I've been to the restaurant twice and the food was great. I don't agree with Mark when he says plant-based needs to be healthy moving in the future to be profitable. I think there will always be a market for affordable, plant-based food not trying to be super healthy. Vegans want junk food too lol
@@barackmycat9448 I can see that. And I think options will always be available for people looking for certain dietary options. What I meant was is that there are a lot of vegans and vegetarians who aren't in it primarily for health reasons. Their primary reason may be that they just don't want to kill animals. It may not be a health-conscious choice as much as it is a moral choice. For them, I'd imagine they wouldn't only want "healthy" options.
It’s almost like the sharks penalize you for being too proactive or too subtle. If the evaluation is a problem, well then counter. He was clearly there to get a partner and not a handout.
They explained that the problem is not the valuation itself, which they could counter. The problem is the high amount of money the guy is asking. In Shark Tank they can not offer less money than what the entrepreneur is asking.
@@robertharvey6030 you are right,its not about the valuation but the fast expansion of the business that they foresee something that would potentially collapse years from now
The issue is that he wants to take a breadth first search approach rather than a depth first search approach. Meaning he wants to expand as fast as possible without actually validating the product through a small ramp up approach and making the changes that needs to be made. His validation is to simply mass open to see if people will like it as is. You only get a single chance once you've gone critical mass. No investor would ever buy into this concept.
I smell bankruptcy soon. Then again, there's a small chance it could work. But a bigger chance at failure. Maybe they opened another 7 stores while I was writing this comment
This guy brain was moving fast, I guess everyone must have noticed how this guy is thinking really fast in a good way. Like you know how skilled and confident this guy shall be to get this energy and motivation to reach his goal. Great guy would love to know how he manage all this thinking and planning.
@@MultiJejje every good deal is crazy risk. Elon mask spend all his savings in a niche, where noone believed in, and see where is he today. I heard a story of starbucks, how one guy made this huge chain, where noone belived him. And now itvs everywhere... Eah it's risky as hell, but if it will be successful, the profit will be crazy huge too.
His execution skills is remarkable. He's laser focused and got everything planned out, and that's something I respect. He just overestimated his valuation and that's could actually be quite a turn off for some investors.
its good but the problem is that when u have something like this and no middle ground u either go up and up very quickly then go down and lose everything like what mark said i personally would rather have something in the middle where its passive and making 100,000 for 10 years 80-90 percent without much risk then 3 million a year for only 1-4 years then worrying if i go bankrupt bc the market goes a different way or something happens thats a lot of risk its like playing ur money with bitcoin if u don't know how to play the game or if it gets too much u lose everything if u dont do it at the right time i like that hes work ethic and ambitions but going too quick can do a lot of bad in long term but good in short term but not long term
Update 2023: Project Pollo has 13 locations in Texas and recently added 8 more branches. He is planning to start franchising in 2023 and is looking to partner with experienced restaurant operators. Project Pollo makes an estimated $10 million in annual revenue and is worth $50 million.
@@Nonegiven14582 1) He was already making good revenue. It would be great to see income statements & balance sheets to better evaluate it 2) The component of future growth/potential is ALWAYS included in an investors evaluation. Otherwise, what's the point of buying a stock in a company and expecting it to stay the same? An investor who believes in the future of a business just wants to pay the today's price whereas the owner of the business wants to receive the the price including potential. They just have to meet somewhere in between
Look at PP now. Zero locations. Operations bought out. Very angry former employees who were promised employee ownership and healthcare but were shorted tips, overtime, and had to pay about $400/month for their "free" health coverage, and finally no job. The sharks smelled that. And, if you were unfortunate to ever go to one of the first shuttered locations down the street from me in Houston, you also would've smelled what was ahead (I wonder if the pics of horrific veg mac and cheez are still on yelp and Google reviews). If Lucas succeeds in something else, I hope it isn't at the expense of employees and customers like he did with this venture.
Funny.. ha. Though, a lot of his movies were on the back burner due to covid and netflix signing deals. He signed picture deal with Netflix long time ago.. so some of them were filmed years ago.
This man grew up poor, worked in fast food, and then legit just woke up one day and said, "you know what, I think it'd be fun to be a millionaire in a few months"
They’re wildly successful now! With multiple locations in Texas and Nevada still opened. He’s doing really well and I’m happy for him! Especially since the sharks missed out on a great opportunity. Serves Mark (and the rest tbh) right.
@@alexsze9136 I'm talking about well after this episode aired. Any other time the sharks are willing to negotiate. Besides Mark's annoying comments about vegan food and how people do it for health, always agitate me.
You're just really special and see what nobody else can aren't you. Swear I hate people like you - cynical about the entire world, everything is always staged and in your head you're part of the 1% that sees what nobody else does and you're just so smart. He wasn't there for a commercial he's just too ambitious and does not have proof of concept. He's skipping steps trying to rush to success and thats why he didn't get it.
If you've ordered thinking it's chicken and only later learned it's plant-based, this is deceptive marketing with potentially dangerous consequences when it comes to allergens.
Sharks are smart on this one. He said it plainly, he wants to accelerate to see if this is going to work or not. And he wants to use everyone else's money to do it. So while any investment is a risk, this one is a particularly high risk because of the speed in which he wants to grow.
I don’t understand why there’s so much pressure on vegan food to be healthy. People eat unhealthy meat based foods everyday, but if it’s plant based it gets criticized for being unhealthy. It’s very hypocritical especially considering these plant based burgers are generally health-IER than their meat based counterparts, and are without a doubt better for the environment as they require less land, water and no animals to make. All that being said I agree that being able to be plant based, affordable AND healthy is the trifecta. Also the valuation was quite high. Still, I believe there is an opportunity for a 100% vegan fast food brand. Not only do some vegans want convenient affordable options, but also these plant based fast foods can be a good entry point for people who are curious about or are starting to transition to a plant based diet.
His point wasn't that the bread and ketchup is worse than that of an actual burger, but the actual patty is generally more healthy if its actual meat. Vegeterian/vegan diets are notoriously unhealthy.
Its not pressure. Its just that for the longest of time vegetables or plant based is associated with healthy. Eat you veges to be stronger, eat ur veges to be healthier. You dont hear hey eat a fried chicken u can live longer. So it has been that way for the longest time. To change ppl mindset about its gonna be difficult. Bcos not every vegetarian became vegetarian just because they dont support animal cruelty. Some of them wants to just be healthy. Have a so called clean body. That is the reason for the pressure
Because vegans make up less than 1% of the population. You need to convince the other 99%, of whom 33-50% are trying to get healthier to access a real, sizeable market
@@MoeMoe-cg1em There is plenty of research showing that a heavily soy-based diet (which fake meat is primarily made of) is really bad for you as well. So it is a lose-lose no matter what you consume
from an investor standpoint I agree with their decisions: it sounds very chaotic and risky, it's a little too ambitious to project an evaluation of 50mil over a business that has "scaling potential" but hasn't even seen 50mil, I would have not taken that deal either. If he really needed a partner he should have started with a more reasonable amount. best of luck to him
@@victorfontaine1098 but how about next year or they year next?. The other people the sharks mention went bankrupt in 4 years. That’s what the sharks are worried about.
@@joonwonsong4081 Did you read the article? The company as a whole was not acquired, the closed store locations were acquired by a franchise group so they can open other franchises at those locations. The company itself will remain open at only 1 location. The brand is still his, the franchise group didn't want it, or even his recipes, they just wanted the locations because as the video indicated, he got them for cheap on 10 year leases. He sold them to cover some of the losses. He even posted on social media about how this is a sad end for the company but promised to fulfill all back orders on their online products. "Actually read the articles please."
Those are terrible restaurant numbers and his prices are waaay too low. Maybe 500,000 for 15-20% with those numbers, but there’s no guarantee this guy will make it. Restaurants fail very easily
perfect example of: not your speed is important, the speed of the people surrounding you. he lost them by being himself. you always need to touch base on the level the people in front of you have
Seems he valued it perfectly though, there’s a ton of sites reporting him opening like 8 new locations with a valuation of 50 million now and a revenue of 10 lol, kinda crazy
@@emiliosvourliotis1646 The only halfway reliable source I found reporting his annual revenue reports $1M. The net worth you're seeing is 100% based on his valuation in this episode, which was based on inaccurate future projections. 3 stores have closed down, and he has not opened nearly as many as he predicted. Don't get me wrong, $1M is nothing to laugh at, but he's definitely not hitting the success he predicted, some of his money has been burned on failed locations (19% of them), and that's dangerous given the high speed / high risk expansion game he's playing. Don't get me wrong, though, I'm really intrigued by him, and I genuinely want to see him succeed! The man has huge cojones and is on another level.
Thats not accurate... work with investors every day and the one thing they preach is speed but it might be based on type of business... His problem was that he wanted 2.5 million and regardless of what he was doing and had done or said, no one would have offered him that money because the money they use for these bids are a part of the money they get paid from the show and not their actual money in the bank.. shark tank is technically an illusion They make it seem like its theese guys own money are being put into the businesses but they failed to inform people that they all make 10 million a year and then use a part of what they are being paid to invest ... sort of like what Kevin did with FTX where he claimed it was his money that was invested in FTX but it was actually the money that he got from FTX was being put back in the company....
This explains a lot...he opened a location here in San Antonio, TX, so me and my fiancé went to go try it. Back to Barbara's comment about people pulling up thinking it's real chicken (totally us) we thought it was just another chicken place, and no they didn't tell us it was plant based nor was it labeled on the menu anywhere. Aside from waiting 20min in the drive-thru for 2 sandwiches, we finally went back home and we ate probably about 1/3 of our sandwiches. Super disappointed lol. But now my questions are answered, it was PLANT based. This dude is moving very fast, the employees obviously needed more training. Take time in one location dude, then build up.
Yeah like what the hell, even if the menu items are called "chicken sandwiches" (what are they called, by the way?), the customer has no idea what they are ordering. It's like ordering a coffee and getting a tea, because in their menu coffee means tea. Nothing against plant-based stuff, though. You just can't be misleading.
I just googled it and apparently they have 6 locations here in SA?!? My friends and I drove by one on the ghetto part of San Pedro but the "project" part sounded suss so we googled and saw it was vegan and skipped it. I can't believe they have 6 in town when I have never heard one person mention it.
As of right now they have 10 open locations, 3 closed locations, 1 that was supposed to open Summer 2022, and 2 opening Spring 2023. One of the 2 opening next year is supposed to be in Vegas. All other locations are in Texas.
Not one counter. He even asked for counters. That valuation was nuts BUT I believe he went in there to negotiate. That couldn't have been his hard number; they were just scared of that number. I'm surprised Wonderful didn't come in low-balling him and start from there.
When someone comes into the shark tank with a unrealistic evaluation it's a bad sign for investors. Their either delusional or trying to nicle and dime you out of money. Who's to say the chicken guy dosn't run with the money?
Lmao 7:54 his reaction is priceless 😂 there was some sort of desperation and quickness to this guy that was a throw off, hard to put a finger on it and maybe he will make a multi million dollar franchise, but he himself seems like a liability.
@@alexanderher7692 ehh he’s maxing out his debt to stretch his locations without knowing if it’s profitable or lasting. that’s a recipe for bankruptcy after all the funding is burnt. not quite financially smart.
Don’t understand how plant based restaurants and brands sustainable right now when I can’t even get items at the grocery store. Paneras are saying out of stock for salads because of shortage of lettuce.
This episode is what made me look up some of the Shark Tank rules. Knowing now that the Sharks must at minimum MATCH the dollar amount of the initial offer, there was no chance this guy was ever going to negotiate on any deal where a shark, or combination of them, pitched in $2.5M. Either he's an overly ambitious idiot who didnt read that fine print or he went for the infomercial path.
They have immaculate reviews at all of their locations. They're getting ready to open one in Vegas this Spring. I'm in SoCal but I'm one to travel just for a certain kind of cuisine or dining experience. I will surely be stopping through on my next trip this Summer.
Not all reviews were positive. One of the first locations was closed prior to Shark Tank. I was shocked when it opened where it did. I was grossed out when I looked at reviews and saw the negative ones. Didn't last six months. The sharks were onto his bs valuation and model. Growth is now 0%.
My main concern with expanding this fast, with something this novel, yet not entirely new is: people are gonna see a new concept in town, try it once, and then switch back to regular chicken burger from 'trusted' brands. My gut feeling is this happens to the majority of any new food place, especially niche/premium ones - you gotta nail the location, price, product, target demographics, competition thing. And moving this fast, I doubt any prospective, or even less, retrospective analysis is being done at all. Put simply, not enough time has passed for any meaningful long-term data to emerge, other than speculation. And that guy is HYPER about this project. Second thing: yes, name is misleading, could lead to issues. ALSO: As of April 2023 - all their stores are shutting down lmao. It's been less than 3 years (depending on when this aired).
PP is literally worth 50 million with 20 stores open, costs are low, and they are doing AMAZING. Imagine being told you could have been on the ground floor of McDonalds and just said "nah, I dont see that business model working". How did these sharks ever get so freaking far. I'll tell you, LUCK and silver spoons.
That's not the point, at 2.5m the risk is too high. It's not about how much they are making, it's about the fact that a company and product that is still in a proof of concept stage is expanding so fast. See it takes time to develop and finalise a concept. There's a feedback loop between you and your customers, over time that loop will help you fine tune your product by understanding your customer base better. When you have 1, 2, 3 stores it is easier to make these changes. But when you have 50+ stores, mistakes can be catastrophic. You don't even know if you'll have long term repeat costumers or if majority of your costumers are just people trying your product out for the first time. All the early start up mistakes and unforseen situations resulting from being "green" now have to be handled not in 1 store, but 50 other stores. It will be so easy to go bankrupt. There's so much that goes into expansion, different areas have different demographics and will react differently to the same products. It's why Fanta tastes different in different parts of the world. Point is, when you expand so quickly without finalising a formula for success, and a solid structure that accommodates for possible differences across locations, you're setting yourself up for trouble. It might work, but it's too risky to put such a large amount of money into.
An over-evaluation turns them off so fast! They have stated many times that they are not interested in owning less than 10% of anything. If a business owner truly wants a shark partner, then offer them something to get them excited to join your team!
Also, a rule of shark tank is they cannot offer less than the initial ask. Since he initially asked for $2.5, they could only work with that number or go higher and adjust equity.
I think the Sharks were right. He’s overvaluing the company and depending on the Sharks to help scale the company for a low stake in a tremendously highly valued company. The real estate deals and product execution is phenomenal but depending on a large scale unhealthy vegan fast food to be successful over the next ten years is too risky. Large scale fast food franchises are suffering right now and there are numerous competitors in modern and creative fast food restaurants being created in local areas over recent years. Keeping it small is absolutely best
This man's mom was my elementary school cook and his dad was my bus drive Bob the bus driver and I use to wrestle him and his brother in their back yard good to see this man made it out 🎉
I see great future with vegetarian burger chain especially with Indian diaspora. As a vegetarian in US, you have to customize orders in a lot of fast food places. The places like this, Subway and other options can grow exponentially. Zero debt, bootstrap money and growth oriented thinking, I see a real businessman. It's not 50 million yet but it can get there, at least in big cities
For anyone wondering April 30, 2023 is the last day most locations will be open. apparently the company was sold and they are closing all the locations. Now they are catering to the meat market.
The company wasn't sold. The brand is still his, at one location. The other locations were sold to a franchise group who will open up other stuff at those locations.
I been to Project Pollo twice in Dallas, and I have to say, it does not taste like chicken at all. The so called chicken is mushy as hell. The good thing is they have tons of crispy flour layer over it which mask the mushy texture. The customer services were amazing but let's be real, plant is plant. It will never have the texture of actual meat no matter how much flavor or flour you add to mask it.
Didn't know that grilled cheese place went under. Prime example of growing too fast. Even deep pockets franchises don't grow that fast. This guy doesn't know what he doesn't know.
I noticed the more recent entrepreneurs that are on the show the evaluations has been much higher consistently then say six years ago. Is this a thing now to ask that high but risk not getting any deal?
More like a pyramid than a business. Hoping it works out. Making mistakes with 100 stores is fatal. First you learn the pitfalls with a few stores, then you solve them, then you re-solve them, then you don’t make them again as you grow.
Whatever he's snorting, I want it too! 👀 Focusing on opening as many stores as possible is actually counterproductive in this situation, especially given that he's using said stores as his "market research". When is it time to actually sit down & analyse the books and figure out what's really working and what isn't?....
This case was sad, i mean he got the numbers, he knew his business and no one ever knows what is going to happen with ANY business, its always a coin in the air until it goes down onto the floor. I wish him the best, he was doing awesome and accepted feedback with due respect, he was punished for being proactive, energetic and more things.
Sure, no one knows the future, but the way he was operating was far more likely to lead to failure than success. Also, at the time of your comment he was already out of business.
They saw the difficulty in this deal, it went right over their heads...just look at Kevin trying to make sense of it...dude didn't even know what was going on...
The first red flag to me was “I maxed out all the credit cards spent all the savings my wife never knew” 😮😮 it seems like he is on a mission and doesn’t care about being in integrity (also based on some of the comments saying it’s misleading in advertising he doesn’t make it very known it’s plant based). It seems like he is going at a crazy speed and won’t stop to slow down and iron out details. I do think it’s a great idea tho I hope a location comes near me soon. (I don’t agree with mark either.) I think he could have got a great great deal with Kevin heart if he was more grounded.
I think this concept is brilliant, so many people, including myself, love plant based and would kill to have a fast food chain like this out there!! Quick, easy, adorable food (but vegan)!! McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Chick-fil-A, KFC, etc. all hit the same demographic, animal based, so those people have MULTIPLE options and quick easy access to fast food and the rest, who don’t eat animal based products, are left with nothing/limited options for that world of food (fast food)!! Really happy to hear that he is successful now, opens numerous stores and has made millions!! He is an honest, hard working guy. Very smart and well deserved👏👏👏
I disagree that plant based needs to be associated with healthy, especially with food as tasty as Project Pollo has. The Valuation may be a bit high (especially without seeing their books) but people become vegan for ethical issues more often than for health-based reasons.
Yeah that’s tough. To go all in is one thing, But to convince others to go all in with you is another. Especially strangers!! Rumor in the comments is that he’s still doing really well, And that’s good for him, But there’s no way someone else would’ve totally believed that was possible at the time, Even I’m still 50/50 on it knowing the good news of him doing well. I respect it tho. I just bought a house, And I can’t wait to buy several more to rent out, But I also just had a main sewer line break that I never saw coming if that makes any sense!! Just having no real experience with those types of setbacks is kinda messed up and scary… imagine if I bought all 3 homes at once!! 👀 So I appreciate both sides of this interaction, And feel I can take a little bit knowledge and ambition from both. ❤🙏A little more here/little less here type of vibes
Extremely high risk and execution equals success. Ray croc did this, that’s why the sharks are sitting there and there’s Jeff besos, elon musk and many many others you go all in execute and do it again. Many try and only a few make it
He's out of business as of April 2023. One location still open, rest sold to a franchise group to cover losses. They are going to open other chains at those locations with his cheap 10 year leases.
Eventually he will scale back and shutter non-performing stores within a few years. He has to. Overall, his concept is great, his business acumen is decent, his willingness to expand with other peoples money-not good.
Already out of business. Burnt all the capital on expanding too quickly. Those 10 year leases were a great deal, but that also means he can't close many stores, vast majority of them have to succeed.
Searched the nearest one to me & thank God I live in Houston, I am going to try. But he came off as a fast guy & they were scared incase of a bankruptcy.
For anyone wondering, they now have 765,000 locations world wide. Tomorrow they are opening 200 locations on Mars.
thats it? pathetic numbers. he's not moving fast enough.
@@max.c They got Elon Musk as partner
@max low demand since inflation on earth.
😂😂😂😂😂😂
@max 😂😂
I've been to the restaurant twice and the food was great. I don't agree with Mark when he says plant-based needs to be healthy moving in the future to be profitable. I think there will always be a market for affordable, plant-based food not trying to be super healthy. Vegans want junk food too lol
Good point but it does defeat the purpose in a way. I prefer a high fat diet with low carb low sugar myself. It`s not easy but I never felt better.
Most vegan food available on the US market are junk.
@@barackmycat9448 I can see that. And I think options will always be available for people looking for certain dietary options. What I meant was is that there are a lot of vegans and vegetarians who aren't in it primarily for health reasons. Their primary reason may be that they just don't want to kill animals. It may not be a health-conscious choice as much as it is a moral choice. For them, I'd imagine they wouldn't only want "healthy" options.
Great Insight in the last line.
People want to adopt a cruelty free lifestyle. "Being healthy" is a different niche.
@@iva9427 Great response. Have a nice day. I hope it all works out for him.
It’s almost like the sharks penalize you for being too proactive or too subtle. If the evaluation is a problem, well then counter. He was clearly there to get a partner and not a handout.
Yes! Why not just counter? It's like he's being punished for being incredibly successful so quickly.
They explained that the problem is not the valuation itself, which they could counter. The problem is the high amount of money the guy is asking. In Shark Tank they can not offer less money than what the entrepreneur is asking.
@@francislon yeah but they could give 500k and a 2mm loan for like %22
@@robertharvey6030 you are right,its not about the valuation but the fast expansion of the business that they foresee something that would potentially collapse years from now
The issue is that he wants to take a breadth first search approach rather than a depth first search approach. Meaning he wants to expand as fast as possible without actually validating the product through a small ramp up approach and making the changes that needs to be made. His validation is to simply mass open to see if people will like it as is. You only get a single chance once you've gone critical mass. No investor would ever buy into this concept.
For those curious, they now have over 20 stores as of September 2022, and still in business…
Its only been like half a year since this was filmed
@@ldc19900 since your comment 3 new stores have just opened!
We will have to see how those ten year leases work out for them.
I smell bankruptcy soon. Then again, there's a small chance it could work. But a bigger chance at failure. Maybe they opened another 7 stores while I was writing this comment
@@uhjeff3651they did
This guy brain was moving fast, I guess everyone must have noticed how this guy is thinking really fast in a good way. Like you know how skilled and confident this guy shall be to get this energy and motivation to reach his goal. Great guy would love to know how he manage all this thinking and planning.
Guy is clearly whip smart.
If you don't see how much risk there is it's strange. Smart guy yeah but the risk is crazy.
@@MultiJejje every good deal is crazy risk. Elon mask spend all his savings in a niche, where noone believed in, and see where is he today.
I heard a story of starbucks, how one guy made this huge chain, where noone belived him. And now itvs everywhere... Eah it's risky as hell, but if it will be successful, the profit will be crazy huge too.
@@MultiJejje way too much overhead 12 locations at 50 million seems like a value atleast thats 4 mill per building
It’s called cocaine silly
His execution skills is remarkable. He's laser focused and got everything planned out, and that's something I respect. He just overestimated his valuation and that's could actually be quite a turn off for some investors.
All his restaurants closed down already. Go figure.
@@MultiSciGeek There's still 7 open
@@MultiSciGeekthe company was bought out by a big chain restaurant
Nah his personality is off putting. Dude definitely on the spectrum or something
I respect this man's ambitions and work ethic
its good but the problem is that when u have something like this and no middle ground u either go up and up very quickly then go down and lose everything like what mark said i personally would rather have something in the middle where its passive and making 100,000 for 10 years 80-90 percent without much risk then 3 million a year for only 1-4 years then worrying if i go bankrupt bc the market goes a different way or something happens thats a lot of risk its like playing ur money with bitcoin if u don't know how to play the game or if it gets too much u lose everything if u dont do it at the right time i like that hes work ethic and ambitions but going too quick can do a lot of bad in long term but good in short term but not long term
@@leviclarke2429might as well. There's always time to fail but rarely a perfect time to succeed (and scale).
@@leviclarke2429 Lol 100,000 passive, stop watching shark tank bro, go read something
All the sharks were scared but this man is making it happen
@@jeffwhite459 The sharks were right. He was expanding too fast and his business completely collapsed. It all disappeared April 2023.
Update 2023: Project Pollo has 13 locations in Texas and recently added 8 more branches. He is planning to start franchising in 2023 and is looking to partner with experienced restaurant operators. Project Pollo makes an estimated $10 million in annual revenue and is worth $50 million.
So he wanted them to come in at that valuation all that time ago. And have made no money?
@@chrisphillips2734 why u lying
@@Nonegiven14582
1) He was already making good revenue. It would be great to see income statements & balance sheets to better evaluate it
2) The component of future growth/potential is ALWAYS included in an investors evaluation. Otherwise, what's the point of buying a stock in a company and expecting it to stay the same? An investor who believes in the future of a business just wants to pay the today's price whereas the owner of the business wants to receive the the price including potential. They just have to meet somewhere in between
@@chrisphillips2734 They have 7 restaurants in operation
@@0rcd0c You are talking out of your backside
Something about this dude tell me he is going to be super successful…good luck to him..
He believes in himself!
Look at PP now. Zero locations. Operations bought out. Very angry former employees who were promised employee ownership and healthcare but were shorted tips, overtime, and had to pay about $400/month for their "free" health coverage, and finally no job. The sharks smelled that. And, if you were unfortunate to ever go to one of the first shuttered locations down the street from me in Houston, you also would've smelled what was ahead (I wonder if the pics of horrific veg mac and cheez are still on yelp and Google reviews). If Lucas succeeds in something else, I hope it isn't at the expense of employees and customers like he did with this venture.
Kevin Hart dropped 78 movies last year and is talking about doing things too fast😂😂😂🚶
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Funny.. ha. Though, a lot of his movies were on the back burner due to covid and netflix signing deals. He signed picture deal with Netflix long time ago.. so some of them were filmed years ago.
😂😂😂right
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 this comment is fuckn gold
I’m sure he does not have ten year leases attached to any of them.
I serviced this guys house twice for pest control and his restaurants he’s super nice and always left tip
Tell him if you ever see him to bring it back!!!
This man grew up poor, worked in fast food, and then legit just woke up one day and said, "you know what, I think it'd be fun to be a millionaire in a few months"
They’re wildly successful now! With multiple locations in Texas and Nevada still opened. He’s doing really well and I’m happy for him! Especially since the sharks missed out on a great opportunity. Serves Mark (and the rest tbh) right.
Nah they wouldn't bat an eye tbh, not even a good deal as the valuation is way too high.
@@alexsze9136 I'm talking about well after this episode aired. Any other time the sharks are willing to negotiate. Besides Mark's annoying comments about vegan food and how people do it for health, always agitate me.
he is sucwssful now like cheech and chong guys but see what happened to them. The growth has to be organical
Man I hope this comes to europe. Looks so delicious!
@@tropfen It's sold to a bigger company recently. And no vegan offerings, just the locations and tools
He came for the commercial and advice. Smart guy and very nice acting on his part to act like he was actually wanting a deal. Smart dude
Definitely smart. No wonder he's growing so fast
You're just really special and see what nobody else can aren't you. Swear I hate people like you - cynical about the entire world, everything is always staged and in your head you're part of the 1% that sees what nobody else does and you're just so smart.
He wasn't there for a commercial he's just too ambitious and does not have proof of concept. He's skipping steps trying to rush to success and thats why he didn't get it.
True
@@peterc6559 I ain’t reading allat
@@peterc6559 the irony that you're literally the exact person who you claim the original commenter to be. This has to be satire
I remember ordering this on Doordash. I didn't know it was vegan at first, and I also hadn't known it was even on shark tank!
They taste amazing!
If you've ordered thinking it's chicken and only later learned it's plant-based, this is deceptive marketing with potentially dangerous consequences when it comes to allergens.
@@singami465OH no, one person didn't know it was plant based. They're in big trouble now. 😂😂 get real!
He should've come in with the 17.5 mil valuation instead of 50
Lol his numbers are terrible. He was nowhere CLOSE to 17.5 million
@@Frilleon dude that was the last round evaluation when he raised money to... so now it shouldve been around 25 to 30M
@@Frilleon bro, he already got an angel investor to pay him 1.75 million on that evaluation way before the success that he made right now
@@fos1451 Angel investor vs shark. Totally different thing. Angel investors are quiet investors. Sharks can help.
@@Frilleon come on, Frilly!
Sharks are smart on this one. He said it plainly, he wants to accelerate to see if this is going to work or not. And he wants to use everyone else's money to do it. So while any investment is a risk, this one is a particularly high risk because of the speed in which he wants to grow.
best comment so far hahahahhaa
Ever heard of Tom and Chee? They followed his exact path and went bankrupt. For 2.5m?
@@shemmy95 really?????
Well he's successful now from what I've heard
@@aljae6763 You spoke a bit early. Business died in April 2023.
I don’t understand why there’s so much pressure on vegan food to be healthy. People eat unhealthy meat based foods everyday, but if it’s plant based it gets criticized for being unhealthy. It’s very hypocritical especially considering these plant based burgers are generally health-IER than their meat based counterparts, and are without a doubt better for the environment as they require less land, water and no animals to make. All that being said I agree that being able to be plant based, affordable AND healthy is the trifecta. Also the valuation was quite high. Still, I believe there is an opportunity for a 100% vegan fast food brand. Not only do some vegans want convenient affordable options, but also these plant based fast foods can be a good entry point for people who are curious about or are starting to transition to a plant based diet.
His point wasn't that the bread and ketchup is worse than that of an actual burger, but the actual patty is generally more healthy if its actual meat. Vegeterian/vegan diets are notoriously unhealthy.
Its not pressure. Its just that for the longest of time vegetables or plant based is associated with healthy. Eat you veges to be stronger, eat ur veges to be healthier. You dont hear hey eat a fried chicken u can live longer. So it has been that way for the longest time. To change ppl mindset about its gonna be difficult. Bcos not every vegetarian became vegetarian just because they dont support animal cruelty. Some of them wants to just be healthy. Have a so called clean body. That is the reason for the pressure
Because vegans make up less than 1% of the population.
You need to convince the other 99%, of whom 33-50% are trying to get healthier to access a real, sizeable market
@@MoeMoe-cg1em There is plenty of research showing that a heavily soy-based diet (which fake meat is primarily made of) is really bad for you as well. So it is a lose-lose no matter what you consume
Cost price still higher and all you said isn’t necessarily the answer to a longterm investment
from an investor standpoint I agree with their decisions: it sounds very chaotic and risky, it's a little too ambitious to project an evaluation of 50mil over a business that has "scaling potential" but hasn't even seen 50mil, I would have not taken that deal either. If he really needed a partner he should have started with a more reasonable amount. best of luck to him
He doesn't need luck, he has over 20 locations and his business is actually worth 50mil now
@@victorfontaine1098 but how about next year or they year next?. The other people the sharks mention went bankrupt in 4 years. That’s what the sharks are worried about.
@@victorfontaine1098 He went out of business in April. Y'all don't know how business works.
@@nuknukisdeadhis company got acquired and that is why it is closing down. He exited for large sum of money. Actually read the articles please.
@@joonwonsong4081 Did you read the article?
The company as a whole was not acquired, the closed store locations were acquired by a franchise group so they can open other franchises at those locations. The company itself will remain open at only 1 location. The brand is still his, the franchise group didn't want it, or even his recipes, they just wanted the locations because as the video indicated, he got them for cheap on 10 year leases. He sold them to cover some of the losses.
He even posted on social media about how this is a sad end for the company but promised to fulfill all back orders on their online products.
"Actually read the articles please."
An appropriate deal would have been 2.5m for 15% with some
Type of kickback or franchise fee per store
Not for $2.5 mil... this guy files for bankruptcy and dilute all their cash
Should've done 500k for 5% instead of 2,5m. No shark will risk 2,5m for something that hasn't even made that much money
Terrible deal
Those are terrible restaurant numbers and his prices are waaay too low. Maybe 500,000 for 15-20% with those numbers, but there’s no guarantee this guy will make it. Restaurants fail very easily
yeah when I heard 2.5 for 5% I already knew sharks werent gonna bite.
perfect example of: not your speed is important, the speed of the people surrounding you. he lost them by being himself. you always need to touch base on the level the people in front of you have
Seems he valued it perfectly though, there’s a ton of sites reporting him opening like 8 new locations with a valuation of 50 million now and a revenue of 10 lol, kinda crazy
@@emiliosvourliotis1646 yes fully agree - but he did not get this message to the recipients
he came for the ad.
@@emiliosvourliotis1646 The only halfway reliable source I found reporting his annual revenue reports $1M. The net worth you're seeing is 100% based on his valuation in this episode, which was based on inaccurate future projections. 3 stores have closed down, and he has not opened nearly as many as he predicted. Don't get me wrong, $1M is nothing to laugh at, but he's definitely not hitting the success he predicted, some of his money has been burned on failed locations (19% of them), and that's dangerous given the high speed / high risk expansion game he's playing. Don't get me wrong, though, I'm really intrigued by him, and I genuinely want to see him succeed! The man has huge cojones and is on another level.
Thats not accurate... work with investors every day and the one thing they preach is speed but it might be based on type of business... His problem was that he wanted 2.5 million and regardless of what he was doing and had done or said, no one would have offered him that money because the money they use for these bids are a part of the money they get paid from the show and not their actual money in the bank.. shark tank is technically an illusion
They make it seem like its theese guys own money are being put into the businesses but they failed to inform people that they all make 10 million a year and then use a part of what they are being paid to invest ... sort of like what Kevin did with FTX where he claimed it was his money that was invested in FTX but it was actually the money that he got from FTX was being put back in the company....
His solution to "questionable meat" is no question imitation meat.
This explains a lot...he opened a location here in San Antonio, TX, so me and my fiancé went to go try it. Back to Barbara's comment about people pulling up thinking it's real chicken (totally us) we thought it was just another chicken place, and no they didn't tell us it was plant based nor was it labeled on the menu anywhere. Aside from waiting 20min in the drive-thru for 2 sandwiches, we finally went back home and we ate probably about 1/3 of our sandwiches. Super disappointed lol. But now my questions are answered, it was PLANT based. This dude is moving very fast, the employees obviously needed more training. Take time in one location dude, then build up.
Yeah like what the hell, even if the menu items are called "chicken sandwiches" (what are they called, by the way?), the customer has no idea what they are ordering.
It's like ordering a coffee and getting a tea, because in their menu coffee means tea.
Nothing against plant-based stuff, though. You just can't be misleading.
That sounds deceiving n misleading people.
How can they not show it's plant base food on the menu??
I just googled it and apparently they have 6 locations here in SA?!? My friends and I drove by one on the ghetto part of San Pedro but the "project" part sounded suss so we googled and saw it was vegan and skipped it. I can't believe they have 6 in town when I have never heard one person mention it.
I dont trust your comment because you didnt down that sandwich in the parking lot like a savage
@@chaos3088 it says “chickenless chicken” on the menu lmao
Thank you for the updates this guy is doing great and has a bunch of stores God bless him
As of right now they have 10 open locations, 3 closed locations, 1 that was supposed to open Summer 2022, and 2 opening Spring 2023. One of the 2 opening next year is supposed to be in Vegas. All other locations are in Texas.
Kevin Hart started his own vegan fast food chain right after this
You read my mind.
Somebody come back after 2 years and update us on how he is doing...
Why wait 2 years? Sold for parts in April 2023. All but one location closed. Can't run a brick and mortar shop like that.
@@nuknukisdeadthank you for the update, it sounded very risky to just keep growing like that before having each branch stand on its own...
UPDATE 3024: They went intergalactic and now have opened 1,978,320,140 stores spread across the cosmos.
Mark was out but ate through out the episode 🤣
Just because a product is good doesn't mean the operation is good. The guy was going too fast and already ran his business into the ground.
Not one counter. He even asked for counters. That valuation was nuts BUT I believe he went in there to negotiate. That couldn't have been his hard number; they were just scared of that number. I'm surprised Wonderful didn't come in low-balling him and start from there.
The Sharks can't offer a lower number in Shark Tank, only higher equity. Maybe he didn't know.
When someone comes into the shark tank with a unrealistic evaluation it's a bad sign for investors. Their either delusional or trying to nicle and dime you out of money. Who's to say the chicken guy dosn't run with the money?
"I'm looking for a partner so let me throw in a crazy and unreasonable valuation"
Lmao 7:54 his reaction is priceless 😂 there was some sort of desperation and quickness to this guy that was a throw off, hard to put a finger on it and maybe he will make a multi million dollar franchise, but he himself seems like a liability.
He seems quite sharp and not a salesman
Kevin Heart: “so fast” 😂
@@alexanderher7692 ehh he’s maxing out his debt to stretch his locations without knowing if it’s profitable or lasting. that’s a recipe for bankruptcy after all the funding is burnt. not quite financially smart.
@@xdae go big or go home
Desperation? He's a millionaire. Lol he doesn't need these sharks.
As of today, Project Pollo was collapsing and sold to another company. They only had 4 restaurants left after expanding to as many as 20.
indeed
Loris reason for being out was so on point
Don’t understand how plant based restaurants and brands sustainable right now when I can’t even get items at the grocery store. Paneras are saying out of stock for salads because of shortage of lettuce.
One of the FIRST times I'd seen Barbara Go Out for a reason that sounds sensible.
This episode is what made me look up some of the Shark Tank rules. Knowing now that the Sharks must at minimum MATCH the dollar amount of the initial offer, there was no chance this guy was ever going to negotiate on any deal where a shark, or combination of them, pitched in $2.5M. Either he's an overly ambitious idiot who didnt read that fine print or he went for the infomercial path.
5:40 Kevin’s face when he says i thrive in chaos lmaooo 😂😂
They have immaculate reviews at all of their locations. They're getting ready to open one in Vegas this Spring. I'm in SoCal but I'm one to travel just for a certain kind of cuisine or dining experience. I will surely be stopping through on my next trip this Summer.
Not all reviews were positive. One of the first locations was closed prior to Shark Tank. I was shocked when it opened where it did. I was grossed out when I looked at reviews and saw the negative ones. Didn't last six months. The sharks were onto his bs valuation and model. Growth is now 0%.
His eyes when he walked in he looked like if he didnt get a deal everyone was about to die lol
I’m choking. Not on the chicken but the valuation. That was awesome.
My main concern with expanding this fast, with something this novel, yet not entirely new is: people are gonna see a new concept in town, try it once, and then switch back to regular chicken burger from 'trusted' brands. My gut feeling is this happens to the majority of any new food place, especially niche/premium ones - you gotta nail the location, price, product, target demographics, competition thing. And moving this fast, I doubt any prospective, or even less, retrospective analysis is being done at all. Put simply, not enough time has passed for any meaningful long-term data to emerge, other than speculation. And that guy is HYPER about this project. Second thing: yes, name is misleading, could lead to issues.
ALSO: As of April 2023 - all their stores are shutting down lmao. It's been less than 3 years (depending on when this aired).
PP is literally worth 50 million with 20 stores open, costs are low, and they are doing AMAZING. Imagine being told you could have been on the ground floor of McDonalds and just said "nah, I dont see that business model working". How did these sharks ever get so freaking far. I'll tell you, LUCK and silver spoons.
That's not the point, at 2.5m the risk is too high. It's not about how much they are making, it's about the fact that a company and product that is still in a proof of concept stage is expanding so fast.
See it takes time to develop and finalise a concept. There's a feedback loop between you and your customers, over time that loop will help you fine tune your product by understanding your customer base better. When you have 1, 2, 3 stores it is easier to make these changes. But when you have 50+ stores, mistakes can be catastrophic. You don't even know if you'll have long term repeat costumers or if majority of your costumers are just people trying your product out for the first time. All the early start up mistakes and unforseen situations resulting from being "green" now have to be handled not in 1 store, but 50 other stores. It will be so easy to go bankrupt.
There's so much that goes into expansion, different areas have different demographics and will react differently to the same products. It's why Fanta tastes different in different parts of the world. Point is, when you expand so quickly without finalising a formula for success, and a solid structure that accommodates for possible differences across locations, you're setting yourself up for trouble. It might work, but it's too risky to put such a large amount of money into.
Luck - Yes. Silver spoons - No.
Now they have 6 locations.. they are going downhill fast
Now they are bought out.
They are already out of business.
Its very optimistic from Barbara to say that she is an optimist 5:19
An over-evaluation turns them off so fast! They have stated many times that they are not interested in owning less than 10% of anything.
If a business owner truly wants a shark partner, then offer them something to get them excited to join your team!
If you start at 10 then they would end up giving away 20
Also, a rule of shark tank is they cannot offer less than the initial ask. Since he initially asked for $2.5, they could only work with that number or go higher and adjust equity.
2:55 "Lucas, honey, sweetie, poopsy..." LOL
I think the Sharks were right. He’s overvaluing the company and depending on the Sharks to help scale the company for a low stake in a tremendously highly valued company. The real estate deals and product execution is phenomenal but depending on a large scale unhealthy vegan fast food to be successful over the next ten years is too risky. Large scale fast food franchises are suffering right now and there are numerous competitors in modern and creative fast food restaurants being created in local areas over recent years. Keeping it small is absolutely best
This man's mom was my elementary school cook and his dad was my bus drive Bob the bus driver and I use to wrestle him and his brother in their back yard good to see this man made it out 🎉
Opportunity missed for Roberts 'accelerate to fail' in this episode
Vision of that man is role model, the scale that he is managing is exceptional
I see great future with vegetarian burger chain especially with Indian diaspora. As a vegetarian in US, you have to customize orders in a lot of fast food places. The places like this, Subway and other options can grow exponentially. Zero debt, bootstrap money and growth oriented thinking, I see a real businessman. It's not 50 million yet but it can get there, at least in big cities
For anyone wondering April 30, 2023 is the last day most locations will be open. apparently the company was sold and they are closing all the locations. Now they are catering to the meat market.
The company wasn't sold. The brand is still his, at one location. The other locations were sold to a franchise group who will open up other stuff at those locations.
Project pollo sounds like a middle school science project not a restaurant
I been to Project Pollo twice in Dallas, and I have to say, it does not taste like chicken at all. The so called chicken is mushy as hell. The good thing is they have tons of crispy flour layer over it which mask the mushy texture. The customer services were amazing but let's be real, plant is plant. It will never have the texture of actual meat no matter how much flavor or flour you add to mask it.
he said i feel like im being deep fried XD
April 2024 - Project Pollo is closed.
Love how he goes straight to how much debt did they assume smart if they did he still has got none
Didn't know that grilled cheese place went under. Prime example of growing too fast. Even deep pockets franchises don't grow that fast. This guy doesn't know what he doesn't know.
They didn’t go under. Still some locations in Cincinnati. Just had them this past Friday.
Shark be like..I'm out because you think so fast.
I actually agree with Barbara on this one lol
i salute this guy for his execution skills, i wish i was able to be consistent at the executional level.
I noticed the more recent entrepreneurs that are on the show the evaluations has been much higher consistently then say six years ago. Is this a thing now to ask that high but risk not getting any deal?
He has 10 stores right now that are open, there’s 3 that are temporarily closed. Also 3 new ones are opening next year.
More like a pyramid than a business. Hoping it works out. Making mistakes with 100 stores is fatal. First you learn the pitfalls with a few stores, then you solve them, then you re-solve them, then you don’t make them again as you grow.
Pyramid already collapsed in April 2023.
Live in Dallas, the location they opened in the city last year just shut down and was replaced by another up and coming food chain
Whatever he's snorting, I want it too! 👀
Focusing on opening as many stores as possible is actually counterproductive in this situation, especially given that he's using said stores as his "market research". When is it time to actually sit down & analyse the books and figure out what's really working and what isn't?....
This case was sad, i mean he got the numbers, he knew his business and no one ever knows what is going to happen with ANY business, its always a coin in the air until it goes down onto the floor. I wish him the best, he was doing awesome and accepted feedback with due respect, he was punished for being proactive, energetic and more things.
Sure, no one knows the future, but the way he was operating was far more likely to lead to failure than success. Also, at the time of your comment he was already out of business.
Haven't been this early since I raced for the egg.
Update April 2023: they invested in a (non-vegan) chicken restaurant and later sold the entire business.
The food actually looks good lmaoo
It’s not. Overpriced in an over saturated market
Every other fast food looks good in commercials too 😂
@@ywla did you taste it?
@@bryson5628 You must have somelow standards.
They saw the difficulty in this deal, it went right over their heads...just look at Kevin trying to make sense of it...dude didn't even know what was going on...
Rightly so because their profit is about 20% around there so not worth to put 2,5m into the investment.
He a legend. he came for a commercial, not a to make a deal.
I’ve eaten there twice and its amazing and i dont feel as tired afterwards
Great point.
Someone else said it wasn't good above and said they didn't even finish half of it..I guess it varies based on taste preferences.
@@souldesire5932 must be pretty good to open 20 locations....
The first red flag to me was “I maxed out all the credit cards spent all the savings my wife never knew” 😮😮 it seems like he is on a mission and doesn’t care about being in integrity (also based on some of the comments saying it’s misleading in advertising he doesn’t make it very known it’s plant based). It seems like he is going at a crazy speed and won’t stop to slow down and iron out details. I do think it’s a great idea tho I hope a location comes near me soon. (I don’t agree with mark either.) I think he could have got a great great deal with Kevin heart if he was more grounded.
How you gonna call it Pollo when there's no chicken in it???? 🙄😆
"You Are So Fast"
That's All I Heard From Judges
I think this concept is brilliant, so many people, including myself, love plant based and would kill to have a fast food chain like this out there!! Quick, easy, adorable food (but vegan)!! McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Chick-fil-A, KFC, etc. all hit the same demographic, animal based, so those people have MULTIPLE options and quick easy access to fast food and the rest, who don’t eat animal based products, are left with nothing/limited options for that world of food (fast food)!!
Really happy to hear that he is successful now, opens numerous stores and has made millions!! He is an honest, hard working guy. Very smart and well deserved👏👏👏
It is a way to grow business
All stores are now closed lmao
really?
@@spaceduck4080 yes sir
@@WhereAmI2024 that's sad I really feel bad for the guy, thought they were doing well since other comments said they opened more restaurants
Apr 2023 and it looks like they still only have 5 stores in TX. its a shame it didn't take off, i'd try it
Kevin Hart trying to look like a business man. 🤣🤣🤣
I never seen Kevin so quite
This is like getting in on the ground floor of Chick-fil-a. Without all the religious nuttiness.
I disagree that plant based needs to be associated with healthy, especially with food as tasty as Project Pollo has. The Valuation may be a bit high (especially without seeing their books) but people become vegan for ethical issues more often than for health-based reasons.
Yeah that’s tough. To go all in is one thing, But to convince others to go all in with you is another. Especially strangers!! Rumor in the comments is that he’s still doing really well, And that’s good for him, But there’s no way someone else would’ve totally believed that was possible at the time, Even I’m still 50/50 on it knowing the good news of him doing well. I respect it tho. I just bought a house, And I can’t wait to buy several more to rent out, But I also just had a main sewer line break that I never saw coming if that makes any sense!! Just having no real experience with those types of setbacks is kinda messed up and scary… imagine if I bought all 3 homes at once!! 👀 So I appreciate both sides of this interaction, And feel I can take a little bit knowledge and ambition from both. ❤🙏A little more here/little less here type of vibes
Extremely high risk and execution equals success. Ray croc did this, that’s why the sharks are sitting there and there’s Jeff besos, elon musk and many many others you go all in execute and do it again. Many try and only a few make it
“So fast, so fast” 😂
If plant based food is so good why do they always make meet like products?
The best fake chicken 😂😂😂
Mr wonderful is savage 😂 😂😂
Pollo Loco 😂
Barbara: “You’re doing too well, and for that reason I’m out.”
he is worth 50 million now and has 20 locations, the former CEO of McDonalds investmented
He's out of business as of April 2023. One location still open, rest sold to a franchise group to cover losses. They are going to open other chains at those locations with his cheap 10 year leases.
Project Pollo currently has 13 locations with 3 saying temporary closed and 3 new locations coming soon
Barbara: “you’re literally too successful so I’m out.”
Barbra:
You're too fast, I'm out.
Eventually he will scale back and shutter non-performing stores within a few years. He has to. Overall, his concept is great, his business acumen is decent, his willingness to expand with other peoples money-not good.
Yup, it’s already happening. Three locations in TX have closed down and they’re halting development on some other locations in other states.
Already out of business. Burnt all the capital on expanding too quickly. Those 10 year leases were a great deal, but that also means he can't close many stores, vast majority of them have to succeed.
Just looked them up on Google maps as I just moved to Texas. They all say permanently closed.
Is no one going to mention Barbara saying project “polo” 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Please come to the south! We need this in South Carolina!
I don't know why but I can't take Kevin Hart seriously 😂
i stayed with that phrase : your evaluation is Astronomically high, i am out.
Searched the nearest one to me & thank God I live in Houston, I am going to try. But he came off as a fast guy & they were scared incase of a bankruptcy.
Can you update us on the taste?