The Sharks Tried to Buy Her Plant-Based Fried Chicken Company: Deborah Torres and the Atlas Monroe Story

Deborah Torres: [00:00:00] I'm on Shark Tank right now. This is the, the cream of the, this is a dream, but the realization that, Hold on. Something just happened here. They said, or some of some of them have said, Hey, your valuation's all wrong. You're not even worth the 500,000. This, this doesn't, this, you know, it's a no for us, but to turn it around.

And now two sharks are offering me a million dollars. You guys know exactly how much this is worth, and if you're gonna double what you said I wasn't worth, I know that what I have is pure gold.

Paul Shapiro: Welcome to The Business for Good Podcast to show where we spotlight companies making money by making the world a better place.

I'm your host, Paul Shapiro, and if you share a passion for using commerce to solve many of the world's most pressing problems, then this is the show for. Hello friends, and welcome to episode 69 of The Business for Good Podcast. So often you hear about startups that raise millions or even tens of millions of [00:01:00] dollars from venture capitalists before beginning to generate any revenue and start to make a dent in the marketplace.

That is a very far story from the story of our guest here today. In this episode, we are talking with Debora Torres. Founder and CEO of Atlas Monroe, a startup making vegan fried chicken, as you'll hear in the interview, a chance encounter with a stranger in a supermarket led Debora to become vegan herself, which ultimately transitioned to her whole family into a plant-based lifestyle.

Pretty soon she was making her own vegan fried chicken, and people really liked it. Leading her to offer it as a one-off at a VegFest in Chicago. Well, one thing led to another, and the next thing you know, Atlas Monroe won the best chicken at the National Fried Chicken Festival. That's not just the best at vegan chicken.

That's the best fried chicken of all of the fried chicken Offered this festival as the company's fame grew. Deora found herself on Shark Tank being offered a million dollars to buy her newly formed company and offer. She promptly rejected on air today, just a couple years. Atlas Monroe now operates [00:02:00] its own factory.

It's on track to bring in 5 million in revenue in 2021, and it just keeps expanding. Amazingly, Deora has achieved all of this without ever taking any outside investment, and she continues to own a hundred percent of her company today. It's an inspirational tale of an entrepreneur bootstrapping her way to success.

And as someone who's enjoyed her fried chicken at a restaurant in my hometown of Sacramento, I can assure you it's not hard to see why I will now, uh, Debora tell you her. Debora, welcome to the Business for Good

Deborah Torres: podcast. Yes, hi. Thank you so much for having me.

Paul Shapiro: It's great to be on with you. Thanks so much for taking the time.

So I wanna get right down to it, Debora, because I know that you have been on quite an interesting entrepreneurial journey and there's a lot to talk about here from everything from the origins of your story to being on Shark Tank and turning them down and everything else. So we got a lot to get into.

Tell me first and foremost, I thought at first that Atlas Monroe must be somebody's name, but it turns out it's not somebody's name. Where does this name come

Deborah Torres: from? Um, [00:03:00] actually it's funny. So Atlas, it means, um, you know, it's global. Um, the flavors in our products, you know, are are very global, eclectic flavors.

From all over the world. So that was, that's the Atlas part, Monroe. Um, it actually means pure from the mouth of the river and all of our food, um, it's, it's all natural. It's plant based and all of the ingredients come are, are derived from water. So, um, you know, it just went together and it sounded perfect.

Paul Shapiro: Okay. Nice. In what language does Monroe mean?

Deborah Torres: Um, it's actually come, it's, it's a Scott, it comes from, uh, Scotland, but the, the actual, uh, river, it's called River Monroe. It's in Ireland.

Paul Shapiro: Hmm. Okay. Interesting. Yeah. All right. So I, I, I know Debora, that you grew up eating meat and you don't do it anymore, but it was, um, and not actually like, [00:04:00] let's say animal welfare or environmental reasons that originally led you to get into a plant-based lifestyle.

It was something that happened in your own family. So what happened that got you interested in plant based in the first.

Deborah Torres: Um, actually funny that you ask . Um, I, I actually went, uh, I went vegan alone before, um, uh, the family situation, which we'll get into, but what act, what, what really started it was that I, I was at a Whole Foods, um, In Chicago for a few weeks.

And, uh, who, who would've known that this whole thing would've changed my life? Cause I was just visiting. And so, um, I, I was standing there and I was looking, uh, just trying to get like a frozen burrito. And there was a man, we were both staring at like the same products. We were just standing next to each other, staring and he's like, Oh, what are you gonna get?

And I'm. I, I don't know. I just, I'm hungry. I dunno. And he was like, Oh, you know, I dunno either because I just, [00:05:00] I just, uh, stopped eating meat and I was like, Oh, why? Like, you know, for, for something that has to do with your health or like, you know, And he, uh, no, actually I just visited, uh, a factory farm with some friends of mine, uh, just like taking a trip there and, , he says, You know, while we were there, we realized that all the cows were crying tears.

And, um, you know, they were, they were screaming. And I'm like, like tears, Like real tears, Like, like tears were coming out of their eyes. And he's like, Yeah, like tears. Like in the beginning, I, I, I didn't, um, you know, you read books and especially growing up and it's like, Oh, she cried. And so I'm like, are you saying like figuratively or like, literally I just couldn't even wrap my mind around that.

Animal's [00:06:00] cried tears. Mm-hmm. . It was something so foreign to me. And um, yeah, he told me that and he was saying how um, all of his friends were crying. He was crying and it was something that changed, changed him forever. And so now he, that, that brought him to Whole Foods cuz he was like, Oh, you know, I heard that whole.

Has, you know, uh, more plant-based products. So here I am. And so probably, um, maybe, you know, maybe I wanna say maybe like two, three weeks later, I just decided, you know what, I'm, I'm not gonna, I'm gonna be vegan. I'm not gonna eat meat or dairy or anything anymore either. Wow. Yeah. And so what year was this?

This is back in 2014.

Paul Shapiro: Okay, so you, so you decide with very little, uh, with very little that's happened. Aside from these experiences in Whole Foods, you're going vegan. All right. And so then did you do it?

Deborah Torres: Yeah. Yeah, I did. And, and it, and my family was just kind of like, [00:07:00] What? You know, like, that's unheard of because nobody, you know, at that time, uh, 2014, nobody, I didn't know anybody that was being, I didn't even know.

Really what, what that, I mean, I knew what it meant, but, you know, I didn't really know how I was going eat or what I was going to eat for probably a good year. I ate chips and hummus and like salad. I, I didn't really, you know, there wasn't like, oh, there's all these vegan restaurants you can go to and all these plant-based products that are out.

You know, it was just whatever you can get your hands on. Especially, like I said, I was traveling that year and so, um, a year later. Um, I go home and I'm, I'm with my family and, uh, like to celebrate my, you know, return. We had like a, a barbecue and my family are big foodies, so, you know, my mom made like barbecue ribs and fried chicken and potato salad and all this really.

Uh, what we would say, [00:08:00] delicious food. And so, um, and she made for me, she had like, these probably, I'm, I'm guessing it must have been, uh, tofu sausages. I, I believe that they, they, yeah, they've been around for a long time, so it had to have been them. Um, and so I remember her, her having like these little sausages on the side for me.

And in comparison, Everything else that wasn't vegan. And um, you know, we had a good day and we had a good time. Maybe probably like three days later. Um, my parents sit, me and my siblings down and they're like, Oh, you know, uh, we wanna tell you guys something. And they said, You know, your father has diabetes.

And I had seen personally, and this was like years before, I had seen maybe like. Maybe three, three to five years before I had seen a documentary, um, on YouTube. It's called Simply Raw. And um, they had taken [00:09:00] a couple individuals and they put them all on a raw vegan diet for 30 days because they all had type two diabetes.

Um, and so they did this in an effort to heal them and they all had like other complications as well, um, because of the, And so, you know, it kind of documented their journey and how difficult, um, the, the diet was for them. And at the end of the 30 days, they were all completely healed of everything that they had.

And so immediately upon hearing, Oh, he has diabetes, I just was like, Well, we have to do something. Like we, we have to, There's. I, and, and my family have seen family members, friends of family, uh, church, family, um, you know, lose their limbs, lose their arms, lose their legs, um, both legs, and then eventually just [00:10:00] die from diabetes.

So for me, hearing that was like, Hearing, Well, your dad's gonna die, like he's gonna die. Get, get ready for that. Get ready to see him lose a limb and then get ready to see him die, basically. Wow. And so, um, I just was like, you know, we have to do something. We can't just, you know, let this happen. And so I said, Well, I, I, I seen this documentary before, you know, let's, let's do what they did.

And so I said, um, we can do it. Uh, we'll do it for 90 days and not 30 days. Um, because I wanted it to be. A lifestyle change and not just like a quick, a quick sad diet, you know, just something that you do and then it's done. I want it to be something where, okay, we we're, we're eating better for life. Um, so, uh, you know, I said, Okay, I will do everything.

[00:11:00] I'll make all the food. I'll prep everything. Let's get rid of all the cooked food that we have, and we'll all be, you know, raw vegan people for 90 days . And, and so, of course, uh, I saw a lot of, some of my family, you know, were upset. My dad was upset. The whole thing was, was kind of, you know, such a change, you know, just to hear like, Oh, I have to change how I eat.

It's not something that people wanna do. And that's why we have, you know, um, so much cancer and, and diseases and, and ultimately death around food because people don't wanna change how they're eating's. Um, and so, uh, you know, it was just like, Well, we have to do this. So I, they said they. And, um, it's funny too because some of my family said, Oh, well after this, we're, we're gonna, we're gonna go back to eating meat.

Um, all of them are vegan to this day, but , [00:12:00] um, you know, uh, it, it really changed a lot of things and so, Um, we started this, this diet and we, we also took walks with him every day as well. Um, and so in the beginning we were eating, uh, salads and fruit salads and smoothies, and probably within a week, um, it was just like we were all mad at each other.

Like, there's so much emo you're detoxing, um, you're experiencing all these emotions, you're hungry. Um, and I just knew, you know what, if we keep going like. We're never gonna get through this, and the point of it is gonna be lost. And then, you know, we're not gonna see the results that we're not even gonna get to do the, the, the test.

Um, so I said, You know what? I need to, I need to make food, like how we were eating before, but, but still, um, not cooked. So I was like, You know, I need to make like some really delicious raw tacos and I need to make delicious raw [00:13:00] burgers and, you know, delicious raw sandwiches and, you know, raw desserts and, and lasagna and all, all types of different stuff.

And it was, it was amazing. And it really, it made, you know, with the study is when, when you're going into it like that and you're very serious about it. And for me, I wasn't serious about it because of the diet. I was serious about it because of my father's. and it, it, it, it depended on this. So, um, you know, when you're studying and, and diving into plant food textures and flavors, you learn so much.

I mean, just a wealth and plethora of information about food and, and, and building it. I, I essentially, um, and so, you know, that's pretty much how Alice Bruno came to be. After, um, after the 90 days, uh, he went to three doctors. They all confirmed that he did not have diabetes. Incredible. He still, Yeah. , he [00:14:00] still does not to this day.

Um, and like I said, all my family after, you know, just experiencing that, that lifestyle change, of course. , They were like, Well, we're never eating meat again either. Um, .

Paul Shapiro: And so, so how did it come to pass then, Debora? Like, you know, you're, you're doing a raw vegan diet, your father is cured of diabetes, and then you think I'm gonna, you know, you're not gonna start a raw vegan company.

You're gonna start a, a fried chicken company. So like how did that come to pass that you were like, This is where I'm going next.

Deborah Torres: Well, like I said, so on the diet, um, you know, we, I, I made, you know, raw lasagna, raw spaghetti, um, you know, raw like quote unquote meat sauce and, and raw cheeses and even raw chicken nuggets.

And so once we learned that he was healed, we're like, okay. Let's start, you know, back incorporating cooked foods into our diet, but still stay, um, plant based and [00:15:00] all natural. And so as we returned to eating cooked foods, I just kept experimenting, um, making vegan foods that were cooked, but still healthier, much healthier versions than the real meat alternative.

I'm sorry, the real meat. Um, That we were eating before. So one of those things, or I should say a couple of those things especially, um, we're, you know, like I said, we're big foodies, so. Around like Thanksgiving, so Turkey, um, around like summertime stuff. So barbecue ribs, and then just like around the dinner table, which a lot of times we found ourselves eating fried chicken.

And so those three things were like, okay, I, I need to definitely make these three items that me and my family can enjoy. And, um, you know, they, they don't feel like, Oh, we're missing out on the real thing.

Paul Shapiro: Uh, so, so I see that you [00:16:00] have gone then from basically raw vegan to vegan, but not raw. But how did it come to pass Debora, that you thought, this is gonna be my career?

It's one thing to be making food for your family. It's another thing to presumably quit whatever you were doing at that time and, and start your own company. So what were you doing at the.

Deborah Torres: Um, I worked for Verizon. Okay. And so when I worked at Verizon, uh, you know, it's, it's such a secure job. A lot of people, I know a lot of people that work at, um, companies like Verizon or, or even like at a lot of, uh, cell phone companies because everybody has a cell phone and.

You know, it's, it's a necessity at this point. Um, you know, there's so much to be made there and it's such a secure job. Um, at the time I was making six figures and I was like, Ooh, uh, you know, you wanna start a company, but you don't wanna [00:17:00] to leave your safety net either. Mm-hmm. and, um, uh, one of, uh, my family members was laid off and I was like, You know what?

That could happen. That can happen to me like, You never know what, what can happen. Um, you have to be ready for that, and you have to, to do what, whatever it is that you need to do now, because you know, if you are laid off, then what you're doing so great. You have a six figure income, your life's going great, then you're laid off.

Now what if you don't have anything to fall back on? You're just now you're, And, and it just happened with all of us, a lot of people, I should say. Um, with the coronavirus, it, it, it stopped everyone in their tracks. A lot of

Paul Shapiro: people. Yeah. So did you decide that you wanted to quit before you knew what you wanted to do?

Or were you thinking, I'm gonna start a pipe based food company and then decided to quit?

Deborah Torres: Oh, no, no, no. So, because, you know, my family, they, we we're, [00:18:00] we're now, you know, testing out vegan food. So as I'm working at Verizon, Um, I'm always Okay here, try this thing and tell me if it tastes good. Try this thing and let me know what I should do better.

Try this thing and let me know if it's comparable to what we were eating before. And so I remember, you know, making fried chicken over and over and vegan fried chicken over and over and over. And then going like, No. Uh, well this was okay, but no, and just like really trying to hit the nail on, Okay, let me see if I can get this right.

And so when I finally did get it, and I remember the day, I'll never forget that day. I was just like,

and uh, just thinking like, Oh, I can do this. I can, I can have this be, you know, a. and, uh, probably for a good year. Um, I, I had, I, I made a website and, um, [00:19:00] not leaving my job, I made a website and I, I was just like, you know, you, you procrastinate and kind of like, Oh, cause you have your safety net going on.

You're, you're cool with that. And so it was like, oh, you know, um, Uh, I'm just working on this website, so I'm working on this website for a year because I'm like, well, I have to make, you know, I gotta take pictures, gotta, you know, get the information correct on the website before I actually start this. And so, as the website was up, um, and, and nobody seen it, we didn't have any social media, anything at the time.

And this is in, uh, 20. So, yeah, no social media. Um, I'm working on this website. It's, it's live, but nobody knows about it. I, I haven't done any advertising noth nothing was going on yet. And uh, all of a sudden I get this one email, um, , the email said, Hey, um, I love your food. Do you wanna come out and do a festival at Grant Park in Chicago?[00:20:00]

I'm like, and I , First of all, I'm thinking in my head, okay, this is, this is the joke. Like this is, this is spam because nobody knows that this website exists. I put this website up, It's been up for maybe at that time, like a month, and I, I wouldn't even have social, We have nothing. How can somebody know that this, How do they find us?

So I thought it was a joke and I thought, you know, this, this is, this has to be spam. Why did this one email come in and I, I, I ignored it for like a good two months. And then one day I was like, Let me just look it up. Let me see if you know this is a real thing. Um, so of course I knew that, uh, Grant Park is, is such a, it's a big famous park in Chicago.

That's where, uh, Lollapalooza is house. And so I said, You know what? Let me write back to this person and see if this is a real. [00:21:00] And it, and it actually was, it turned out it was a real thing. So I'm like, Oh, it's, it's real. You know what, let me, um, let me try, let me try it. Like let, let's, let's start this business finally.

So, um, funny thing about that. Uh, when I said, Okay, I told my family, Okay, we're gonna start this business. Finally, I'm gonna do this. Like, this is what's gonna happen. We're gonna go to Chicago, um, when we get over there. So, re just to rerun the story a little bit, my father, he had done, uh, the garlic festival.

He had been volunteering at the Garlic Festival in Gilroy, California. Um, uh, grilling real barbecue. For years, for like 20 years. And, um, so I said, You know what? When they see the, the smoke from the ribs, like, well, I'll have my father doing the ribs. I said, When they see the smoke from the ribs, they'll come to our booth and try our ribs.

It'll be a great situation. It'll be a [00:22:00] win-win situation. So I told him this dream. I'm like, We're gonna drive to, to Chicago from California with our trailer, and we're gonna buy all this equipment. Um, I'll find out all of it. I'll put everything in and we'll get there and it's gonna go great. Of course, we we're driving all the way to Chicago.

Um, we get a flat tire in, in a, in our trailer, which was a nightmare. . Um, uh, we, we like stopped in the middle of nowhere to get to find the right size tire. This, um, uh, trailer. We like haul all the way to Chicago, get there in the middle of the night, the day of the festival. So, um, in the we morning hours of the actual day of the festival, the festival organizers were still there setting up.

So they were super awesome. They totally were cool with every, they're like, Oh, we're just glad that you guys made it, that you guys came and like, This is insane . Um, and so we set all, we set up [00:23:00] all night. We never went to sleep. Um, we were just like setting up when it comes around to being like maybe 10 30.

Cause the event started at 11. Oh, rewind. So sorry. In the middle of the night when we got there, the festival organizers came up to us. They said, How is your chicken? And we said, Oh, you know. I said, You know, it's great. Like it, it's really good. And my mom being like my number one fan, she said to them, Oh, you guys know Doomy, You guys know Doo, um, in la and they're like, Yeah,

And she said, We're better than Doo. And they're like, Oh, okay. They're like, Okay. So, um, I, everybody knows, but Doo is this really famous vegan restaurant in LA and they were really, honestly, I think they, they had the, the vegan Big Mac and they were like the first, you know, big vegan re. And so she tells.[00:24:00]

The next day, uh, I see the line forming at like around 10:30 AM and it was a line wrapping around all of Grant Park. Really? All of Chicago to me. And I'm like so nervous. I don't know what's gonna happen. Um, we're still setting up and I'm like, Oh my gosh, this is insane. Uh, within 15 minutes of the doors opening, our line was longer than a football field.

I didn't know what was happening. We didn't even have the smoke up. I'm like, I, I remember looking back like, is the smoke. And my dad wasn't even he, the fight, the grill was going, but there was no smoke yet, so I didn't know what was happening. Um, the whole day went by very quickly. Uh, we were. So we were selling all day long.

It was the most insane thing that I was flabbergasted. I didn't know what was happening. Um, I remember everybody coming saying, Oh, you everybody's talking about your chicken. Oh my gosh, it's the best thing ever. Um, people were just going crazy and I was just like, I don't know what's happening. [00:25:00] Um, I just remember the DJ coming saying, Oh, everybody's talking about it.

We have to try it. The organizers came, tried it. Um, at the end of the event, we're like, we put our blood, sweat and tears into it for, you know, our first day, first event, first business transac, first thing ever . And so, uh, the organizers come around and they're like, We have to tell you guys that was the best fried chicken we've ever had.

Vegan or, And I'm like, Oh my gosh, thank you so much. That's so awesome. And they're like, And by the way, we own Dooms Toronto. And I'm like, What

So, uh, you know, the rest is really history cuz you know, from there we got invited to do all these other events. Um, we, we even ended up going to Toronto, New York. Houston, Portland, New Orleans,

Paul Shapiro: and [00:26:00] I, I'd imagine Deora said these were financially lucrative for you though, like even with all the travel costs and everything, you were still making money at each of these festivals?

Deborah Torres: Yes. Yeah, definitely. Yeah,

Paul Shapiro: definitely. And you weren't, and you weren't just going to vegan festivals, right? You were going to like the National Fried Chicken Festival.

Deborah Torres: Yes. Yeah. Um, yeah. We were the first and only company to be invited, the person only vegan company, to be invited to the National Fried Chicken Festival.

And then, um, from this event we were named Best Fried Chicken out of all the real chicken. There by time on magazine's, Extra crispy .

Paul Shapiro: Very nice. So you, you outdid all, all the chicken companies. So first, uh, I'd imagine many people probably are unaware that there even is a National fried chicken festival.

So first, where is, where does this, uh, hallowed event take place?

Deborah Torres: This is in

Paul Shapiro: New Orleans. Okay. And so, and so at the New Orleans National Fried Chicken Festival, you all won Best chicken, not just best alt chicken, but the best chicken out of. [00:27:00]

Deborah Torres: Yeah, we were named the

Paul Shapiro: best . Well, congratulations. That's, that's pretty cool.

Yeah. Thank you. All right, so what is it then? Uh, your, what is in this? That is the best fried chicken we in the country. What, what is in this recipe of yours? Um,

Deborah Torres: well, our recipe, uh, is proprietary, but it is a wheat based product. Okay. Um, you know, it has a lot of flavor and it packs a punch of spice mm-hmm.

So, um, you know, that's, that's just something I think that comes from my family. Both, both of my parents are. Not, uh, born in America. My father is from Guyana in South America, and my mother, uh, she is from. . And so, um, you know, both a lot of food. I would just say that I grew up with a lot of food. Food and a lot of flavor.

Mm-hmm. . And so, um, I think that our chicken it stand stands up well to, to my mom's [00:28:00] that I grew up with.

Paul Shapiro: Well, well, I can at, I can attest to that because, uh, my wife and I got it at the Pure Soul, uh, restaurant. It's a, it's like a vegan restaurant in Sacramento and we really. And so, um, it's been a long time since I've eaten conventional fried chicken a few decades, but, uh, it tasted, tasted very good to me.

So I, I imagine, uh, that many people, chicken eaters and not would also enjoy it. But speaking of enjoying it, I want to get down to, you know, the biggest event, what I presume is the biggest event in the company's, the young company's history here, which is going on Shark Tank because they really. Uh, they really enjoyed it.

I, I watched the episode and, and we'll have a link to it in the show notes here so people can see it too. But, um, you know, you went on, uh, asking at a time when you said that, uh, you had $60,000 in revenue at that point, and you were asking, uh, for a $5 million valuation. Right? So you're saying that you wanted them to invest half a million.

To gain ownership of 10% of Atlas Monroe. So basically 5 million valuation. [00:29:00] So where did that valuation come from? Was that something that you were thinking in advance? Did somebody advise you about that? Like where did you come in saying, Hey, this thing is worth $5 million.

Deborah Torres: Well, um, so first of, first thing, you know, that the show is edited at, so it, it appeared, um, and I realized that, um, it appeared because of the editing that we had up to that point made $60,000 in our business, um, that the show was, was taped earlier in the year, and that was what we had made up to that point in that year.

Oh, I see. Yeah. But at that point in our business, um, uh, we started, so the, the very, from the first event that we did, which was the one that I said, um, was at Grant Park in Chicago. So that was June of 2017. And, um, uh, the, the taping was early. [00:30:00] 2019. And so up to that point in the business, we had made upwards of $300,000, not 60,000.

Paul Shapiro: Okay. Uh, cool. So is that where you were coming with the 5 million? You were thinking, hey, like, you know, we, we are gonna have, um, millions of dollars of revenue, which I believe you do now, right? Think that's what I read.

Deborah Torres: Yes. Yeah. So that really came. , you know, what we're doing. Um, that, because at that point, so what was going on at that time, um, was that, you know, we were working out of a shared, uh, commercial kitchen space, and so we were only able to take on so many orders at a time mm-hmm.

and then work on fulfilling those orders. And that was just, Like a team of about four people. Yeah. Um, really two people, um, like full-time and maybe two other people part-time. Mm-hmm. . And so, um, you know, but the amount that we were, that we were able to take in [00:31:00] was a. We had an extraordinary demand. We just couldn't fill it.

Yeah. And so we, we would be cutting off our own revenue just because, you know, we didn't wanna take on too much that we couldn't bill.

Paul Shapiro: Okay. So on, so on the show, Devor, they offered you. A million dollars to buy the entire company. Now, you know, what you were asking for was basically 10%, for half a million, but they offered you a million dollars.

And for a lot of early stage entrepreneurs like yourself, the chance to make a quick million dollars would be extremely attractive, as you can imagine. Um, I, I imagine, you know, a million dollars for you would've meant, you know, if you, uh, divided it by the number of years that you've been actually running the company full time, it would be a very large salary as you can imagine.

So why'd you turn? Why do you turn down a million dollars? Uh, and, and the chance to scale up with one of the sharks,

Deborah Torres: you know? Um, I've really learned that ownership is really everything. And so what I think what, what a [00:32:00] lot of people miss, or, you know, what, Like I said, the show is edited, so, uh, what people might not have understood is that we weren't going to be having any owner.

Of what we had, what we created, that that right to it was going to be taken away for the million dollars. I inherently knew if you, you know, I'm, I'm on Shark Tank right now. Like I, this is, this is, you know, this is the, the cream of the, this is a Dream. Um, but the realization that, Hold on, something just happened here.

They said, or some of some of them have said, Hey, your evaluation's all. Um, you're not even worth the 500,000. This, this doesn't, this, you know, it's a no for us, but to turn it around and now two sharks are offering me a million dollars. You guys know exactly how much this is worth and if you're gonna double what you said I wasn't worth, [00:33:00] I know that what I have is pure gold

Paul Shapiro: Nice, nice, nice . So to, so to regal people with why you likely made the right decision then do you have an estimate of what you value or what anybody externally might value the company at today? A couple years.

Deborah Torres: Um, you know, it, I would definitely say that. So, um, where we were at that time is that we were working out of a sh a shared commercial kitchen space.

Now we own our own multimillion dollar manufacturing facility and equipment. Um, we're also in the process. Expanding to both a secondary and third location. So, um, I would definitely say, you know, the sky is the limit. With where we're going and what we're doing, and I think that a lot of people will, will see exactly what, what Atlas Monroe is made of.

Okay,

Paul Shapiro: So why, why go that route, Debora? Like [00:34:00] why create your own production facility as opposed to just do what so many other startups do and, and utilize co-manufacturers to make their products for them.

Deborah Torres: Well, so you have to really look at this and, you know, it will never escape me that I'm, I'm a young black woman, and so a young black woman that even on national television, uh, people who were very, very wealthy were still trying to take what I have created.

So with that in mind, um, you know, it. It's behoove of me to, to keep what I have and not give it away. There's so many ways that people. Uh, can easily take what you have. For example, uh, Chloe Elli, um, you know, she, she had her, she, I believe actually she, she just won, um, right. Uh, her company back. But, but they, you know, she has the, the chain restaurant by Chloe.

And, um, somehow they pushed her out of her own. [00:35:00] Same thing with, um, uh, Chef Tanya. She has, uh, what is that? Nature's Cafe, I believe out of, um, Native Cafe, I'm sorry, out, uh, Palm Springs and that chain restaurant. And they somehow pushed her out. And, you know, these women are, are amazing, very beautiful, very awesome women.

And I, I don't really know exactly what occurred, but I know that it. You know, we see, see the same thing with the founders. They have the movie now, um, uh, with McDonald's and even famous Amos. It, it happens where you, you make this deal and it sounds amazing and awesome where you give, you're like, Oh, well let partner with so and so and give away.

You know, my secrets to so and so. I trust them. I trust that the right thing is gonna happen, and all of a sudden the the rug is stepped out from under you and you don't have, you know, you don't own the rights to what you created. Mm-hmm. , I, I was not gonna let that happen. Not, not for all the blood, sweat, and tears that me and my family have put into this business.[00:36:00]

Paul Shapiro: All right friends, I hope you're enjoying the interview so far and let me just briefly interrupt, to let you know that this episode is sponsored by the very good food company, more commonly known by one of their brands, The very good butchers. I can't tell you how many times listeners of this show ask me how they not as captains of the venture capital industry with hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars to invest.

But as mere mortals like you and me can invest in great companies making the world a better place. Well friends ask no longer because the very good food coat is now the second publicly traded, plant-based meat company in the United States. Meaning you can go online and buy shares in their company today.

You can check them out. Their ticker, V R Y Y F. Again, that is V R Y Y F. For full disclosure, even before they were a sponsor of this show, my wife Tony and I became shareholders ourselves since we were so impressed both by the array of really great plant-based meat products that they're offering and the All Star team that they have [00:37:00] assembled over there at the Very Good Food Co.

These folks are growing fast. They're building production plants a restaurant and more. They even just pass their first ever $1 million revenue. Showing that this startup is no joke, whether it's steaks, ribs, burgers, sausages, pepperoni, or more, you name it, the very good butchers are making and selling it.

They even do plant-based salmon and yes, before you ask plant-based cheese to via an acquisition that they made, while they are based in Canada, they have production in California too. And yes, they're treated in the. And they are rapidly expanding the reach of the animal free meats that they are selling.

I love their messaging, which focuses on how they are proudly butchering beans, not animals, but they still embrace that artisanal butcher aura in their imagery and in their packaging. So go check 'em out@verygoodfood.com to see all the brands in the good work they're doing and how you can become a shareholder yourself if you're so inclined and of.

Tasting is believing. So make sure to order a few [00:38:00] things from their site and prepare to be wowed. Now, back to the interview. So how did you fund owning this factory? I mean, did you take out debt? Uh, like you, you don't have external investors in the company at this point, although I think you may be accepting them.

I think we can talk about that, but, uh, if it was, if it's a multimillion dollar facility, you know, So how did you fund it?

Deborah Torres: Um, you know, after Shark Tank, um, we, you know, we, we made so much in sales and we took on a lot of pre-orders that weren't due for, for, you know, um, until we could fulfill them. And that ended up being months later.

But a lot of people were, uh, willing to wait because they understood. They understood the mission and they, they understood, they wanted to support us. They wanted to try our products. So there was a lot of, of, um, capital that was made, um, just from telling our story on Shark Tank. Um, uh, and I would [00:39:00] definitely say that there was a lot of, um, a wealth of information that was provided to us just from a lot of people hearing the story.

As far as resources that we could get without having to give up, you know, equity and ownership of what we created.

Paul Shapiro: Hmm. Okay. Um, cool. Well that's, that's great Debor. Congratulations on that. So you're doing a lot of sales online, all like a D to C or direct to consumer. You also have some restaurants that are carrying your products.

Um, are we going to see Atlas Monroe Chicken in supermarkets anytime soon? Like what's the, what's the strategy to.

Deborah Torres: Yes. Yeah. Uh, we're definitely going into supermarkets this year, so we're very excited about that. Um, there will be a different, um, chain grocery stores that you'll see at Monroe in this year.

And, and moving forward. [00:40:00] Okay,

Paul Shapiro: great. Uh, and are, are there any, uh, chain restaurants, so not just like these vegan restaurants, but uh, you know, have you thought about, uh, going, uh, broader than that with some of the more mainstream restaurant

Deborah Torres: chains? Yes. Um, I'm, I'm definitely for that. So, um, currently, um, so, uh, there's.

A chain called Witch. Witch, which is like a subway. Mm-hmm. . Um, and that's a national chain. Well, the owner, Jeff Elli, he has a concept called Bird Gea. And so it's, it's the same, um, uh, a chicken, uh, chain restaurant. And so right now actually, um, we are in that restaurant. Um, and he will be expanding that, um, into a chain.

Paul Shapiro: Let me ask you, Debora. Um, you know, you're obviously expanding pretty rapidly now. What do you project for revenues for, for the year 2020?

Deborah Torres: Um, you know, I think that for 2021 we'll probably do [00:41:00] upwards of 5 million.

Paul Shapiro: So if you do that, it would be a, a pretty good thing, uh, that you didn't sell the company for 1 million just a couple years earlier.

If, if you're doing 5 million in revenue, obviously you're gonna be, uh, have evaluation of some multiple over that. So, uh, congratulations on taking that bet and really believing in your own company since, and, and am I correct in that you still own a hundred percent?

Deborah Torres: Yes, you are correct. Yeah. Yeah. Well, yeah, thank you.

You,

Paul Shapiro: you, you made a bet that so far at least it's paid off, so congratulations.

Deborah Torres: Yeah, Thank you.

Paul Shapiro: I know that you offer a lot of options, Debora, um, in addition to fried chicken, you have other options too. Um, do you plan on doing anything for people who are, let's say, looking for something that might be not fried or something that even, uh, to goes back to your vegan roots here, like raw items?

Or is this gonna be primarily centered around, uh, fried chicken and other fried

Deborah Torres: foods? I would definitely say that, you know, there's so much, there's so much that Atlas Monroe has to offer that we really haven't even begun to touch. [00:42:00] Um, and I think that with the expansion of our secondary and third location, um, we'll really be able to roll out those delicious items that we've been, you know, keeping in the closet, or should I say in the cookbook,

Paul Shapiro: Nice. Nice. How many, how many folks work at the company?

Deborah Torres: Um, it's about 20. We're probably going to gonna hit, uh, a good between 25 to 30 coming up, but, um, about 2020. Probably about 20 to 23 people right now. Yeah.

Paul Shapiro: Well, it's really amazing what you have been able to create from nothing essentially, and without taking outside investment.

You know, a lot of startups, uh, they take, uh, millions of dollars of, uh, investor money and they still aren't doing 5 million in revenue. So, um, it's very impressive what you've created. So let me ask you, Debora, if there's other people who are listening to you right now and they're thinking about. How they might be able to make an impact on the world too, and do something good for, uh, the planet and for people and for animals, and they're inspired by your [00:43:00] story.

Are there any resources that you would recommend that have been useful for you in your own entrepreneurial journey that you think might be useful for other people to check out?

Deborah Torres: Yes, definitely. Um, you know, I think that there's such a wealth of information. Um, you can, one thing that I would definitely recommend, um, you know, something that, uh, uh, somebody has.

I guess reached out and, and said to me, um, is definitely the SBA and a lot of, uh, minority groups. So, you know, if you join, you know, if you, whatever, uh, race that you are, you know, there's a lot of, um, minority groups that, that give out a wealth of information and um, you know, just wanna help. There's just so many people that wanna help because they know that, you know, the resources for us is very slim to none.

If you go to. Lend industry, I believe lend industry has a lot of wealth of in information. [00:44:00] Um, I think a lot of people did their P p P loans from, from lend industry and lend industry works with a lot of minority. Um, groups, um, and, and really focuses on getting and on grants and getting minorities the help that they need to grow their businesses.

Paul Shapiro: Okay, well, we'll, we'll have links to, uh, those resources and the show notes on this episode at Business for Good podcast.com. So you can go straight there and, and check that out. But finally, Debora, I wanna ask you, you know, you've, you've had quite a ride, uh, going from. This off chance festival to now having a multimillion dollar business that you've started.

So obviously, I imagine there must be other ideas that you have if you weren't doing Atlas in Monroe, but you are, and presumably this is gonna be your future for some time. So are there other ideas for companies that you have that you hope that somebody else is gonna do? And if so, what are

Deborah Torres: they in terms of, of, um, a vegan, something vegan.[00:45:00]

You know, we, we love, um, you know, like say going to the zoo or, or, or seeing animals, you, you don't. Now it's like, well, I'll never go to a zoo again, because you realize all these animals are in captivity and the way that they're treated and, and all of that. And so now they have, you know, animal sanctuary.

But I wish that, you know, there was, there was, um, you know, maybe, um, in terms of animal sanctuaries, I wish that it, it could get bigger. I wish that, you know, um, as we are, a lot of these animal sanctuaries are, are standalone and then, you know, they, they have to raise money and. And, um, uh, they, they're small and you gotta find them.

I wish that it could become something, something global, something, you know, big, something national. And, um, I think, you know, maybe if we could all, you know, either, you know, team up and, and have it be something [00:46:00] where it's, it's very easy to find and a lot of the, the kids that are, a lot of kids are growing up vegan, um, you know, can go and, and see animals and, and learn about animals and have it be something that's very, um, Humane and very beautiful, and not something that's, you know, cruel and unusual.

Paul Shapiro: So. All right, Very cool. Well, that sounds like an awesome idea. If somebody can find some way to help get some more money to, uh, make sure that, uh, animals who are rescued have a sanctuary to go to and make that something that isn't a drain on cash, but could actually be generating some. So you heard it from Deborah.

Uh, she wants to uh, she wants to come. Your, your new animal sanctuary, so de boro. Are there any other, uh, ideas that you have for, uh, companies that you wish existed that don't yet?

Deborah Torres: Yes, I definitely think that a vegan amusement park should be in the works. There's so many vegans and, um, so many cool things around food that can [00:47:00] easily, um, be used for entertainment purposes.

So really fun, Um, especially for kids, you know, um, and families that are. Either being raised vegan or transitioning to vegan, or even just wanting to learn more about plant foods. Um, and amusement park is a wonderful place to do that. And, um, just having so much fun around food at amusement parks right now, you know, um, go to amusement park and we have to either say, Hey, you know, uh, We have this dietary thing, so can we bring our food in?

And if they say no, then we have to exit the park and go eat in our car and then come back. And it's like, for, for what reason? You know, if you guys just, um, incorporated vegan food into the park, made it a beautiful, fun experience. Fun thing. Um, it can work for everyone, um, especially as meat eaters. Even people who eat meat are, you know, still looking for plant-based alternatives.

So it's a win-win for everyone. [00:48:00]

Paul Shapiro: Nice. So I will travel to wherever that park is going to be. So I look forward to, I presume they're gonna be serving Atlas Monroe Chicken there and I look forward to in between rides, uh, getting some, some fried chickens. So that's a cool idea too. And Debora, I really appreciate all that you're doing.

Congratulations on the success that you're having. We'll look forward to continuing to watch that success and hopefully get to see you prove those sharks very wrong, even more so than they've already been proven.

Deborah Torres: Oh, thank you. Thank you so much. Um, I really appreciate that you have me. I'm very

Paul Shapiro: grateful.

Thanks for listening. We hope you found use in this episode. If so, don't keep it to yourself. Please leave us a five star rating on iTunes or wherever you get your podcast. And as always, we hope you will be in the business of doing good.