Sabin Lomac and Jim Tselikis, cousins and co-founders of Cousins Maine Lobster have built a $20+ million lobster empire in just 5 years. They first appeared on Season 4, Episode 6 of Shark Tank (watch now) after being in business for just 2 months but had already done $100,000+ of revenue which was enough to prove to Barbara Corcoran they were worthy of a deal. Barbara ultimately invested $55,000 for 15% of their young company. Fast forward to 2017 and the company has 27 food trucks (22 of which are owned by franchisees) as well as a brick and mortar location in West Hollywood. The company has received hundreds of applications from potential franchisees so it's safe to assume the growth is not slowing down anytime soon.

In this interview I spoke with Sabin about his motivation and inspiration behind starting the company, where did the idea come from, how much did it cost to get their first truck operational, when and how did they get onto Shark Tank, what was that experience like, what is it like being in front of the Sharks, how long did their pitch last, was anything special edited out, were they prepared for all the national attention they received how their episode aired, how has growth been the past 5 years, what advice can he share for other entrepreneurs looking to franchise their business, what's it like working with Barbara, what have been the biggest challenges, why did they get into the restaurant business, how much does it cost a franchisee to open a food truck or brick & mortar location, what advice does he wish he could give himself 5 years ago, how big can Cousins Maine Lobster get over the next few years and much more.

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You can find me at JonahLupton.com or email me at [email protected]  

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