e ad A. SloGo Pork & Spoon INTRODUCTION the invitation arrived, Thomas & Jil ill were not sure what to do. The event looked promising, but the last time they agreed to attend a similar special event, they had barely mselves, "We don't need to say yes' to every opportunity s were an engaged couple who had been running their food truck, SioGo Pork & Spoon, for Slow and Lo" was the several months. Their truck specialized in pulled pork barbecue oking philosophy of the food truck, which was based in Conway, AR, a city of 65.000 (and three colleges). siness had been brisk, the truck was outperforming projections, and their customer base was growing They had also supplemented their day-to-day business by attending local events and doing catering lobs. The couple had just received a request to bring their truck to an event called "Hot Buills" a rodeo held in the nearby town of Hot Springs, located 70 south of Conway. Hot Buls looked great on paper: the promoters noted that 700 attendees were expected, Thomas & Jill's SioGo would be the only food option, and rodeo fans would be a great market for the company's southern-style barbecue. Tempering their enthusiasm for the event were a few mitigating factors: (1) event promoters tended to be optimistic with promises and perhaps most importantly, business was good in Conway, and it they did the Hot Bulls event, they would analyzed the opportunity THOMAS&JILL forgo one day s revenues in ther home manket. The couple couant be sure of what to do until they fully Thomas & Jill were from rival towns (Vilonia & Greenbrier) just outside of Conway. They had met a few times at football games and had some mutual friends. They both went off to different colleges and after a few life events found themselves back in the Conway area. They reconnected on Facebook when the social media site suggested that they might know each other. The two began dating, and on one of their earliest dates, Thomas cooked for Jill. On that night, Thomas's pulled pork southern bowl proved to be his way into Jill's heart. She was surprised to leam that one of Thomas's hobbies was smoking meat. After high school, as soon as Thomas could afford a smoker, he bought one, and in the two decades since, he had become an expert in the art of smoking and slow-cooking beef and pork. He also enjoyed making his own rubs and sauces. Their relationship became more serious and after being laid off from his job at Acxiom, Thomas was ready to start his own business. It was at a potluck dinner that Thomas and Jill got the inspiration for their business. Thomas brought a dish from his smoker, and it was a hit. Two of their friends who attended the party. Valerie and Joey, were owner-operators of a popular local florist. These experienced entrepreneurs suggested that Thomas's pork was so good that he and Jill had a legtimate business opportunity. They agreed to give Jill and Thomas advice if needed and put the couple in touch with an angel investor When it came time to meet the potential investor, both Jill and Thomas were nervous. They wanted the opportunity badly, but it was one thing to impress friends at a potluck and another thing entirely to impress a stranger-and to impress him so much that he would be willing to invest tens of thousands of dollars in a business concept proposed by two inexperienced entrepreneurs. Thomas and Jill brought the possible investor a sample of the items they planned to include on the menu, and perhaps more importantly, they also brought a conservative, but thorough, business plan. The angel investor was so excited by the food and the business plan that he wrote them a check on the spot. With that meeting. SloGo Pork and Spoon was born. e ad A. SloGo Pork & Spoon INTRODUCTION the invitation arrived, Thomas & Jil ill were not sure what to do. The event looked promising, but the last time they agreed to attend a similar special event, they had barely mselves, "We don't need to say yes' to every opportunity s were an engaged couple who had been running their food truck, SioGo Pork & Spoon, for Slow and Lo" was the several months. Their truck specialized in pulled pork barbecue oking philosophy of the food truck, which was based in Conway, AR, a city of 65.000 (and three colleges). siness had been brisk, the truck was outperforming projections, and their customer base was growing They had also supplemented their day-to-day business by attending local events and doing catering lobs. The couple had just received a request to bring their truck to an event called "Hot Buills" a rodeo held in the nearby town of Hot Springs, located 70 south of Conway. Hot Buls looked great on paper: the promoters noted that 700 attendees were expected, Thomas & Jill's SioGo would be the only food option, and rodeo fans would be a great market for the company's southern-style barbecue. Tempering their enthusiasm for the event were a few mitigating factors: (1) event promoters tended to be optimistic with promises and perhaps most importantly, business was good in Conway, and it they did the Hot Bulls event, they would analyzed the opportunity THOMAS&JILL forgo one day s revenues in ther home manket. The couple couant be sure of what to do until they fully Thomas & Jill were from rival towns (Vilonia & Greenbrier) just outside of Conway. They had met a few times at football games and had some mutual friends. They both went off to different colleges and after a few life events found themselves back in the Conway area. They reconnected on Facebook when the social media site suggested that they might know each other. The two began dating, and on one of their earliest dates, Thomas cooked for Jill. On that night, Thomas's pulled pork southern bowl proved to be his way into Jill's heart. She was surprised to leam that one of Thomas's hobbies was smoking meat. After high school, as soon as Thomas could afford a smoker, he bought one, and in the two decades since, he had become an expert in the art of smoking and slow-cooking beef and pork. He also enjoyed making his own rubs and sauces. Their relationship became more serious and after being laid off from his job at Acxiom, Thomas was ready to start his own business. It was at a potluck dinner that Thomas and Jill got the inspiration for their business. Thomas brought a dish from his smoker, and it was a hit. Two of their friends who attended the party. Valerie and Joey, were owner-operators of a popular local florist. These experienced entrepreneurs suggested that Thomas's pork was so good that he and Jill had a legtimate business opportunity. They agreed to give Jill and Thomas advice if needed and put the couple in touch with an angel investor When it came time to meet the potential investor, both Jill and Thomas were nervous. They wanted the opportunity badly, but it was one thing to impress friends at a potluck and another thing entirely to impress a stranger-and to impress him so much that he would be willing to invest tens of thousands of dollars in a business concept proposed by two inexperienced entrepreneurs. Thomas and Jill brought the possible investor a sample of the items they planned to include on the menu, and perhaps more importantly, they also brought a conservative, but thorough, business plan. The angel investor was so excited by the food and the business plan that he wrote them a check on the spot. With that meeting. SloGo Pork and Spoon was born