Patrick Terry | It’s Never Too Late… He Started At 47 And Beat McDonald’s Out

Patrick Terry | It’s Never Too Late… He Started At 47 And Beat McDonald’s Out

From School of Hard Knocks Podcast by The School of Hard Knocks

May 21, 2026 · 1h 5m

About this episode

Patrick Terry shares his journey of building P. Terry’s and competing against fast food giants.

Patrick Terry is the co-founder of P. Terry’s, the Texas burger brand that grew from a 527-square-foot Austin stand into 38 locations and 1,800 employees. In this episode, Patrick shares how he built the company with his wife Kathy, competed directly against national fast food giants, protected the brand’s culture, and refused franchising or private equity to preserve quality. We discuss leadership, employee loyalty, pricing with fairness, building customer love, and why showing up every day is still the ultimate business advantage. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

People in this episode

Guest: Patrick Terry

Topics covered

  • entrepreneurship
  • leadership
  • fast food industry
  • employee loyalty
  • brand culture

Keywords

  • P. Terry’s
  • Patrick Terry
  • McDonald’s
  • entrepreneurship
  • leadership
  • employee loyalty
  • brand culture

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: P. Terry’s, McDonald’s

Places: Texas, Austin

More episodes of School of Hard Knocks Podcast

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the School of Hard Knocks Podcast podcast page.