The Finance Ghost Plugged in with Capitec

Ep5: From espresso to enterprise with Bootlegger

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Ricky Ruthenberg has truly taken a ground-up approach to his career. Adapting to opportunities as they present themselves is clearly a powerful skill. From waiting tables at Col’Cacchio to helping launch the first Bootlegger in Sea Point, he’s gone on to build the team that runs a national chain of nearly 100 Bootlegger restaurants.

From espresso to enterprise, this is the story of building something from nothing. Hard work, perseverance and self-belief are the ingredients in this delicious recipe.

On episode 5 of The Finance Ghost Plugged in with Capitec, Ricky talks about what it takes to grow a local brand into a national success story.

Episode 5 covers:

  • The hard work required when opening a restaurant and why owner involvement is critical in the early days
  • Building the Bootlegger brand and overcoming challenges along the way
  • Why the group runs a mix of corporate-owned and franchise stores and how that creates opportunity
  • The pros and cons of having master franchisees vs many individual franchisees
  • How the retail store model helps drive brand awareness and loyalty
  • How his role has evolved from cooking and closing up the first store to leading a national team as CEO
  • Managing coffee price volatility and the strategies behind it
  • How the Bootlegger survived COVID and thrived afterwards
  • The value of Capitec as a franchise funding partner

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    The Finance Ghost Plugged in with CapitecBy The Finance Ghost