Jimmy John Liautaud

"I was at this fancy school and I felt out of place, so I rebelled. But Jim Lyons put his arm around me. He cared about me."

"I graduated second to last in my class. I was a fat kid. I was bullied by others."

"If you serve the business, it will serve you. Serve the business, serve the team."

"It wasn’t a great location. I started to deliver, not because it was part of a business plan, but to get sales—to make up for my C location."

"I changed the rules for allowing people to buy into my system as a franchisee. I explained in detail how tough running a Jimmy John's can be. I explained the long hours, the unforgiving weather, the late nights, the weekends, and all of the sacrifices that go along with the industry."

"I've been around for 32 years and nobody knows who we are."

"I want to build this business as long as the customers will keep eating my sandwiches."