Billionaire founder of Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers: One ‘stupid’ strategy nearly cost me my business

Todd Graves’ high-risk funding strategy for Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers was a bold gamble that almost cost him his dream.

Today, the co-CEO and founder of Raising Cane’s is worth an estimated $9.5 billion, according to Forbes, thanks to his over 90% ownership stake in the company. But getting there was no easy feat. He had to work 90-hour weeks in an oil refinery and fish for salmon in Alaska just to raise enough capital to open the restaurant’s first location.