How John Schnatter Started Papa John's

John Schnatter, 48, offers a few brief tips for would-be entrepreneurs from his own experience in starting Papa John's pizza chain. After obtaining his business administration degree from Indiana's Ball State University, his father put him to work at a bar that he co-owned, Mick's Lounge.

Put your ideas to work. I had this dream of starting a pizza business since college. I came up with the name, menu, and recipes back then. My dorm mate at Ball State came up with the logo. I thought if we sold $5 pizzas in the broom closet in the back of the bar and 50 beer in the front, we'd make a fortune. So we tore down the closet, installed a pizza oven, and began selling Papa John's pizza.

Be willing to take on the big guys. We realized early on that Domino's had the speed, Little Caesars had the price, and Pizza Hut had variety, and yet they made up only 35% or 40% of the market. I didn't understand why the quality product didn't win every time. Why would you buy anything inferior? I thought if you had a national chain that acted like an independent as far as quality, then you'd have the best of all worlds. - Fortune

The Papa John's chain today has over 3,000 franchises and some 600 company-owned pizzerias worldwide.