed by “AI Winters”, the current deep learning renaissance is different. Foundation Models are in the early innings and ordinary organizations can leverage a host of new off-the-shelf tools. 4. 3/4 panelists took a $100 bet that OpenAI will be worth over $100B in 10 years, but the first mover is not always the biggest winner. Accordingly it makes sense to plan for flexibility with multiple models. And the hardware paradigm that supports these models is shifting quickly. *Note: BuildGroup invested in Flowspace and Vidmob, & engages PressW for consulting. This content does not constitute an offer of any investment advisory services, nor does it constitute an offer to issue or sell, or of a solicitation of an offer to subscribe or buy, any securities or other financial instruments, nor a financial promotion, investment advice or an inducement or incitement to participate in any product, offering, or investment." https://lnkd.in/gk2msqeQ

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VC capital down 97%!!!! 😱😱😱 Is CPG venture capital dead? Not yet, but there is no doubt a big shake up is in the works. We are not just seeing brands go bankrupt, but there will be a large number of CPG venture capital firms move out of the space or close up completely. Let’s look at how we got here. Prior to 2010, the venture capital market for CPG did not exist. Most of the capital for brand development came from friends & families, and it wasn’t until brands grew to the magical PE threshold of $10m in revenue or $2m in EBITDA were brands able to access institutional capital. Then came the rise of digital marketing (DTC) and online based corporate infrastructure platform applications (quickbooks online, online banking, etc) in early 2010s that started leveling the playing field for consumer startups. The ability to bypass retailers and market directly to consumers reduced the impact of the large strategic stranglehold on brick & mortar distribution. Also, productivity gains through a distributed corporate infrastructure allowed for more professional manage without the traditional fully burden cost of a InHouse team all located in a single location. This rise tigger hypegrowth for that first cohort of brands, leading to a wave of strategic M&A from 2015 - 2019, first in big food & beverage and then followed by the diversitied groups such as P&G and Unilever. However, cracks were already showing. Most brands acquired during this time failed and strategics started changing there M&A strategy model, requiring brands to be larger before acquisition. The next phase brought the beauty and personal care wave, with food & beverage VCs diversifying into other categories. While this was happening, the amount of capital flowing into the market continued to accelerate. Then COVID hit… Instead of slowing the momentum, COVID super charged the capital flowing into consumer, with the early stage seeing a true bubble. COVID trends distorted and already distorted view of reality, as growth was unnaturally charged with capital in digital marketing without real customers being created, and it all hit reality with two major market changes. IOS change in May 21 and the increasing interest rate environment / quantum tightening reducing the investor liquidity for private capital. Fast forward to today, the venture capital dollars for CPG is back to where we were in 2010, practically zero. So what’s next? Over the past 10+ years there have been a massive infrastructure build to support early stage CPG that continues to allow for efficient brand development. There has also been a number of successful firms that have proven smart investors that can truly be value add can propel brands. So while the competition for capital is going to be fierce for years, those groups that do have deployable dollars will more than likely increase the probability of success for their portfolio companies. #cpg #venturecapital #cpginvesting

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@HouseGOP: Since Joe Biden took office, #Bidenflation has caused the price for fast food favorites to skyrocket: 📈McDonald's Medium French Fries is UP 167.6% 📈McDonald's Big Mac Meal is UP 103.5% 📈McDonald's 10 Piece McNuggets Meal is UP 95.5% 📈McDonald's Hamburger Happy Meal is UP 140.6% 📈McDonald's 4 Piece McNuggets Happy Meal is UP 97.3% 📈Taco Bell’s Cheesy Gordita Crunch is UP 111.5% 📈Taco Bell’s Nachos Bellgrande Combo is UP 77.0% 📈Taco Bell’s Beefy 5-Layer Burrito is UP 153.8% 📈Chick-fil-A’s Chicken Sandwich Combo is UP 94.8% 📈Chick-fil-A’s 8 Piece Nuggets is UP 98.2%

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Boards of Directors – How Relevant To The Business Is The Board? In 2014, activist investor Starboard Value successfully replaced all 12 directors on the board of Darden Restaurants. The following shows the Darden incumbent board at the time of Starboard's proxy fight, Starboard’s value creation plan initiatives, the Starboard director nominees and the before and after performance (revenue, EBITDA, EBITDA margin and stock price). Note especially the direct relevance of each Starboard nominee to the industry or some aspect of the value creation plan. How often do you see this level of relevance on public company boards?

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Excellent summary of the current capital landscape for early stage CPG and the developments over the past 10-15 years that have led us to this point.

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I think more correctly “Japanese companies for over-prioritizing dividends at the expense of Growth (so that wages and capital expenditure can’t be paid). Google & Amazon shareholders without dividends are of course happy as share price is growing. If not growing, they would never be happy without dividend. The professor’s opinion is worth reading but too much emphasizing traditional Japanese values that outdated already. Japan needs GROWTH somehow to pay wages, capital expenditures as well as dividends.

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Speed of learning is one of the most important founder attributes — and sometimes that means getting support to move faster. I’ve seen folks like Carol do just this and unblock founders and their early growth. It’s powerful to ask for help!

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The 2024 NVCA Yearbook is out, and there are a few tidbits about the VC landscape 💴 ▪️More Places to Pitch: There's been a slight increase in investments made outside of Silicon Valley and other traditional tech hubs. Cities across the Midwest and South are seeing more VC activity, which could drive regional innovation. Not Seattle, though. Do better, PNW. ▪️Sluggish Fundraising, More Dry Powder: Although fundraising did not pick up steam in 2023, the amount of dry powder held by the industry ticked up slightly to $311 billion. It's out there, waiting to be deployed. ▪️The Old Normal: Corporate investors are still active-ish. CVC and family office investments were down but remain a significant minority of the deals and dollars committed in VC. ▪️Sustainable is Sizzling: ESG factors increasingly matter for deal-makers. More venture firms are making sustainability an investment focus area/criteria. Not-So-New Money: AI, biotech, and clean energy investing have been hot for a while. This isn’t breaking news, but it’s increasingly true. ▪️Risky and Safe: The current economic climate poses numerous challenges but also plenty of opportunities. Market volatility has made exiting more difficult but has also created attractive entry points for strong founders that could bear fruit later. All 91 pages of the 2024 NVCA Yearbook is below👇

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Is the tide turning regarding firm leaders' deference to employee activists? In 2018 Google withdrew a $10B bid for a U.S. Pentagon contract, in part because of employee pressure to abstain from participating in building warfare technology. In 2024, Google just fired 28 employees who participated in protests related to labor contracts and a contract supporting the Israeli military with cloud computing and AI services (see CNBC article below). Could CEOs, who as board members have a fiduciary responsibility to the firm and not to themselves, begin to draw a line in the sand in terms of what is acceptable employee behavior? While employees are advocating for their personal positions, CEOs / CMOs / C-suite should be advocating for the health and well-being of the entire company and community of stakeholders. The pendulum swings. Nate Carlson John Kennedy Phil Bianchi Alexandra Grimm Charlie McDaniel Salah Al-Chanati Ryan Culkin Matt McAleer, CPA Taylor George Abigail Hamilton Liza Ketcham Lincoln Lukich Michelle Mezzanotte Jared Schaubert Sarah Spangler Martin Svetoslavov Churchill Young Mike Matheis Sarah Young

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CEOs’ Strategic Dilemma: Navigating Profitability and Purpose (2 minutes) Corporate social responsibility has been in the news lately with Boeing standing out as a prime example of a company’s strategy prioritizing balance sheet metrics leading to widespread concerns over safety. How should CEOs balance profitability with social responsibility in their strategic decisions? CEOs who lead by the balance sheet focus primarily on financial metrics and shareholder value as the driving force behind their decision-making. Their leadership style is often characterized by a relentless pursuit of profitability, cost-cutting measures, and maximizing returns for shareholders. This approach prioritizes short-term financial gains and may involve strategies such as restructuring, downsizing, or divesting non-core assets to improve financial performance. On the other hand, CEOs who lead by corporate social responsibility (CSR) adopt a broader perspective that considers the impact of business decisions on various stakeholders, including employees, customers, communities, and the environment. They recognize that sustainable business practices, ethical behavior, and social responsibility are integral to long-term success. This leadership style emphasizes transparency, accountability, and ethical conduct in all business operations. The contrast between these two leadership approaches lies in their fundamental values and priorities. CEOs leading by the balance sheet prioritize financial outcomes and shareholder wealth maximization, often at the expense of other stakeholder interests. In contrast, CEOs focused on CSR balance the needs of stakeholders with the needs of the business, seeking to create value not only for shareholders but also for society at large. While balance sheet-focused CEOs may achieve short-term financial gains, CSR-oriented leaders aim for sustainable growth and long-term value creation by fostering trust, building strong relationships with stakeholders, and contributing positively to social and environmental well-being. Ultimately, the choice of leadership style can significantly impact organizational culture, reputation, and overall business success in the long run. What lessons can today's CEOs' learn from Boeing's strategic dilemmas regarding profitability and purpose? #CorporateResponsibility #Boeing #CEOLeadership #StrategicDilemmas #ProfitVsPurpose #LeadershipStyles #BalanceSheetMetrics #SocialResponsibility #EthicalLeadership #StakeholderValue

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There's basically nothing proprietary about food delivery... Within the food delivery service industry, a few major players effectively form an oligopoly,(Uber DoorDash Grubhub )to name the big ones)- controlling the majority of the market and limiting competition. We see that here https://bit.ly/3W1IpeU , an interesting read about the future of food delivery services.🍟 🍔 Branded Hospitality Ventures Michael Schatzberg Jimmy Frischling Aron Hollander Zachary Kandel Purba Majumder Jordan Stack Josh Buchmann Tony Xu Ryan Parietti Howard Migdal Craig Whitmer #Restaurants #Hospitality #Technology #FoodDelivery

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Strategy has become the most important role and participating in achieving it is more important yet...

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PE - what is a "GTM Strategy" & why it's a key driver in PE? GTM is one of the terms that gets mentioned a lot in different contexts - what does it actually mean from a PE context? Here is a good GTM definition: * "GTM Strategy: a fundamental business strategy to drive revenue; not a simple campaign or tactic." The 2 key strategic points are: 1. a "fundamental business strategy" 2. to "drive revenue" It's a "business strategy" - for the entire commercial side of a portfolio company and focused on the typical #1 business objective, which is: growing the top-line revenue. Note - it's the fundamental strategy covering the entire Commercial side & the Revenue Lifecycle: - People & Org - Growth Strategy - Pipeline Creation - New Customer Acquisition - Growth via Expansion & Retention - Customer Management, CX & CS - Systematizing & Operationalizing - Systems Thinking for Growing ARR - Process Engineering for Revenue Growth - Execution, Levers, Drivers & Metrics / KPIs And: - All the key strategic initiatives by the CEO, CRO and at the Board Meetings to grow the company's Revenue capital efficiently - Plus all the key programs, tactics and activities to support and drive and measure this strategy Who is responsible? - CEO & CRO (in alignment w/ the Board of Directors) Why is it a key driver in PE? - GTM is the key lever that drives your top-line revenue growth capital-efficiently affecting your EBITDA, and thus Equity Value (and ultimately higher IRR & ROI) * GTM definition - source: Engagio ------------------ #pe #privateequity #business #ceo #growth #arr #revenuegrowth

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Instacart is now expanding into restaurant takeout thanks to a new partnership with Uber! “Consumers will see the same restaurant menu prices on Instacart that they do on Uber Eats, and couriers will be paid the same way they would be for orders directly from Uber Eats,” Uber says the motivation behind these is to drive more orders to Uber Eats restaurant partners while Instacart gets to add new businesses to its delivery platform without having to build it from the ground up. Read More Here: https://bit.ly/3JS3yAX #Restaurants #Hospitality #Technology #Business #Innovation #AI #investing #venturecapital Branded Hospitality Ventures Matthew O'Hearn Courtney Berman Jinwoo Song Ahmed Beshry Josh Rider Chris Rogers Nick Giovanni

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I love a good business spin-off story! This interview of Drop CEO and co-founder Derrick Fung, who started an adjacent company - Drop for Business - during the pandemic while scaling up their initial startup is a really inspiring read: https://lnkd.in/d5Ns7NF7 One of the key insights from this conversation is that diversifying your business with such new ventures not only sets your organization apart, but also builds a stronger, more resilient strategy for the future. Dive in to gain more insights from this interview. #BusinessBuilding #Leadership

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Even after so many years in this industry and so many successes, every success reported makes my day! Antoine's success and his message accompanying it made my week! 🌟 The joy in his message was palpable and rightfully so. He overcame all hurdles to improve by a tremendous 190 points, reaching 655 on the GMAT. Not only that, being a non-native speaker, he achieved the 98th percentile in verbal, his weakest section! Antoine's story is a testament to the effectiveness of a data-driven, structured approach, combined with unwavering determination. The going was not easy! But with sheer will and a never-give-up attitude, he made it happen. Watch this incredible interview https://lnkd.in/ga_dkyt7 where Antoine shares the strategies he employed and the systematic approach he followed to achieve his target score and secure admission to 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬: 1. 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐌𝐀𝐓 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐥: Antoine transformed his Verbal score from the 26th percentile to the 98th percentile, an outstanding achievement for any test-taker, especially a non-native speaker. Using structured approaches to solving questions, he improved his timing, accuracy, and ease of answering questions. 2.  𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐆𝐌𝐀𝐓 𝐃𝐈: Antoine improved his score by 11 points to reach the 84th percentile in Data Insights. The resources at e-GMAT allowed him to familiarize himself with various data sets, helping him master GMAT DI. 3.  𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚-𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Data played a crucial role in Antoine’s success. He utilized the data analytics on Scholaranium to practice effectively, fine-tuning his methodology, timing, and accuracy to ensure consistent improvement. 4.  𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭-𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐞𝐭: Despite a disappointing first attempt, Antoine bounced back with determination. Discover the mindset shifts and strategies that helped him achieve his dream score on the second try. Congratulations, Antoine! Your journey is truly inspiring. Wishing you all the very best for your student days ahead. Payal, Abhinav, Atul, Shubham, Rida, Mansi, Prakriti, Sanchari, Akash, Abhishek, Rashmi, Abha, Satish, Manas, Dhruv #GMATPreparation #GMATSuccess #GMATVerbal #DataInsights #GMATScoreImprovement #GMATTips #StanfordGSB #MBAJourney #BusinessSchool #TestPrep

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