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the $200 billion milkshake salesman

The entrepreneur who reinvented his life at 52, a startup idea for highway emergencies, and three different workouts to try this weekend for optimal fitness.

Author

Morgan Tate
September 12, 2025

One of the worst sentences in the English language, “in another life”.

Man, isn’t it depressing when you hear someone say that? The admission that you gave up on pursuing a meaningful life without ever trying.

Ray was not one of these people.

Even though Ray didn't have the most glamorous job in the world. In fact, quite the opposite - he was a 52-year-old struggling milkshake machine salesman dealing with diabetes and arthritis. Not exactly something that impresses the in-laws at Thanksgiving dinner.

Ray could have easily become another quiet quitter of life. Identifying as ‘too old’ to start a business and change his life.

But that's not what Ray did. Instead, he pursued a life of meaning, eventually discovering the McDonald brothers' restaurant in San Bernardino, California, and building McDonald's into the $200+ billion dollar empire it is today.

Today’s lesson: it’s never to late to change your life and build founder fitness.

idea of the week 💡

Credit: Idea Browser

  • problem: Meal planning is broken. People waste hours scrolling recipes that don't match what's actually in their kitchen.

  • idea: Receipt2Recipe - a system that transforms your grocery receipts into personalized meal plans instantly. Upload your receipt or connect your loyalty card to generate a week of custom recipes based on what you actually bought, considering dietary restrictions, cooking skill, and prep time.

  • how it makes money: $9.99/month for personalized meal planning, with a $19.99/month tier that includes nutritionist support. White-label solutions for grocery retailers and health providers start at $75/user/year. Market expanding from $972M to $11.57B by 2034. Potential for $10M-$100M ARR.

  • why it might succeed: The receipt-to-recipe engine doesn't just match ingredients - it understands shopping patterns, suggests creative uses for leftover ingredients, and adapts to seasonal availability. As users save money and reduce food waste, they become natural evangelists.

  • why it might fail: Moderate complexity with health tech integrations and potential challenges in scaling the technology across different receipt formats and grocery retailers. Consumers might resist another subscription unless the value proposition is clearly communicated.

workout of the week

Three workouts for this weekend:

at-home workout:

Complete this HIIT circuit 3 times:

  • 45 seconds of high knees with arm circles

  • 12 push-ups with alternating shoulder taps

  • 40-second low plank with hip dips

  • 20 sumo squats with 2-second pause at bottom

Challenge: Add a 40-second wall sit finisher after the final round

gym workout:

  • 4x8 hex bar deadlifts at 75% of your max

  • 3x12 single-arm dumbbell rows (each arm)

  • 4x15 cable tricep pushdowns

  • Finisher: 5-minute AMRAP of 8 battle ropes + 6 medicine ball slams

outdoor workout:

Complete at your local park:

  • 15-minute pyramid run (increase pace for 30 seconds, then decrease for 30 seconds, increasing the peak pace each round)

  • Find a hill: 5 sets of hill sprints with 60-second recovery

  • At open space: 3 rounds of 15 jump squats + 20 alternating reverse lunges

  • Final challenge: 4-minute mobility flow focusing on hip and shoulder mobility

tweet of the week

Unfortunately, this has become a hot take.

video of the week

One of the most common questions I get from sellers is ‘how do you find buyers for my business?’ this video breaks down our process:

my plugs