Chipotle
Alex Brogan
Chipotle didn't invent fast food, and it didn't invent Mexican cuisine. What Steve Ells invented in 1993 was something more valuable: proof that Americans would pay premium prices for premium ingredients, assembled quickly, in front of their eyes. That insight — buried inside a modest Denver burrito shop — would eventually reshape an entire industry and create a $40 billion empire.
The accidental nature of Chipotle's origin story contains the first lesson. Ells, a classically trained chef, opened his burrito shop as a means to an end. He needed capital to fund his real ambition: a high-end restaurant. Within a month, the single location was moving over 1,000 burritos daily. The fine dining dream died quickly. The burrito business had revealed itself.