MEET JOE
Serial Entrepreneur, Investor, & Business Advisor
Joe has spent nearly twenty years founding, growing, and selling successful businesses, all with a deep orientation to impact and sustainability. His approach has enabled Joe’s ventures to achieve record employee retention, scale quickly, and deliver extraordinary customer experiences, all while offering meaningful employment to those most companies have deemed unemployable.
The key to his success is a people-first approach. Joe’s dedication to understanding and supporting his team (many of whom have been impacted by incarceration, homelessness, and addiction) are what keep his employees stable, happy, and delighting customers.
His most recent venture was Hot Chicken Takeover, a Midwest fast-casual restaurant chain, where he served raving fans Nashville-style fried chicken, created hundreds of jobs, and retained employees at a rate three times better than his industry peers.
Since exiting Hot Chicken Takeover, Joe’s set out to create the next impactful hospitality brand while investing in and advising leaders on how to grow their businesses through a people-first culture, do good in their communities, and avoid burnout in today’s modern global economy. Additionally Joe serves as an Advisor at Harvard Business School’s Rock Center between days on his farm and on the trail at ultramarathons.
Joe’s proven success and relatable story have been featured by The Today Show, Forbes, Harvard Business School, Politico, The Rachael Ray Show and many others. As a keynote speaker at many of the largest corporate and association events in the country, Joe has inspired tens of thousands of business leaders.
Hot Chicken Takeover
His most recent success, Hot Chicken Takeover, is a fast-casual restaurant chain taking over the Midwest. The business has earned critical acclaim as a break out brand in the segment and has created hundreds of meaningful work opportunities in the region.
Joe’s passion for sustainable change has also created inextricable value for the businesses he’s built and advised. Hot Chicken Takeover boasts retention rates three times its industry, creating continuity for the team and guests alike. The key? Hot Chicken Takeover embeds HR processes that deeply invest in team member development, something uncharacteristic of most entry-level work environments. From matched savings programs to professional development to financial planning and beyond, Joe believes investments in a person’s personal stability will yield professional success.
Sharing his story with national audiences
Joe’s dedication to fair-chance hiring, social entrepreneurship and HR innovation has allowed him to impact the lives of thousands of people. As Joe continues to build, he is sharing his story with national audiences across the country including The Today Show, Forbes, Harvard Business School, Politico, the Rachael Ray Show and more.
Joe has also served as an adjunct instructor at the Fisher College of Business and the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University.
BOOKING INQUIRIES
Interested in Joe speaking at your event?
Joe is a dynamic, relatable speaker, primed to inspire and ignite positive change. We’d love to hear about your upcoming event and create a meaningful experience for your audience.
