How a Single Food Truck Helped Build a Multi-Million Dollar Taco Empire
This founder started with $18,000 in his bank account. Now he runs a $4.5 million fast-casual-food brand.
ByMatt McCue•
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
In five years, St. Louis native David Choi went from having $18,000 in his bank account to running a $4.5 million Korean-Mexicanfast-casual-food chainwith four restaurants and a food truck enterprise. Here's how he did it.
1. Navigate the humble beginnings.
"I startedSeoul Tacoat the peak of the recession because I didn't want to work three minimum wage jobs 100 hours a week. I sold my car, cashed out my bank account and found someone selling a food truck in Philadelphia for $40,000. I had $18,000. He sold it anyway because his wife would kill him if he didn't get that thing out of the driveway. I drove back to St. Louis and went to a chiropractor the next day because it gave me excruciating back pain.
Continue reading this article — and all of our other premium content with Entrepreneur+
For just $5 a month, you get unlimited access to all of Entrepreneur.com, including our premium content. You’ll find:
- Digestible insight on how to be a better entrepreneur and leader
- Lessons for starting and growing a business from our expert network of CEOs and founders
- Meaningful content to help you make sharper decisions
- Business and life hacks to help you stay ahead of the curve