Why I Invested in Pizza

Why I Invested in Pizza

I’ve built tech companies. I’ve led real estate developments. I’ve pitched investors in boardrooms and elbowed through food stalls in street markets. But the move that gets the most raised eyebrows?

I invested in pizza.

Not just any pizza — Sourdough Pizza Bros. A brand built on ancient fermentation, bold creativity, and a relentless obsession with crust that actually means something.

Now, I know what you might be thinking: pizza? Isn’t that market saturated? Doesn’t every strip mall already have a Papa-Something?

Sure. But that’s exactly the point.

Pizza Isn’t a Trend. It’s a Behavior.

Let’s start with the numbers:

  • 460 slices of pizza are consumed every second.

  • 1 in 8 Americans eat pizza on any given day.

  • 94% of Americans eat pizza regularly.

  • The average American eats 46 slices per year.

  • Americans eat a third of all pizza consumed worldwide.

  • About a third of all consumers consider pizza a valid breakfast.

Let that last one sink in: Breakfast. Pizza.

That’s not a fad — that’s infrastructure. That’s the behavioral equivalent of indoor plumbing and group texts. Pizza is embedded in our culture, rituals, and lives.

So when I saw the opportunity to invest in a company that wasn’t just another chain… but rather a brand built on fermentation, flavor, and soul — I knew it was worth betting on.

What Makes Sourdough Pizza Bros Different?

We’re not trying to be your 2AM, soak-up-the-suds pizza. We’re not built on gimmicks, fake crusts, or factory shortcuts.

Our dough is aged for 36 hours and backed by a 100-year-old starter.

It’s stretched by hand.
It’s built to rise.

Every slice we serve is a conversation between the past and the future — where ancient fermentation techniques meet modern flavors, bold sauces, and a swirl of personality you won’t find in a franchise playbook.

We call it “Crust with a Past, Pizza with a Future.”

And it’s not just about ingredients. It’s about brand.

Voice.
Humor.
Ownership.
Culture.

A company with something to say and the taste to back it up.

So Why Me? Why Now?

Because I don’t just invest in markets. I invest in moments.

I invest in things people talk about when they leave the table.

I invest in underdogs with unfair advantages.
I invest in products with ritual built in.
I invest in things that scale not just across ZIP codes — but across identity, story, and community.

Sourdough Pizza Bros isn’t just a pizza brand. It’s a rebellion against the soulless, the soggy, and the same-old.

It’s built to honor craft.

To serve overlooked communities.
To prove that a pie can be personal.
To be a startup with starter. Literally.

And in an era where everyone’s trying to be the next big tech thing, we decided to be something else:

The Dominos of Sourdough.
But fresher. Funnier. And built to last.

MAKE YOUR DAY

I love food. And martinis.

And I love creating really cool brands for my clients.

I decided to create my own line of products using my new “MAKE YOUR DAY” brand.

The first product? Happy Hot Sauce.

Why? Because so many hot sauce bros and brands want to “make you sweat” or “melt your face” for hours. That shit is silly.

My goal is to Make Your Day. Get a little heat. Get a little flavor.

Because, isn’t that what products should do? I am focused on making your day.

Here’s the label. Hit me up and you get a free bottle.


Lucano Ladder

Created by design lab Metaphys and Hasegawa Kogyo Co., the top manufacturer of ladders and scaffolding in Japan since 1956, this ladder has received dozens of design accolades.

They transformed an ordinary household item into a work of art. 

Constructed of both aluminum and steel, the ladder is durable without being heavy and is coated in a chip-resistant matte paint finish.

Each step is grooved for grip, and the ladder stands upright on its own.

Canoo

Canoo is an EV company purpose-built to deliver maximum vehicle interior space customizable to support a wide range of vehicle applications for businesses—particularly those focused on “last-mile” delivery solutions.

Clients include USPS, NASA, WalMart, and more.

I like it. Because why sell one EV at a time when you can sell an entire fleet at a time?

A Flying Car

Have you ever looked at something and thought, "Wow, that's genius."?

That's the magic of innovative design.

It's not just about making things look good (though that’s incredibly important); it’s about creating solutions that make life better, easier, and enjoyable.

Enter Archer. A flying car.

Archer is an evTOL which stands for electric vertical take-off and landing, and refers to a type of aircraft that can take off, land, and hover vertically using electric power.

Archer is making the dream of a flying car a reality, we’re excited about the future of this project.

Catch you later.

Logic + Emotion: Commercial Real Estate Edition

90% of all consumer purchase decisions are made based on emotion.

We’re all guilty of putting emotion before logic.

Think about it…

- The car you (or cars) drive was likely purchased based on emotion.
- The clothes you’re wearing right now… are the same.
- The art on your walls… same again.

It is why we have homes filled with memories of family, friends, furniture, fixtures, and more.

Simply put, emotion can tell a story logic can never tell.

When was the last time you bought anything based on a spreadsheet?

And when it comes to real estate, the same is truer than any other purchase. The home you grew up in, or bought, or currently live in, was likely based on a compelling emotion.

The challenge for real estate designers and developers is “how do we balance logic + emotion” when designing/developing a new project?

I’ve been learning how to balance logic + emotion within the real estate space daily for the past few years. 

I look forward to continuing our logic + emotion journey with Garden Park.

You can learn more about Garden Park here.

Nicole McLaughlin

Nicole developed a non-profit organization to help provide much-needed design resources to young people, connecting large companies – especially those with deadstock and overstock materials – to schools and universities in need. She is working towards leading a regular series of workshops with a continued focus on sustainability, and eventually, a summer program concentrating on education and skill-based growth. The curriculum will teach you that design is more than just drawing and making, but an understanding of 'how' and 'why' and what we can do to change the future.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2023-03-28/idea-generation-nicole-mclaughlin

Commercial Real Estate.

As a long-time entrepreneur, I’ve signed a half-dozen or so leases throughout my professional life. Every lease has a price per square foot and minimum 3 year term. One was actually a five year term. Two required a personal guarantee. All memorialized in an overwhelming and incredibly "over-legaled" lease document. 

That approach is not supportive to the small business community.

As a result, I can honestly say that I have a real disdain for the real estate industry.

Signing a long-term lease for property is an incredibly antiquated, anxiety-filled, relic of a process that puts all the control in the hands of the property owner.

Ask any small business owner and they’ll likely say the same about their experience with commercial real estate. It’s exactly what a small business startup doesn’t need.

The industry is ripe for disruption and although leaders like WeWork and Industrious are making some interesting moves for tech and creative startups, they unfortunately still don’t solve the problem of how we support storefront, retail startups.

I’d like to help solve this problem.