Meet Flemming Madsen Co-Founder of Delicious Raw | Co-Founder of Delicious Raw

We had the good fortune of connecting with Flemming Madsen Co-Founder of Delicious Raw and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Flemming Madsen, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I have had an extensive career in investment banking and private equity investments with an emphasis on analyzing businesses and markets and making investment recommendations. This has primarily been in a sort of an advisory role rather than a position where I would have had hands-on responsibility on strategy, leadership and execution. It was something I felt I was missing professionally and the idea of putting your full passion into something, having the freedom to go in the direction you believe is right and be accountable for that was very appealing.

Getting into the restaurant business was however not something I actively was pursuing. But I have always had a passion for great food and great dining experiences as I believe that such experiences are invigorating, bring people together and just generally enhance the quality of life. Equally I have always been very conscious about the quality of what you eat and its impact on your general wellbeing. In a way, I think that those passions subconsciously drew me towards the restaurant industry and made me feel I could make a difference.

What should our readers know about your business?
The idea of creating Delicious Raw came to fruition through many casual conversations with my co-founding partner in Delicious Raw – Ben Steiner. Ben was a very frequent customer at a restaurant (The Café) I own in Naples and by coincidence we had a similar background in investment banking in Europe. We also shared an interest in plant-based and health-oriented food and that sparked the idea.

Our vision was to create a fast casual restaurant with a unique scratch-made and unprocessed menu with a high level of culinary sophistication and inventiveness. We wanted to show that you don’t have to sacrifice taste, texture or dining experience by eating from a health-oriented and plant-based menu. Looking at the competitive landscape, there is obviously a big wave of interest in more healthy eating and the awareness of the benefits of adding more plant-based food to your diet is growing significantly. Over the years, I have visited many plant-based restaurants around the country and there are always good intentions, but sometimes restaurants fail to create the enjoyment that is so vital and instead you end up going there just because it’s healthy. We wanted to bridge that gap and create an ambience and dining experience with a truly delicious menu that many wouldn’t have thought would be possible with plant-based food. Along those lines, it was equally important to us that we create an inviting ambience and an inspiring interior that we help our customers relax and enjoy. And above all, we wanted to build a team that was aligned with those ambitions and would be able to execute the menu consistently and enhance that inviting feeling. I believe that we achieved all those goals, and we are very proud of that as well of our community involvement by introducing delicious plant-based food to a wider audience. I would also mention our involvement in environmental and community awareness as a founding member of Plastic Free Miami Beach.

Some of the lessons that I have learned is that it is never too late to change track and pursue your dreams – you just have to be prepared to work hard to get there. Equally it is important to note that just because you don’t have 20 years of experience in a field doesn’t mean that you can’t be successful. Initially my career as a business owner started in 2009 having just moved from Denmark to the US. My wife and I bought a small, rundown and unsuccessful coffee shop in Naples. Due to our lack of operating experience I would assume that most people thought we would fail quickly. We were, however, firmly determined to succeed and willing to put in the necessary effort.

Having a vision and ambition to create something that will stand out and having a competitive advantage is a very important starting point. I think it is important to be able to explain why a customer should go to you rather than to your competitor. Without that, your business may be at risk of becoming too much of a random choice. Business ownership can be very rewarding, but it is not always smooth sailing. In that respect, I believe that integrity, courage and resilience are key qualities that will help business owners. Being ultimately responsible for the wellbeing and future of a business and its employees means that you often will need to prioritize and take difficult decisions for the long term good of all. That sometimes takes a lot of courage and it is important that people around you know that you take those decisions with integrity.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
There’s so much to do and see here in Miami. I love the Sunset Harbour neighborhood in Miami Beach where we have one of our Delicious Raw locations. There are so many restaurants to choose from and so many options for fitness studios from boxing, yoga, pilates and spin, they have a little bit of everything. The Standard Hotel is close by and a great place for happy hour and to watch the sunset. I like to take people from out of town here because it’s universally appealing to everyone.

The art and cultural scene here in Miami have exploded in the last decade. The new Rubell Museum is a great place to check out contemporary art, dine al fresco at their restaurant Leku after. They serve innovative Spanish cuisine that will impress anyone.

Now that we’re starting to see events come back, Prism Creative Group always puts on great events that support local purveyors, chefs, artists and more here in Miami. They just launched their Tropical Flea this past month and it’s a great place to bring friends to if you want to ‘shop local’ and have some amazing food as well.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
.That would be my wife Gitte. Until we started our restaurant businesses we had never worked together and neither one of us had specific restaurant experience. It meant that we continuously entered unfamiliar territory. Fortunately, we shared the same passion and willingness to take risks and work our way around challenges. My wife has been a great sparring partner. I also have a couple of people close to me that I have been able to turn to for an unbiased and different perspective. They have always been able to provide me with a positive outlook on challenges when I needed it. Being a business owner has many great attributes, but it also involves a big responsibility. It is important that the weight you carry on your shoulders is balanced and allows you to move forward at a good pace.

Website: www.deliciousraw.com

Instagram: @deliciousraw

Image Credits
.Gary James