OpsLens Deck of 52 Most Wanted Post 9/11 Frontline Leaders
In 2018, as a spin-off and salute to the original 2003 deck of 52 Most Wanted playing cards, let’s honor post 9/11 frontline leaders here at home. Once a week, for 52 weeks this year, OpsLens will post a card highlighting one of the 52 Most Wanted Post 9/11 Frontline Leaders. You’ll learn the top facts about their business or organization, as well as why they made the list, which comes down to impact, scalability, health, and unique value proposition.
I encourage you to look for these weekly updates, share the card with your network, and support or buy the products and services they offer. See the 52 Most Wanted Post 9/11 Frontline Leaders launch story here.
King of Hearts| Plated
Perseverance is often referred to as a key factor to becoming a successful entrepreneur. The story of Plated, a home delivery food service that includes recipes, is no exception. Former U.S. Marine and cofounder Nick Taranto has never sugarcoated his journey since the venture’s founding in 2012 either. Several interviews with Taranto describe an intense amount of rejection and setbacks, to include an initial deal with Mark Cuban that fell apart after he and his cofounder, Josh Hix, appeared on Shark Tank in 2014.
Taranto’s passion for the idea of a new kind of dinner with chef-designed recipes, pre-portioned ingredients, delivered to his home every week was unshakable. And what separates the simple truth of the prior sentence to the next were five long, uncertain years of, yes, delivering tens of millions of meals to homes across America. But then the unimaginable: in 2017, five years from their launch, Plated sold to Albertsons Companies for $300 million. Both Nick and Josh continue to lead Plated, which continues to scale. And this year, Nick published his first book, aptly titled: The Evolved Eater: A Quest to Eat Better, Live Better, and Change the World, chronicling his mission to change how we eat.
Plated is a frontline leader that should be on your list of most-wanted businesses to support in 2018.
Frontline Leader (Cofounder): Nick Taranto.
Name of Company/Organization: Plated, founded 2012.
Location: New York, New York.
Post 9/11 Service Connection: U.S. Marine Corps Reserve (Infantry Officer).
Tours of Duty: Drilled as an active reservist for three years, Weapons Platoon Commander.
One sentence tagline &/or mission statement: Cook more. Live better.
Website: https://www.plated.com/
“We have knocked on literally hundreds and hundreds of doors and 97 percent of the time it’s a ‘no.’” —Nick Taranto, cofounder of Plated
