Patrick & Kathy Terry (P. Terry's): "Why We Said No to $100M"

Patrick & Kathy Terry (P. Terry's): "Why We Said No to $100M"

From Moneywise by Hampton

September 8, 2026 · 1h 1m · Episode 111

About this episode

Patrick and Kathy Terry discuss their decision to turn down a $100M offer for their burger stand and their unique approach to employee ownership.

We're still surprised people did this but... 50+ founders worth $10M to $4B reveal their personal finances. Here it is: https://joinhampton.com/mw-wr Why do we do this? Because if you're an aspirational person or someone who runs a business and is making money, it's incredibly challenging to figure out what to do. Information is impossible to find — and that's what we put together: the net worth reveal and why we do this podcast, Moneywise. They turned down a $100M offer for their burger stand — now they're giving the company to their 1,800 employees. Patrick and Kathy Terry opened a 500-square-foot burger stand in South Austin in 2005 — three months into their marriage — selling $1.60 hamburgers. Kathy barely took a salary for over a decade. In 2016, with ten locations, a buyer offered them between $70 and $100 million, and they said no, pulling out just under $10M — the only money they've ever taken in 21 years. Today P. Terry's runs 37 locations, employs 1,800 people, does between $150 and $200 million a year growing 20%+ — and instead of selling, they're transferring the whole company to their employees through an Employee Ownership Trust, something fewer than 100 American…

People in this episode

Host: Hampton

Guests: Patrick Terry, Kathy Terry

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Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: P. Terry's

Places: South Austin

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