Toni Calderone

I attribute my success to tenacity. I never give up. Even though I've overcome many failures, it only makes you understand what winning looks like and how to win, because you now know what not to do. When so many people would give up because it didn't work the first or tenth time, I'm at 165 no's from banks and institutions, including Shark Tank, but it didn't stop me from getting to where I need to go. It takes a lot of tenacity and unwavering faith. You are the only one that can sustain that, because others can't see your vision, they don't know this hunger inside of you that you just have to get it done. I always try to encourage on my own social media by being transparent about the times I don't get where I need to go, because success looks very different outside of Instagram. As a woman, I have such a huge responsibility to put my little blurb inside this internet that's full of makeup and filters and fake success, and let people see what it really looks like. And it's a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. It's not glamorous. I have a daughter now, she's my youngest, and boys have enough to look up to for what a strong, successful man looks like, but what are we looking up to as women, besides the beauty industry and entertainers who wear leotards all the time? What does a CEO look like, with class and grit? And we need to be able to be a little gritty.

I've had so many tidbits. A very influential investor in our community told me that I'm too young and too broke to be a philanthropist, which was funny. He said, focus on your business. My late father told me that the best way to know what's ahead of you is to ask someone on the way back. So, I've always asked for mentorship, I've always asked what successful people discovered on their journey that I could kind of mitigate on mine. Making connections and building a network that I could lean on while I'm growing has been one of the biggest assets today.

I would tell her that she does have everything it takes. Maybe not yet, but she does. And if she wants it all, the family life and the business life, because restaurants are a different breed and they require 24-hour eyes on the fries, it's possible to have it all, just maybe not at the same time. Don't be little-girled in an industry of so many very dominant men. Know that you have everything it takes to sit at the table, and if they don't invite you, build your own.

I think that where we are, we're an educated eater now, so we're learning how our food is being made and we're learning what to put in our bodies. The opportunity for us is fresh pasta with two ingredients, no preservatives, no additives, and high protein count at 10 grams per serving, per 4 ounces. There's an opportunity there to bring it to the quick service world and kind of disrupt how we eat on the go. Good food and fast food doesn't have to be mutually exclusive. We are bringing pasta to the market as one eats in Italy. They always eat pasta on the go, so the pasta concepts are on every corner, just like McDonald's is here. For the busy moms that are on the go and are tired of feeding their kid the Chick-fil-A or the Chipotle, we're bringing a very clean way of eating where it's cooked right in front of you, transparent, and it doesn't get clipped behind the scenes or hidden in the kitchen.

One of our core values that I really drive home is integrity. I can't see everybody at all times. I need people on the team who do the right thing when nobody's watching, for both our customer and for the company. Making people feel as though they matter is another core value, so you matter. Putting the needs of others before our own, and that is also when we're working as a team, makes us stronger together. But also for the community. We always have to give back, because they're the people who build us.