When entrepreneurs find their true calling, they might have a vision for their companies that not everyone can get behind. Whether it be the naysayers who doubt it can be done, or supporters who simply can’t keep up with the pace of innovation, achieving success requires cultivating a dedicated circle. Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks CEO Derrick Hayes discussed that lesson on his 38th birthday this year while sharing a roundtable with Hollywood filmmaker Tyler Perry, gospel musician Kirk Franklin, and rapper Jay “Jeezy” Jenkins.
“Tyler Perry said something to me I’ll never forget, because I battle this all the time, I always try to bring everybody with me,” Hayes tells Fortune. “‘Sometimes you’ve got to leave them in the sand. Sometimes you’ve got to go in the water, row the boat, leave them in the sand, and offer to come back and get on the boat’ … Sometimes people aren’t going to understand the mission.”
Hayes has been executing a game plan to take Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks to the top since he opened his first location in a Shell gas station down in Georgia back in 2014. In the decade since, the Philly native has exploded his restaurant empire across the U.S. at 12 locations, with two of Big Dave’s hotspot locations in Atlanta bringing in $1.1 million to $1.8 million in net sales alone last year. The chain currently sells a cheesesteak every 58 seconds, ranging from the basic $11.99 sandwich to $46.99 specialty choices.
