T.K. Pillan, Founder & Chair of Veggie Grill - How to Be on the Right Side of History

E20: T.K. Pillan is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Veggie Grill, which is the leading 100% plant-based restaurant company in the U.S. Since founding Veggie Grill in 2006, T.K. has been on a mission to help people advance their conscious food journey in an approachable and attainable manner. T.K. concluded that one of the most impactful ways to create a better future was to change consumer habits around food. Today, under T.K.’s leadership, Veggie Grill has grown to 39 locations across California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon and Washington. Veggie Grill has been credited with creating some of the most iconic plant-based dishes such as the Rueben on Rye and the Santa Fe Chickn’ sandwiches. T.K. is also the Co-Founder and Partner at Powerplant Ventures (PPV), a venture capital fund that supports visionary entrepreneurs with world-changing, plant-centric companies delivering better nutrition in more sustainable and ethical ways. PPV investments include Beyond Meat, Thrive Market, Ripple Foods, REBBL, Beanfields and Vive Organics. Prior to T.K.’s work as a food entrepreneur, he Co-Founded Guidance Solutions, one of L.A.’s first e-commerce development firms that was consistently named one of the fastest growing technology companies between 1999 and 2001. He earned an engineering degree from MIT and an MBA from UCLA. TK’s LinkedIn Profile:https://www.linkedin.com/in/t-k-pillan-0033b1/ ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/t-k-pillan-0033b1/) Veggie Grill:https://www.veggiegrill.com/ ( https://www.veggiegrill.com/) Power Plant:http://powerplantvc.com/ ( http://powerplantvc.com/) 80/20 Plants:https://8020plants.com/ ( https://8020plants.com/) WHAT YOU'LL DISCOVER IN THIS EPISODE: ●     The single consistent action that helped T.K. go from someone with no food and beverage business or being a vegan, to founding the largest vegan restaurant chain in the country. (39 restaurants and counting!) ●     Why it’s paramount to get control of your e