Vanessa Abrahamson Blog: The founder of Noodles & Co. works with Green Bay startups as TitletownTech’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence

GREEN BAY – Aaron Kennedy launched lunchables, founded Noodles & Company, branded Pepsi as the flavor of a new generation, and was Colorado’s chief marketing officer.

His latest challenge? Become Green Bay’s next Reggie White, but for innovation and entrepreneurship rather than ending in haste.

Green Bay Packers fans probably remember how White’s decision to sign with the Packers in 1993 changed players’ perceptions of a move to Green Bay. The signing was one of many pieces of the puzzle that helped the Packers win Super Bowl XXXI.

Kennedy joined TitletownTech and the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay this spring as entrepreneur-in-residence. The job, which Kennedy has held for four years, challenges him to strengthen the community’s reputation among startups and prepare the next generation of entrepreneurs for the challenges ahead.

He said it will take a lot of time and resources to change perceptions, but the entire region will benefit from the growth of Titletown Tech, Startup Hub, the Winnebago Seed Fund, Rise & Grind and other regional businesses serving startups and innovators.

“These changes in perception, these little triggers are so powerful. We try to create innovations that will change the world. And we’re going to do it from Green Bay,” Kennedy said. “When a community grows and thrives, there is something for everyone. New startups bring their energy, talent and ideas to Green Bay. The worst case scenario is that a company we recruit will leave, but companies like this still help develop the perception that we are a thriving hub with the talent to support and drive start-ups.”

His impressions of Green Bay so far suggest the community isn’t an old dog in need of learning new tricks, but rather a city in need of reviving a bygone entrepreneurial spirit that thrived on companies like Green Bay Packaging Inc., Schneider and Durchbruch.

“Entrepreneurship is still in Wisconsin’s flesh and blood. Other states have just gotten better at it over the years,” Kennedy said. “There are many remarkably successful companies in this state.”

Kennedy’s presence has helped with one of the biggest issues facing those working with startups in the region: explaining why startups are important to the long-term future of the community. UWGB Entrepreneurship Instructor Ryan Kauth said all he had to do was mention Noodles or Lunchables and the students not only showed interest but began to relate Kennedy’s experiences to their own lives.

“Aaron has made entrepreneurship even more of a reality for students. Everyone knows Noodles & Company,” said Kauth. “Asking students, ‘Hey, how would you like to meet the founder of Noodles & Company? High goals seem more achievable.”

Richard Kellogg, a Green Bay senior who returned to college after working on farms, told Kennedy’s founding story, one of several Start Wisconsin Events in Green Bay have been “very helpful” to his efforts to improve farm operations. He said older generations of college students don’t always have someone who’s been through the ups and downs of starting a business to share their experiences with.

“I love opportunities like this to hear how (Kennedy) goes through the decision-making process,” Kellogg said. “It really helps me in my journey as a returnee. When I was younger, you just didn’t have opportunities like that.”

Kennedy, too, feels the spark.

“I’m so impressed with the caliber of the students,” he said. “You can see the spark when you engage them. That’s not always the case where I’ve been. You can see these students want to make an impact on the world.”

Kennedy didn’t have those kinds of opportunities when he was younger either, but he took what he learned at giants like Oscar Mayer and Pepsi — adapting to change, how to build a brand, how to lead a team, the urge to change to continuously improve products and processes – and applied them to his own company when the opportunity arose.

TIED TOGETHER:Craig Dickman’s less traditional path leads to the Free Enterprise Award

TIED TOGETHER:Packers and Microsoft raise $25 million for the TitletownTech Business Innovation Fund

A native of Galena, Illinois, Kennedy graduated from Augustana College in 1985 with degrees in English and journalism. While studying for his MBA at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Kennedy was working as a market research manager for Oscar Mayer just as the company was about to launch a new lunchtime product for families who didn’t have time to prepare a healthy, quick lunch for their children.

Lunchables would be tested in two cities, one of which was Eau Claire, before hitting shelves and becoming a multi-billion dollar product. Kennedy said the original version contained two types of meat and two types of cheese, but was stripped down to one type each for the final product.

He left Oscar Mayer in 1989 when a marketing job for Pepsi lured him to New York City. He joined a three-person advertising team when the brand’s star, Madonna, released a video spurring Christian groups to threaten to boycott Pepsi. The company pulled the Madonna commercials and the team instead rebranded Pepsi as the flavor of a new generation, at a time when theirs cola wars Rivale struggled with New Coke.

While in New York in the early ’90s, Kennedy had lunch at an Asian noodle house and thought, “If there was a place that served quality food quickly, I’d eat it all the time.”

Four months later, he mailed 30 copies of a business plan for a fast-casual pasta restaurant to friends and family. He warned them it was “very likely” they would lose all their money, but 23 of them agreed to invest a total of $200,000.

Noodles & Company opened its first location in Cherry Creek, Colorado. The second location was on State Street in Madison.

Kennedy said the Madison location nearly ruined the business before it even got started. The location was flooded, customers didn’t like the atmosphere and a local newspaper reviewer said it was a “killer idea” for a fast-food chain that turned up “a bit limp”.

“It was bad dish after bad dish,” Kennedy said. “We had many challenges. You have to be that enthusiastic about your idea to survive that kind of time (in business development).”

A hastily organized two-day retreat in Chicago helped the Madison staff team develop a plan for an operations overhaul. It was the emergence of enhanced decor, cooking to order and delivery to the table, little things that would define fast-casual restaurants like Noodles, Panera Bread and Chipotle.

“You had to adapt to change,” Kennedy told the UWGB crowd. “It’s about figuring out how to get a little bit better than you are today.”

Noodles has now grown into a chain of over 400 restaurants in 35 states with annual sales of $500 million and 12,000 employees. Local, a third Green Bay Area Noodles being built at Howard.

Kennedy left Noodles in the late 2000s before being appointed chief marketing officer for the state of Colorado in the early 2010s for two years. When TitletownTech called, he said the team involved – executives like Craig Dickman and Jill Enos, and corporate partners from UWGB to Microsoft – convinced him “I need to be here” to mentor the next generation of entrepreneurs.

TitletownTech is designed to help entrepreneurs start new businesses, develop existing businesses and invest in businesses that need infusions.

“Most first-time entrepreneurs have a solid knowledge base in a particular area, but lack the broad knowledge required to run a successful business,” Kennedy said. “At TitletownTech, I help fill in those gaps when they can’t find the talent.”

Kennedy said TitletownTech is working to sell the region as a value proposition to people starting businesses right now. At Tacos in Los Arcos, he noted that everything from tacos to apartments would cost four to five times as much on the West Coast, and that there’s nothing in Green Bay that resembles a West Coast commute.

“The entrepreneurs that we’ve had in (TitletownTech) so far have been absolutely amazed at what they found here,” he said. “You really need to focus on business instead of driving or spending.”

It’s highly unlikely that every company TitletownTech works with will evolve into the next Google or Uber, but Kennedy said any connection Green Bay can make with startup executives will help build Green Bay’s reputation strengthen among entrepreneurs. Aside from the perception impact, Kennedy said a handful of companies supported by TitletownTech could transform Green Bay for generations to come.

Description

Due to the unprecedented crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, BRIO has dedicated 100% of their operations to importing critically needed respirator masks. Featuring a 3D comfort design, these KN95 masks provide filtration against particulate pollution, gases, as well as bacteria, viruses, and most odors. It's made with comfortable stretch fabric and has convenient earloops for a tight fit. These masks are perfect for everyday wear. Order your 5-Pack now!