After graduating from Stanford, Will decided to go to culinary school instead of medical school. From there he went on to join the opening team of Thomas Keller's Per Se in New York City. Following NYC he would come back to California to cook at The French Laundry in Yountville. Eventually, Thomas Keller saw Will's talent for tech and asked him to run all of IT for the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group. After learning from the best, Will pursued his dream and opened his own chain of fast-casual restaurants as founder and CEO of Spice Kit restaurants in 2007 which scaled to multiple locations in the Bay Area. Today, Will serves as founder and CEO of Pared, a leading hospitality and restaurant network with over 100,000 members. Show notes… Favorite success quote or mantra: "Luck is where preparation meets opportunity." In today's episode with Will Pacio we will discuss: Setting yourself up for opportunity Passion for food Taking risks Working for free in order to learn What you do and don't learn in culinary school Collaboration Establishing good culture The culture of Per Se Cooking for a food critic How a good review affects business What is Pared? How clients changed the direction of Pared Labor issues today