Jason Krishnan shares his journey from soccer athlete to food entrepreneur with Shiba Wings, a crypto-themed diner that integrates blockchain technology for community ownership and engagement. He discusses the innovative approach to franchising, the importance of quality food, and the exciting future plans for global expansion and partnerships, including Mr. Beast Burgers.
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Key Topics Covered:
- Transition from Sports to Food Entrepreneurship: Jason Krishnan shares his journey from being a soccer athlete to founding Shiba Wings, a crypto-themed diner, after overcoming a career-ending illness.
- Integration of Blockchain and Community Ownership: Shiba Wings utilizes blockchain technology to create a community-owned franchise model, allowing customers to hold WING tokens and participate in the business through NFTs.
- Focus on Quality and Customer Experience: The restaurant emphasizes fresh, high-quality ingredients and an engaging dining experience, aiming to revolutionize the fast-food industry while catering to various dietary needs.
What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let us know in the comments on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/@edgeofnft/
Episode Highlights:
- "My goal was to make this, you know, a community-owned franchise model and get this expanded around the world." - Jason Krishnan (00:04:04)
- "The community ownership through the NFT is going to be managed by the Shiba Wings DAO, right? So every NFT holder gets governance rights, the structure ensures the community's interest, and then it aligns with our business goals." - Jason Krishnan (00:36:34)
People and Resources Mentioned:
- Shiba Wings Website
- Shiba Wings @shiba_wings
- Scott Page @iamscottpage
- Ring Swap @RingSwap
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About Our Guest:
Bio: Jason Krishnan is a dynamic entrepreneur and the founder of Shiba Wings, a crypto-themed diner that has quickly gained recognition for its innovative approach to food and technology.
- Website: Shiba Wings
- Twitter: @shiba_wings
- Instagram: @shibawings
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Full Episode Transcript:
Jason Krishnan: Hi, this is Jason Krishnan of Shiba Wings. My journey blends food entrepreneurship with crypto technology to create the number one-rated wings and franchises that truly fly. You're turned into the edge of NFT, your set of wings for flying into the future of blockchain innovation. Keep listening.
Josh Kriger: Hey, Web3 Curious listeners, stay tuned for today's very special episode to learn how Jason Krishnan transitioned from being a soccer athlete to founding Shiba Wings, a crypto-themed diner that also operates Mr. Beast Burgers. And learn our guest's perspective on how blockchain and NFTs will take Shiba Wings franchising to the next level of global expansion and community engagement now that they've nailed quality and efficiency. And find out why you don't want to challenge our guests to a Wings contest unless you've done your prep. All this and more on Edge of Sheba Wings. Cue the intro.
Intro: Welcome to the Edge of NFT, the podcast that brings you the top 1% of Web3 today and what will stand the test of time. We explore the nuts and bolts of the business side and also the human element of how Web3 is changing the way we interact with the things we love. This podcast is for the dreamers, disruptors, and doers who are pumped about this ecosystem and driving where it goes next.
Josh Kriger: Hello and welcome to Edge of NFT, the podcast created by Jeff Kelley, Ethan Janney, and myself,
Josh Krieger, featuring a variety of top-notch guests and other hosts. It's another production of the Edge of Company, a quickly growing media ecosystem powering the pioneers of Web3 tech and culture, responsible for other groundbreaking endeavors like the Outer Edge Innovation Festival in LA and Riyadh. Today's episode is sponsored by Shiba Wings and features Jason Krishnan, an inspiring entrepreneur who transitioned from being a soccer prodigy recruited by Chelsea to a renowned restaurateur overcoming a career-ending illness to revolutionize the industry with Shiba Wings, a restaurant known for its top-tier ingredients and innovative Web3 integration. And ShibaWings is Jason's groundbreaking venture that merges culinary excellence with Web3 technology, allowing fractional ownership through the ShibaWing token and partnering with major names like MrBeastBurger to revolutionize community engagement and industry standards. We are very excited to welcome Jason to the show.
Jason Krishnan: Awesome. Thanks for having me on. Josh, it's a pleasure to connect with you guys. Very excited. Yeah, I'm looking forward to this. Amazing.
Josh Kriger: YeahI when I heard the use case that you were cooking up here, pun intended, I got
pretty excited. Because first of all, I love wings. I had a lot of wings this weekend. I always have room in my stomach for more wings. And then to like you're a food tech guy. And that was one of the original reasons I got into the web three space was thinking about supply chain, actually side of the equation, how blockchain could be useful there. So To see someone sort of bring Web 3 technology both back of the house in front of the house is pretty, pretty innovative. And I can't say I'm also a soccer player, but I have watched a lot of soccer.
Jason Krishnan: Yeah, nice, nice. No, yeah, it is. It's been an extraordinary journey bringing Web 2, Web 3in the mix and combining it all and the way that plays out. But yeah, it's very exciting what we've created. I'm very blessed to have such a great team behind me that has put everything together. So yeah, I can't wait. We literally can't wait. It's been a long time in the making, years on the journey, obviously, in developing the brand and in the token projects. So yeah, now it's time to reveal it all to the public.
Josh Kriger: Great. And I guess the obvious first question is can you share your journey in terms of being a food entrepreneur, starting Shiba Wings and then deciding to sort of take this crypto theme to a whole new level?
Jason Krishnan: Yeah, absolutely. So I, this journey started back in 2021, when I was going through a bit of a change in my life in terms of Building a brand and building my own franchise brand. Back in 2022, Shiba Inu logo came out, and I happened to acquire that logo. On the back of owning that logo, I decided being in food for about 20 years to start developing my own franchise concept and my own franchise brand, right, and all around this community-owned logo. And my goal was to make this a community-owned franchise model and get this expanded around the world. Going on that journey we acquired the Shiba Inu logo. We built the Shiba Wings restaurant, which is now rated number one on Cavalave in Surfers Paradise, Queensland. And then we decided to implement different programs so we can give back to the community, right, and make it a community-owned franchise model via these programs that we'll discuss, obviously, as we go along through tokenization and holding the token through the NFT programs. So that led me to start developing that. And I've been in food for about 20 years on that journey. Throughout that journey, I realized that we've got something special to share, share with the world and, and we developed Shiba Wings.
Josh Kriger: Very cool. And what makes Shiva wings like the best wings? Like I, I, I, I'm going to have to have you ship me some, to the U S. I don't think I can wait till I get to Australia to try these things, but like what makes them so special?
Jason Krishnan: Look, everything we do on my journey, I actually fell sick a long time ago, about 21 years ago. So I had a big soccer career going on that path. And unfortunately, I got ill, they call it barley belly for life is the easiest way to say it. So I was traveling, playing soccer. And then when that happened, I had to obviously pivot everything that I was doing and start adjusting what I wanted to do. Big foodie at heart, loves food. developed all these different allergies. So I started playing around with recipes. And one of my biggest is I love wings, right? I'm a big wing guy, I love sauces and buffalo hot sauce. So I started experimenting and developing all these different types of products. And then we basically nailed it on the head. And all our ingredients are freshly made to order. We cook everything in-house from chicken salt to buffalo sauce. And we just started implementing different ingredients into our sauces. And yeah, we created some amazing sauces. And once I started hitting them onto the wings, it was just unbelievable. Like the feedback that we started getting it was very overwhelming. I had people coming from all over the world, due to where we're positioned in Australia, it's a very touristy location, saying these are the best wings I've ever had. So it all came down to extracting sort of flavor profiles, and then also implementing them for people who have dietary issues as well, like myself, right, so we can only enjoy the best of the best and enjoy those flavors when it comes to nice hot buffalo wings.
Josh Kriger: That's great. Yeah. I mean, we could have a whole show just about how the food industry has gotten so processed. It's been going in that direction for a long time now. And people have all these intolerances and challenges with their digestion, where you need sort of outside enzymes to break down this food, because it's not real food, right? I mean, that's a problem. When we start creating food, it's not food. It's a topic I'm very passionate about. Andseparately, folks that know me know I'm really focused on longevity and health and sort of what goes in your body is where it all begins, right? So if people are going to be entrepreneurs and be soccer athletes or just live their best life, they need to eat food that's actually nourishing and actually is food, right?
Jason Krishnan: Yep. Yeah, 100% exactly right. And that's what we do from everything that I've been through in life and having those allergies made me realize we really need to step it up. SoAn experience at Shiba Wings is for everybody, doesn't matter what your dietary requirement is, whether you're vegan, you can eat our vegan wings or our vegan burgers. You got allergies, you can't have any dairy, you can still hit my, all my butter sauces, they're all dairy free. You're gluten free, we've got all the gluten free options. So it's definitely all additive free, and making sure that we can cater to those that you know, have those allergies. So yeah.
Josh Kriger: So I'm curious, how does this philosophy on high quality food translate into sort of operations and sort of how you're thinking about the technology stack to support sort of the next evolution in front of the house? Like, obviously, we've talked about how the back of the house is great food, great sourcing. Front of the house is all about a great customer experience. So how does sort of what you've done here translate to the crypto side of things and what you're planning to do next?
Jason Krishnan: Yeah, look, everything that we've spoken about in terms of the back house, the food and how we do everything in-house to cater for those needs and ensure we source from the freshest ingredients from our locally sourced suppliers. And again, it's all in-house to keep it nice and affordable. And then we give that really interactive feel and, I guess, experience to the customer when they're coming in it's, it's long gone those days when you go into a fast food joint like Maccas and KFC and it's just plain boring, it's automated nobody really interacts right and this is where it showed me that Shiba Wings has a great space and a position when it comes to fast food and really innovating that when you look at the restaurant, you've got everything from QRs, you have your customer service consultant at the front engaging and greeting your customers, talking about the experience. You know, we have other QRs that give you a little bit about the journey when you scan it in the restaurant, then you can ask questions. And we're here to educate at the same time, right, and run through how it all works. But yeah, basically the front of house team, very engaging. And that's what we're trying to do. We don't want it to be automated. You know, I could have put in all your kiosks and whatnot to streamline things. But My goal here is to bring back that interaction and really give it a vibe. You know, it's like walking into a sports arena when you walk into Shiba Wings. You know, you've got great music, TVsit's very interactive. The girls are dancing. You know, it's a great experience for everyone from little kids to any agethe demographic.
Josh Kriger: It's definitely cool. Someone was just telling me about their experience visiting the SPARE in Las Vegas and how cool that is. It sounds like. you know, this is another one of those spots, you need to experience it to really understand it. And technology is kind of in the DNA of the business you've built. So how have folks responded so far to the crypto side of the house? I know you've been experimenting with crypto, kind of gearing up for this. And I'm just sort of curious what happens when you mix a mainstream business with cryptocurrency.
Jason Krishnan: Yeah, look, in the beginning it was obviously the bear market when it all kicked off, when we opened up back in 2023, when we started building in 2022. And it was very slow for people to understand what we were trying to do, right? A lot of people were walking past it going, Oh, what is this? But it's just a crypto bar. They didn't realize it was food. And you know, you can pay with a cash card. It was just about educating the community, right? Soas we are educated and we're interacting and you're really talking with our guests about what the experience is all about, this is a fast food franchise like KFC, right? We're trying to reinvent the space. educating them and they start to obviously learn and understand the benefits of having these options. And it's not just about crypto, right? We cater for all aspects. You know, you've got crypto, you've got cash, FPOS, Afterpay, ZipPay. Sound at the same time, too, we don't want our customers using their crypto you know, if it's if it's going to be impacting them. If you're somebody that's holding a token for a long time, the last thing I'll do is, yep, let's use your Shiba at my restaurant. Save that, my friend. You want to save that so it can increase in value. use a different token, right? So we educate them in that aspect as well. When it comes to what token to use when to purchase, and obviously with what we're doing and how we bridge itit's very low cost, and it's real time. So it works very efficiently. But again you have all those options there. And again, it's just about educating the community that you can now integrate your crypto into real life experiences and buy food by using them, you don't just have to hold on.
Josh Kriger: Totally. I mean, that's what the show is all about is entertainment, right? So you're giving them an experience. And then adding crypto is another layer to it. It's an optional one, but it sort of creates a convenience factor for folks at the restaurant. So let's sort of fast forward to your plans for the future. I'm curious, how does cryptocurrency and NFTs fit into the long term business model? And how do you see things shifting with your upcoming launch, which we'll talk about more?
Jason Krishnan: Yeah, look, what we've developed ison the back of owning a community-owned logo, being Shiba Inu, we've developed a community-owned franchise model. Via that model, what we're trying to do is really get the community involved via holding the WING token. And this gives you access to the NFT programs where you get the opportunity to buy into either a restaurant, a food truck, ghost kitchen models, vending machines, and this is what we're trying to implement around the world. So via that, you have your ownership, you get your bonuses and you get your rewards from as little as $100, right? That's how easy it is, right?
Josh Kriger: You don't necessarily have to pick up the truck and drive it somewhere. You can be sort of a limited partner, if you will, in the sense of not having to wake up at like 5am to sauce the wings.
Jason Krishnan: Exactly. Right. You know, this is the best part of it. Right. We've done all the hard work. Right. We've grinded. We've done everything over the years. Andwe've developed it all where you buy into by holding a token like any token you hold now. Why not hold a token that's giving you that experience. And it's also giving you that ownership. Right. Well, you don't have to get up and do anything. And we've got that all under control. via that community model and that ownership. And together we can push these brands out like massivelyMcDonald's, KFC, obviously, they've set their par and we're here to do something different and have that run by the community owning that and pushing that globally.
Josh Kriger: Very cool. SoI'm familiar with some of the efforts to sort of do things with food and cryptocurrency as a foodie and in the space, Bored and Hungry, opened up not too far from me in Long Beach. I'm curious about sort of what you've learned and taken stock of from other efforts in this area and sort of what you think you're doing differently maybe that no one's tried before.
Jason Krishnan: Yeah look at the programs that we've implemented And we fall back on that whole community model of really getting people buying the token or giving them the opportunity to have something they couldn't have before. Right. Sowhen I started back in the day from 2006 you needed to come up with tens of thousands of dollars or hundreds of thousands of dollars to start your first thing. And I started with a subway franchise and I had nothing as a young kid living on my own, trying to work it out. Imagine I had this type of program. If somebody came out with crypto that was as little as $100, you get to own something. It's just a game changer. You don't have to go through 10 years of your life trying to save money and then borrowing from the banks. You've just bought a token that's global worldwide recognition that has given you something basically for holding it. Right. So this is where we come in compared to every other brand that's out there. Nobody's doing what we've done on the back of what we've created. You know, it's an actual franchise that you get to be a part of and you get to enjoy that journey.
Josh Kriger: Yeah, I mean, to my recollection, most of the examples I've seen are more around the customer rewards and loyalty. But here we're talking about sort of actually being a partner in the business itself and having a direct vested interest. I guess it's more similar to a co-op model, like a grocery store or something, right?
Jason Krishnan: Yeah, 100%. You know, we've partnered with PayItNow. And they're our payment providers. We've been with them for over two years now. And they've really been pushing and supporting our project. And we'll be implementing all different models around the world where they'll be a part of it. And in terms of ensuring seamless, compliant transactions and focusing on educating those customers about crypto and simplifying it. So yeah, 100%.
Josh Kriger: Very cool. So you mentioned a pretty big and audacious goal, which is competing with the McDonald's of the world. And now I'd love to see them have more competition. Nothing like friendly competition. How do you go from this moment in time, the launch coming up, which is really exciting? to being a globally known franchise competing with McDonald's. Obviously, there's a lot of stops along the way and this is a difficult question. From my perspective, I know there's a lot of wood chopping that goes with that. It's every single new food truck, new business is chopping wood, but is there more to it in terms of how you get there?
Jason Krishnan: Yeah, so basically, the way we've developed this model, you could take anybody that's just entered into the workforce, put them in the kitchen, give them the manual, they'll be able to execute. And that's what it's all about in fast food and franchising, right? You've got to simplify the model, make sure it's very convenient, I guess, and the workflow space is, how would you say, very efficient, obviously, in terms of that fast food model, give them the book, and they'll be able to execute it like anything.
Josh Kriger: Nice. Playbook, obviously, also supports lower costs, which is great too.
Jason Krishnan: And being in fast food and franchising you've got your big players there and there's no other dominant people coming into the market that are trying to compete or innovate it. And that's where we come in, right, with what we've done. Crypto, restaurant, and really innovating that dining experience to take it to the next level. And when you compare it now to what's out there, there's nothing to compare. We've set a benchmark, and then now we're about to involve that community via these programs, hold the token, purchase the NFTs, let's grow the brand globally. And what's bigger than having your community push your brand, right? SoMaccas, the community is always pushing Maccas. Maccas is always going to be one of those things or your KFCs. But now, they don't offer that ownership, right, where we're offering that to be able to grow it together, which would just explode exponentially around the world in terms of you know getting on board and and holding the tokens holding the entities and really driving it as a community together to to really create something special and leaving a legacy. You know everybody is a part of it right. It's not just me and it's not just the amazing team that I have behind me. It's every individual around the world that takes part in this that has the option to do so.
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Josh Kriger: We've covered sort of how you're using blockchain and cryptocurrency and in a really creative way. I'm sure you think about the food industry as a whole and the changes that are needed there. At the timeI was at a hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. And is everything okay? Yeah. There's some movement. Let me start that over. So we've talked about what you're doing to sort of scale operations using the latest innovation tech and as well as sort of cryptocurrency. I've sort of noticed this trend of innovation, whether it's automation, AI, blockchain throughout the world. I was just in Riyadh and I ordered from Uber Eats and it was delivered by a little robot in my hotel, which is quite convenient. And yeah, it just knocked on my door and Greeting me was great, I guess saves the delivery guy trip up to the ninth floor or whatever floor I was on. Yeah. How do you think this type of technology, blockchain, cryptocurrency, and AI is going to change the food industry in the next five to 10 years?
Jason Krishnan: Yeah, that is a good question. And there's so much happening, right? That'sI'm seeing, like, I get that same question from other people. Are you going to buy all the robotic food instruments to put into your kitchen? Look, it's definitely going to be a big, big change in the game when it comes to AI and food. It's already out there, right? And we're seeing it to this day. You've got the food carts, the robotics, everybody nowadays in Australia as well, like going to a restaurant, you've got those robot trays just coming around and dropping your food off. It's definitely going to be a big game changer and it's going to be up to the franchising brand on how they adapt to it. You know, for us, being a community franchise model, we want to keep it very interactive and make sure that we have real life humans, right, daily involved to give it that experience, especially when you're delivering food. You know, I see blockchain and cryptocurrency as a transformative force in the food industry over the next decade, right, with these technologies will definitely enhance the supply. and the trained transparency and the efficiency, right? Just streamlining payment systems and revolutionizing customer engagement by offering new ways to interact with brands. And as those things come, we'll slowly implement certain things to make it efficient, but we'll always make sure we're at the core and at the forefront, and we're representing the brand as an individual, not as a machine.
Josh Kriger: Yeah, no, I appreciate that. You made me think about so many different moments. I had a food tech company called Territory, and we did deliver your meals and had so many interesting interactions with consumers there as we're building the brand. And I think about the edge of NFT brand, I remember a moment in Miami, I was crossing a crosswalk at an event we were promoting to go to the event and Someone stopped me to say, hey, I heard about this event on your show, and I'm here, and this is what I'm doing in the space, and great to meet you. It was a moment. And I'm curious if you have any anecdotes that are top of mind for you in terms of some of this innovation that you've implemented and how people have reacted to it. What's been that customer discovery process like? What have you learned? Any kind of fun moments?
Jason Krishnan: Yeah, I mean, look, it's been a very, very interesting journey, definitely and it's had its up and down moments in terms of testing and trialing and, and really trying to get it to where it needs to be. You know, to be honest, I haven't had too many incidents where I've had many issues and in the beginning when we were trying to set up all the payment systems and integrate it and how that flow would work in real time and the conversions. But yeah, honestly, there hasn't been a real scenario or situation for myself that I could personally, I guess, dive into where it's had something significant or impacted using not as good of a way if that makes sense.
Josh Kriger: Yeah, so I was actually looking for like fun anecdotes like where someone tries out the cryptocurrency processing and they love it and they're like this is awesome or like You know someone's pinged you and said they can't wait to own part of a food truck like just thinking about like Just making what you're doing more real. I don't if you don't have anything that comes to mind. That's all right, but I wasn't going for the negative. I was going for like just fun anecdotes
Jason Krishnan: Yeah, sure. I mean, yeah, well, I guess in terms of the fun aspectI used to get in the beginning when we opened the restaurant, everybody was like, ohwhen are you opening and they'll be lining out the door they're waiting for they just wanted to be the first person to buy with crypto, right. And as soon as they came in, when we opened up in March 2023, on the 18thI had one guy camping outside for hours to be the first customer. And as soon as I got there, he went, I made sure to sit here and line up to be the first, I can be the first transaction in your restaurant on crypto. And he was just, wow, how quick, like he was like, that's just instant. It's just like FOSS. And I said that's what it's about. Seamless transactions, we pay it now. And We've got a great company behind us that's helping us really reinvent that space and be the next top player when it comes to payments and transactions. But yeah, that's probably one of the best. You know, even nowadays, when I look at the camera, I see customers from last yearI'm seeing them still lining up to this day just to make payments in crypto. So there's definitely a good buzz there. People are really loving that experience and coming to us and how do we get into this brand? This is crazy. You know, you must have done really well back in the day with Shiba Inu. I said, no, this is a lot of hard work. This is where it's come from. And This is what we've built and this is the model. Andwe go through that process with them when they're in store.
Josh Kriger: Yeahto hear what you've done in terms of your playbook is quite impressive. You know, we scaled our food tech company from one city to a second city, and then three other cities. And it felt like every single time we did it, it was like almost starting over, even though we had a lot of the procedures in place, a lot of the concepts, you're always learning. And when you're scaling like you've done, it's these finer details that you have to sort of iterate on over and over and over again. So I really appreciate the nuance of what you're saying there. Yeah, it was probably a really cool moment to see sort of crypto payments in action.
Jason Krishnan: And the best part is depending on what crypto any Shiba holder you come in, you get all your discounts, right? So there's 15% discounts. There's 50% discounts. Well Lifetime benefits there for NFT holders. So there is a lot of benefits, not just simply making payments in crypto anything you do in crypto is discounted, you got buybacks, there's all these different rewards for spending your money, you're getting something back rather than spending cash in fPoS and getting nothing but surcharges and fees, right. Yeah, it's definitely exciting for the community and what we're trying to give out there and the partnerships, obviously, that we've developed out there. You know, with Crypto.com, MrBeastBurger is now part of our Ghost Kitchen models. And We have PayItNow, Crypto.com, we've got Syntopia. We're coming out with our own DEXan exchange called Ringswap. It's just It's really exciting what the team's building behind us. And We've partnered with a great celebrity, Scott Pagefrom Pink Floyd. And It's just exciting to see what's in that NFT space and what he brings to the brand and how we're going to expand this globally. It's just a, it's a bunch of energy. And it's a fun journey being with Shiba Wings and really tokenizing the whole payment process into a real life business.
Josh Kriger: Yeah, shout out to Scott for bringing us together. Scott's been a friend of mine for many years. One of the Genesis folks in the blockchain space I got to know here in LA and You know, we put on quite a show together with NFTA, the after hours he performed and also produced a show with Steve Aoki performing. It was pretty epic. And people still tell me about that. So I know Scott appreciates what it means to create memorable experiences. And I think that's what you're talking about here is how do we create memorable experiences, back valves, front of the house, across the house, to the other houses in the neighborhood, right? Like how do we create partnerships that really add value to the ecosystem? Sounds like you're doing some really exciting stuff there. So those are some really cool partnerships coming up, but we didn't even talk about the big one you already have with Mr. Beast Burgers. How did that come about?
Jason Krishnan: Yeah, look, Mr Beast Burgers actually approached us. We're rated number one on Cavill Avenue. And when they approached us, they said they've been looking for a restaurant that's highly rated and us being rated that, that high stars over there. They approached us there and then we decided to go through the due diligence there and we partnered up to include them as part of our Ghost Kitchen models that will expand globally. So yeah, it's very exciting. And It really gelled well in terms of how innovative and the different types of experience that we're providing to the community.
Josh Kriger: I love that. You know, I think people misunderstood the potential of Ghost Kitchen. They got a little carried away with these generic brands that have no real brand value. Right. I actually worked with the first Ghost Kitchen in Washington, D.C. Union Kitchen. Shout out to those guys. And they were really adamant and we were really adamant about promoting who's making the food and sort of what is the brand when you have a ghost kitchen, that's so important. So having that type of partnership with Mr. Beast Burgers is pretty awesome. I'm sure those burgers are just as good as the wings.
Jason Krishnan: Oh, yes, absolutely. You know, and exactly right. Like, we've had many brands offer us. We've got another six other brands that want to come in under our model. And yeah, we're very selective, right? It's all about the product, and the brand itself, and not just compiling all these different types of ghost kitchen models. And like yourself, I've been doing it for a long time. I used to have ghost kitchens about five years ago in my other restaurants. So we are selective and we are looking at doing a few other big deals that I can't announce yet, but there are some big other players that will be coming under that umbrella. So it's a very exciting time ahead for the Shiba Wings and the ghost kitchen models.
Josh Kriger: Awesome, man. That's really cool. How do you balance all this? Seems like a lot going on.
Jason Krishnan: I mean, tell me about it. You know, we get four hours of sleep a day. That's the world we live in. Right. And especially when it comes to food. You know, when I was young and growing up with my dad being a business owner it was all about that grind and putting in the effort now to see the result later. Right. And when I stepped into that food industry 20 years ago you really developed a different skill set and a responsibility, right? And I'm very passionate about what I do when it comes to food. And If I'm not completing what I need to complete, I can't rest, right? And My goal here is to really create something memorable and experienced and take everybody on that journey and be able to leave something behind. So once that's done, I'll be able to take a nap and get some rest. That's the plan.
Josh Kriger: There you go. Yeah, we had a slogan at our food company, FGF, freaking great food, right? Because at the end of the day, it's the product that drives the value of the organization, because you can go to a restaurant once or twice and enjoy it. But it's a lot for someone to keep coming back, because there's so much choice in the world. So how do you create that stickiness? Right? I think there's a bigger problem in the food industry that you're hitting on with all these ghost kitchens and all the different restaurant choices coming out and people being more likely to order at home is that loyalty component. It has to really matter for someone to sort of double down on their favorite places and keep coming back, right?
Jason Krishnan: Absolutely, absolutely. And you know, it's, and it's all about that gamified experience, right. And what we're showing in, in our white paper as part of the utility, and giving that not just ownership to the customer, but opportunities to earn, right, through that gamified experience with Pay It Now, with what they're developing with our white, white label, really integrating it, right, so that they can you know from home you know you're hopping onto the app you're ordering and you're gaining benefits at the same time to keep them fully engaged or you're organizing little treasure hunts where they go and they you know like pokemon on the go scenario and they follow that and they find you know a hundred dollars a wing tokens or you know, a free family meal you know, they can order on Uber. So it's really keeping them engaged through that experience. And then not only that everything is about quality in what we do. AndI'm sure you've been through it where you order on Uber, do an actual menu log, and it can take up to an hour. when you visit by the time they come and drop your food off and the food is cold. For me, the way we operate is very particular. And even though I'm in Sydney and my restaurant's in QueenslandI'm 24-7 interacting with them. And when there's an issue, we make sure we don't cook any food until the driver's five minutes from his destination to ensure it's fresh, it's not right. And if it's sitting there for more than 12 minutes, we redo the whole thing. And then wewe contact the aggregator and say, look, mate, the food's been sitting here for too long. We're all about customer experience, right. Andwe see it every day with Uber drivers or DoorDash drivers, many of those drivers and what happens out there. But you know, that's what really sets us apart. We're all about customers and what that experience is like, whether you're ordering from home or you're dining in, it's always gotta be fresh, delivered within the right time frame and a quality, quality product.
Josh Kriger: Nice. Yeah. Soggy wings are no bueno.
Jason Krishnan: And that's what it is. Every visit is a new experience when you come to ShibaWings. There's always something new happening there, which is great.
Josh Kriger: Right on, right on. That's great to hear. So I wanted to just touch on one more unique aspect of your business model. I don't think we covered it yet, which I found interesting. And it's this idea of giving 15 percent ownership of each restaurant to the community. We didn't talk about it, but that's it. And that's through that sort of innovation of NFTs and crypto. That's pretty meaningful from a percentage perspective. And it kind of begs the question for me is how do you manage and ensure that interests are aligned? And You don't have a revolt on your hands or a sort of conflicting interest. sort of thinking about some of these meme stocks lately and all the things going on in the world.
Jason Krishnan: Yeah, no, absolutely. And good question. You know, the community ownership through the NFT is going to be managed by the Shiba Wings DAO, right? So every NFT holder gets governance rights, the structure ensures the community's interest, and then it aligns with our business goals. So we're fostering, I guess, a sense of shared ownership and responsibility. And then we're committed to maintaining open communication and involving the community in key decisions to achieve collective success. So that's basically how we run to keep them fully engaged, they'll have a say. But obviously, we have a brand that we want to make sure we maintain and we've been successful for a reason, right? So if we all follow that, that passion and that vision, and that'll align with the NFT holders, it will definitely be a successful, I guess, process in terms of that journey, and having that ownership at 15%per holder.
Josh Kriger: All right, man. Very cool. So we want to get to know you better. At least I do. And I'm sure our listeners do as well. But before we sort of wrap up, I'm just curious if you have any other sort of advice for traditional restaurateurs or other traditional brands that are thinking about integrating crypto elements into their business?
Jason Krishnan: Yeah, absolutely. You know, it's, you got to be passionate about what you do in life, right? And then being passionate really transcends into what you do. Have that passion, you have that drive when you're in that food business, and you're always looking to try and see what you can change each day and how you can make your business model even better. You know, for me, it was just about really integrating that passion into the quality of food and then seeing how I could give that, really implement it and give it back to the community. I guess the one thing I'll say is never give up. I did this with my son at a very young age and it was just me and him that built this model together and then we started meeting people on the journey and then I met Scott Page and he became one of our co-founders. And then having my other partner that did it with me for six years now. It's not just about the people you meet. You've got to have it in your own heart to be able to push through those times. And food isn't the easiest thing, because like you said, there's so much competition out there. So it makes things really hard. But yeah, look, have a goal in mind and really try and achieve that goal. And I won't stop till I achieve that goal, and so won't my team. So yeah.
Josh Kriger: Rock on, man. Well, that's great. And I think there's a lot to look forward to with the next evolution of Shiva Wings. In the meantime, let's get to know you better. And it's going to be a fun segment we call Edge Quick Hitters. All right, so Jason, Edge Quick Hitters are a fun and quick way to get to know you a little bit better. There's going to be 10 questions. We're just looking for a short, single, or few word response, but feel free to expand if you get the urge. I'm sure you've done plenty of these sort of quick moments in your illustrious sports career, so I'm sure you're ready, yeah? Let's do it. All right, what is the first thing you remember ever purchasing in your life? Oh, wow.
Jason Krishnan: Apart from lollies, I was a big lolly back when I was a kid. I was a fiend for lollies. The first thing I actually physically purchased was my Subway franchise. That was my first big purchase in my life. And that was at the age of 19 when I first started going through that process.
Josh Kriger: Wow. An entrepreneur that really got into it early. Did that work out?
Jason Krishnan: Yeah, look, I had that for a few years. Unfortunately, in the franchising space, they love to pop up back then it was all about Subway and they were hitting up100 stores here and there. And In my suburb, I had my Subway in front of a major shopping center. Then they decided to put two more in front of me and then one down the road. When the market started to get congested is when I decided to start moving on. But definitely during that time it was very successful. It definitely put me at the forefront of what I wanted to do and how much passion I had for food. AndI'd love doing that back in the day with my wife when I was married and, and my son when he was little, he'd come in and he'd be prepping or getting on the tomato machine and just dicing and stuff like that. So it was definitely a great experience and it definitely set the par and the level for me to, I guess, excel and take that next step forward to start creating my own pathway.
Josh Kriger: But to do it right. I mean, it's not like there needs to be a subway in every corner like a Starbucks. You got to spread them out and make sure everyone gets the love it deserves, right?
Jason Krishnan: Exactly And that's exactly what we're going to be doing. From the experiences that we've been through with franchising, we're here to give it a real different taste and a real different feel when we're not going to put Shiba Wings around the corner from your restaurant. We're going to make sure demographically and it's within a certain radius or mile that it's not impacting you as a business operator, right? We need to make sure we look after our operators and that's going to be the biggest thing for us moving forward.
Josh Kriger: Cool. So before you sold your subway franchise, what is the first thing you remember ever selling in your life?
Jason Krishnan: Oh, that is a good question. Soccer cards. Yep. Being a big soccer fan. I love my soccer. And you know, it was all about the sports cards back in the day. So that would have been at a very young age would have been my first thong at school trying to sell your cards or whatnot to people or sell them online. So yeah, soccer cards would have been the first thing that I've ever sold.
Josh Kriger: I just found all my baseball cards. I'm trying to figure out what to do with them. I'm curious if I have any gems in there, but haven't figured it out yet.
Jason Krishnan: Yeah, nice. A special Babe Ruth card. I'll get one of them. They came in a soccer deck, an upper deck, 94 packs. And I was like, wow. So yeah, I've got some cool, cool memorabilia from back in the day. I've kept like 20 something years old now. But yeah, it's amazing.
Josh Kriger: Nice, nice. What is the most recent thing you purchased?
Jason Krishnan: Shiba Wings, right? That'll be the most recent big purchase that we've done. Definitely buying into and building that brand. Apart from that would have been a vehicle.
Josh Kriger: Okay. Yeah. You're all in on Shiba Wings there. And what is the most recent thing you sold? Probably some Shiba Wings are being sold right now. as we speak.
Jason Krishnan: Well, yeah, I was just about to say that'd be the most recent thing. Our beautiful hot wings fly out the doors. If we break it down 100% and that's the most daily activity, the most activity I have each day.
Josh Kriger: Do you ever wake up in the morning and you're like, wow, I just, I was selling some wings while I'm sleeping.
Jason Krishnan: Yeah. That's the best part of it, right? It doesn't stop. So yeah you're absolutely right. That's exactly it's, it's an everyday thing and that'd be the most recent thing that I've, I've soldI'm one of those people too. I barely sell anything apart from what's it, what's involved in my business. And then obviously when it comes to this brand, we've had that many people hitting us up. I've got all these ghost kitchens that people want in over the UK and in the US and in the MENA regions that we're just about to finalize with our franchising lawyers to reveal those documents. Butwe'll start seeing that'll be the next most recent sale for us. And the UK seems to be the first one and we'll have shivering wings there very soon.
Josh Kriger: Well, if you could speed things up, I'll probably be in Dubai more than once later this year. So if I don't get to Australia, if you could just make sure there's a Shiba Wings for me to check out in Dubai, I would really appreciate that.
Jason Krishnan: Definitely, 100%. You know, the best part there is my business partner. He used to run for the Al Shia Group in Dubai20 years over there. And that's the best of the best. And they're waiting for us, right? We've had a lot of presence from the MENA region. We've had people from Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, spending months on end in the Shiba Wings restaurant, trying to buy the brand off us. And We realized we definitely have something special here that we need to keep this brand close. you know, expand it internally and see what we can do. But, yeah, definitely Dubai is coming after Shiba Wings very hard recently. Sothere's a lot happening behind the scenes. So we're excited to see how this all plays out globally.
Josh Kriger: And Jason, what is your most prized possession?
Jason Krishnan: It's my children. You know, I'm here for obviously a specific reason and having my first son really changed everything that I wanted to do in life made me realize a lot about being a parent and then what I wanted to do for them. So on the back of that, I've got two kids an 18 year old and lucky enough, because I did get sick with my, with my soccer career. I wasn't able to have kids. And 2 years ago, I had a, I had a, had another son, which was such a blessing. And That made me change a lot of things. And it made me really work even harder. And what I'm trying to do here is really create a brand the ship of wings brand and, and tokenize it with the wing token, combining this and with the global expansions and leaving something for them and leaving a legacy. So yeah, that's, that's, that's my, my goal and my vision.
Josh Kriger: Very cool. And if you could buy anything in the world, digital physical service experiences currently for sale, what would it be?
Jason Krishnan: Wow, that's a tough question there. BecauseI'm somebody that, I'm very humble, right. And I'd rather do things for somebody else than do for myself, right. And like I'm doing with this brand, I'm building something for, for the community, not just for me, right. And if I was to buy something, again, I'd buy my son another car, because he's always bugging me. I bought him a car already, and I'd buy him another one now.
Josh Kriger: But honestly, I would say, look, if I'm going to buy you another car, it's going to have Shiba Wings on it. That's the deal.
Jason Krishnan: It's going to be branded. That's what I was going to say right now. It's all going to be branded. It's all going to be about Shiba Wings. But Moving forward our goal here is if any more investments take place is to build our ecosystem and everything under that umbrella and really enhance the Shiba Wing experience with all the crazy partners that we already have. Right. You know, it's insane who's partnered with us. really try to expand on that model and reinvest into what we're trying to do.
Josh Kriger: Right on, that makes sense. So if you could pass on one of your personality traits to the next generation, what would it be?
Jason Krishnan: Oh, what are my personality traits? I'm a people person, right? I'm as humble and shy as I can be. I'm definitely a people person. And I guess one of my traits would be loyalty and trust. You know, I'm very committed and loyal to myself, to everybody, right? AndI'm always there for that next person and to be able to help people on that journey as well. And I think if you have a good heart you definitely get where you need to be.
Josh Kriger: That's great. And if you could eliminate one of your personality traits from the next generation, what would it be?
Jason Krishnan: I'm too giving. I'm too giving and trusting.
Josh Kriger: I think one car is enough for your son. I think he's good. Just pin springs on the current car and give it a facelift.
Jason Krishnan: That's so true, but yeah, I'm just, I really, I'm very trusting in peopleI really justI mean, I really trust and I give everyone the benefit of the doubt, butI need to be very reserved, especially in the space that we work in and what we do and doing these type of business model you really need to be careful to not get taken advantage of. Sothat's something I would definitely give advice on and definitely be careful with what you do in life. Don't always give and don't always trust people. You don't always do your due diligence.
Josh Kriger: So yeah. Do your own research. It's really important. And if you think one thing, but you're getting signals that they're telling you something else is happening, trust your gut there, right?
Jason Krishnan: That's it. 100%. Trust your instinct, definitely.
Josh Kriger: So what did you do just before joining us on the podcast?
Jason Krishnan: Wow, I woke up at 4am today, vacuumed the house. I'm a bit of a clean freak and that shows in my restaurant when you walk in there as well. But I did my house cleaning, I set everything up, I went through all my paperwork and I set up my laptops and I started structuring my day for what operations need to be handled. I sort out the food for the kids. And then I get myself ready, give myself a good brushing, brush my teeth, have a good shower. And then I started connecting with my fellow team members prior to what we had connected here today.
Josh Kriger: Cool. Cool. So you're a good houseguest. So you can come over anytime. Just bring some wings with you. Okay. Done, my man. And what are you going to do next after the podcast?
Jason Krishnan: Straight into more meetings and we're just getting ready to obviously get our campaign out there. So there's a lot of things happening behind the scenes. So we'll be getting stuck into that and getting ready for the next two days to get this launch out and get ready to rock.
Josh Kriger: Awesome. So we like to ask our guests a bonus question. I've got a fun one for you today. What's the most wings you've eaten in one outing in your life?
Jason Krishnan: Ooh, I've done one of those wing challenges. I've had about 40 wings in an hour. with two Bs. So two Bs, 40 wings, and that's probably the most that I've eaten.
Josh Kriger: Yeah. That is impressive. Like I think I've hit like the 20 to 30 range at all.
Jason Krishnan: Is there like, do you guys have like a really hot wing in your- Yeah, we've got the, so I've got a Shira Inu source and all our sources are named after crypto, right? So after different tokens, but I have the, What is it? They've got the, there's a new one that we're just kind of implementing into the restaurant, but we have everything from your low tea. to your crazy hot, which is your, it's mixed with there's certain ingredients there, but it's combining Frank's hot sauce with Tabasco, certain powders and paprika's and different elements. And that's the extreme. And I can probably only have a couple of them. Like I'm a hot sauce guy, right? And after a couple and see, you've got to change it. It kills your taste buds, right? It's so enjoyable that you want to keep going, but your taste buds are just gone. It's just insane.
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Josh Kriger: That's really cool. I had a flashback with a show we did with these guys that were sort of doing web three with lobster rolls. I had to design a lobster roll and then they tried it and I tried it and they liked it. At least they told me they liked it, but maybe we can do a wing challenge type show at some point in the future. I'm really just fishing for ways to try these wings if you haven't figured that out.
Jason Krishnan: Yeah, no, 100%. I'd love to do that. That'd be awesome, man. We can definitely get the restaurant involved and we can get the community involved over there on that wing challenge and we can all have our wings and sit there and we'll all enjoy it together and have that wing challenge. So I'm looking forward to that. I'm going to hold you down and we're going to get the hottest sauce out there. So that's locked in.
Josh Kriger: Let's do it, man. In the meantime, if folks want to learn more about what you're doing with Shiba Wings, the upcoming token launch, obviously not financial advice, Where can individuals go to learn more about this project?
Jason Krishnan: Yeah, absolutely. You can go on shibawing.com, which is the token website. So shibawing.com and also shibawings.com.au is the restaurant website. Very informative. It's got a lot of information there. Join our telegram. You can get on our Twitter at token shibawing and all the links are there and you can jump into the telegram and that's running 24 seven. We'll have the VCs running, you'll be able to jump straight in and chat live with the team and get educated and find out what we're doing and what we're trying to do moving forward.
Josh Kriger: Awesome. It's always great to connect with another food entrepreneur that also has sort of crossed the crypto path directly with their life and their passion, combining everything together. I'm really excited about what you're doing, Jason. I really appreciate you spending some time with us today.
Jason Krishnan: Thanks, Josh. It's been a pleasure and you know, it's very exciting to obviously be on the edge. And you know, having the opportunity to collaborate with you guys. And yeah, look, it's really exciting what we're trying to do. And you know, special shout out to our team. AndScott, Paige, Pate now, Rock, and all the project managers and everyone that's behind it from the graphics team. To everybody that's involved and that's been with us on this journey for over a year. And to all the loyal fans out there we're always having a queue out at Shiverwings. You know, I couldn't be any more grateful with what we've been able to achieve and accomplish here. So thank you very much. Really appreciate that.
Josh Kriger: We've reached the outer limit at the edge of NFT for today. Thanks for exploring with us. We've got space for more adventures on the Starship. So invite your friends or recruit some cool strangers that'll make this journey all so much better. Hal, if you're listening or watching, go to Spite. How? If you're on the list... How? If you're listening or watching, go to Spotify, iTunes, YouTube, or Myko right now, rate us and say something awesome. That's right, you can now catch us on myko.io, that's M-Y-C-O.io, where you can watch and earn your time and attention. So be sure to tune in next time for more great Web3 content, and thanks again for sharing this time with us today.
Outro: The views and opinions expressed on Edge of NFT reflect solely those views and opinions of the show hosts and its guests. Please make sure to do your own research. Our show is not financial advice. You understand that you are using any and all information available on or through this podcast at your own risk. Whenever making financial decisions, we recommend doing your own research and talking to your accountant for financial advice. From time to time we may feature sponsored content on the show for which we receive value and we may share links for which we receive a commission if you make a purchase through one of those links. Refer to our website www.edgeofnfk.com for our full disclaimer, terms and conditions, and privacy policy.
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