This was no ordinary talk. This was an especially delicious one.

Before our afternoon programming, the Fellows dined on the delicious Monical’s Pizza. During lunch, Ralph Monical, the founder of the very same Monical’s Pizza, walked in while the Fellows were happily munching on the pizza.

After the pizza was all eaten (there were absolutely no leftovers) Ralph told us his entrepreneurial story. In 1959 Ralph founded Monical’s Pizza and explained to the Fellows some of the outside-the-box thinking that made him so successful. He described his decisions to pay manager’s a large salary (unusual in the restaurant business at the time), and the challenges of growing a team. He told the Fellows how he was the first to offer “bundle deals”, where he coupled pizza with drinks and chips. He also was one of the first to hire women as managers.

With his funny and insightful stories, the Fellows learned a whole lot all while enjoying some Monical’s pizza.