How I Franchised This From Wall Street to Boulder - How Andrew Pudalov Invented a Food Category and Built a 25 State Empire
Apr 2, 2026
Andrew Pudalov, founder and CEO of Rush Bowls who left a 15-year Wall Street trading career to start a health-and-wellness bowl concept. He recounts quitting after 9/11, perfecting one store for years, scaling into Whole Foods and wholesale, pivoting to franchising across 25 states, and the unusual unit economics and operations choices that made it work.
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Quitting Wall Street And Learning Retail By Doing
- Andrew quit a high-pressure Wall Street trading career after 9/11 and moved his family to Boulder with no detailed plan.
- He bought a house, opened a small Rush Bowls shop, and personally mopped floors while learning the food business hands-on.
Use Finance Rigor To Reduce Early Food Risk
- Andrew used his finance instincts to treat the restaurant like a numbers problem and start conservatively to limit downside.
- He chose a small 800 sq ft store, IQF (flash frozen) fruit to avoid spoilage, and minimal staff to control food waste and labor.
From One Store To Whole Foods In 40 States
- After a decade refining the retail model, Andrew launched a wholesale line and got Rush Bowls into Whole Foods across 40 states.
- He learned distribution challenges firsthand, hired co-packers, and ran national sampling programs to educate buyers and consumers.