John Schnatter made headlines last week after taking digs at his former company, Papa John's.
The founder and former CEO claims Papa John's International Inc. (Nasdaq: PZZA) faces hurdles from a workplace standpoint, as the shift to a new Atlanta headquarters will cause the company to lose some of the institutional knowledge it has in Louisville. In a previous statement, Schnatter said he was disappointed in the Atlanta HQ announcement, worried that Papa John's won't maintain its relationship with the city it has long called home.
"While this is disappointing, I offer my best regards to my friends and colleagues in Louisville, hopeful that a new generation of entrepreneurs will create the next business success stories in the Louisville community," he said in September.
So I asked Schnatter — what can Louisville do to create more entrepreneurial success?
Here's what he said:
Louisville needs to become a welcome environment for business innovation and entrepreneurialism by reducing the barriers to success. Our economic development leaders know all too well the importance of creating a positive business environment to attract new businesses and keep existing companies incentivized to continue to call Louisville their home. This is especially true for our next generation of entrepreneurs, which represent the future growth potential of the region.
In the near term, with so many businesses struggling to survive, we need to trust Kentuckians to use safe healthy practices to prevent the spread of Covid-19 while allowing our economy to re-open completely. Then, we should focus as a community on limiting taxes and regulations on our businesses, as well as finding sources of funding and mentoring for our entrepreneurs. This would help our region potentially compete as the next hotbed of opportunity for good paying jobs and successful new ventures that add value to the community and make this the best place to live, work, raise families and thrive.
Schnatter also shared some thoughts on entrepreneurship in the video and text below.
"The thing I like about America is America loves small businesses. Eighty percent of new jobs are created by entrepreneurs and small businesses, and all big businesses start out as a small business started by one or two people. David Thomas with Wendy's, Ruth Chris Steakhouse was Ruth, Truett Cathy with Chick-fil-a — usually you have one or two people come up with a concept.
"But the thing I admire most about entrepreneurs is their guts, their courage because nine out of 10 entrepreneurs fail. You've got to have a lot of courage, a lot of tenacity — I guess maybe a little bit stupid or a bit crazy. Entrepreneurs think they have a better way of doing something, whether it's more efficient, more productive, more innovative; they think they know a better way. And when an entrepreneur pulls it off, I mean it's a beautiful thing. America benefits, the people in America benefit and it's just fun to be a part of the American Dream. Papa John's is the American Dream — it started out as a small business."
We discussed Schnatter on this week's episode of the Access Louisville podcast, a weekly program from Louisville Business First. You can check that out on popular podcast services or in the player below.