The Cavinder Twins and Raising Cane's Owner & Founder on Success
Todd Graves, owner and founder of Raising Cane's, and Hanna and Haley Cavinder, NIL trailblazers and entrepreneurs, discuss the passion and drive it takes to succeed in business on the new episode of "The Playbook."
"I don't think entrepreneurs are created — entrepreneurs are born."
So says Todd Graves, the billionaire owner and founder of Raising Cane's, the chicken finger casual dining chain with over 900 restaurants nationwide.
Graves joined twin sisters Hanna and Haley Cavinder, former University of Miami basketball players who became trailblazers in the NIL space, to talk about the drive it takes to succeed in business on a new episode of The Playbook.
On each episode of The Playbook, produced by Sports Illustrated and Entrepreneur, athletes and entrepreneurs come together to share advice and lessons they've learned along their paths to greatness.
Related: 'Hustle Like You're Broke': Michael Strahan Shares the Mindset That Drives His Success
Although their businesses might vary greatly — Graves runs a restaurant empire while Hanna and Haley are influencers who created the TWOgether fitness app and co-founded Hustle Beauty for athletes — there is crossover in how they pursue their passions.
It starts with showing up like an athlete. "It was very seamless when we got into the NIL space and then started our own business," Hanna says. "All of those traits from college athletics carried over. The discipline and routine and the commitment to give 100% because there are other people relying on you."
Graves feels the same way. "You might be tired one day, but people show up to our restaurants and are willing to pay good money, so you've got to deliver."
Graves, Hanna and Haley also believe in the power of connecting with customers through authenticity. "People love founder-driven businesses because a founder cares, and their business is an extension of them," Graves says. Haley adds that being positive and honest on social media has been the key to nurturing their community of millions. "That really helped us when we started the health and fitness side of things," she says. Putting out genuine content that spoke about mental health helped them build lasting relationships with their followers, and they say the feedback they've gotten keeps them fulfilled and eager to do more.
Related: "You Have to Grow Up Fast": How This College Athlete Became a CEO Before Turning 18
Watch the entire conversation to get these amazing entrepreneurs' insights on how getting a "no" can be the best thing to fuel your drive, and learn the pivotal moments that showed them that they were on the right path. As Graves notes, "Champions are always thinking, Hey, what can we do next?"
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
USC Running Back Makes Major NIL Announcement on Monday
USC Running Back Makes Major NIL Announcement on Monday originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The USC Trojans' 2025 college football recruiting class was one of the best in the country, ranking No. 15 nationally according to On3. Advertisement Headlined by five-star quarterback Husan Longstreet, they also signed the No. 1 junior college running back in the country Waymond Jordan. After winning the NJCAA D1 Football Offensive Player of the Year in 2024, Jordan makes his way to one of the most prestigious schools in the country to continue his football career. He ran for 1,614 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns in 12 games, both of which led the nation. On Monday, the top-ranked running back signed a massive NIL deal, where he is officially an athlete under C4 Energy. Waymond Jordan Jr. playing in high school.© Tony Giberson/tgiberson@ via Imagn Content Services, LLC C4 Energy has recently had some big names in college football sign NIL deals with them, most notably former Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers as well as current Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Zachariah Branch. Advertisement The first big move for Jordan, the No. 12 ranked junior college player in the 2025 recruiting cycle, as he prepares for his jump to Big Ten football. Head coach Lincoln Riley looks to improve on what was a disappointing season for the Trojans' standards. Finishing with a 7-6 record in their first season in a new and difficult Big Ten leaves USC lots of room for improvement, and could use the explosiveness of Jordan. The likely starting running back, as he and New Mexico Lobos transfer Eli Sanders will be their top two backs, will look to relieve the pressure off quarterback Jayden Maiava, and a solid wide receiver core to help him as well. Boise State transfer Prince Strachan is a tall, physical receiver who can win 50/50 balls downfield, and returning receivers Ja'Kobi Lane and Makai Lemon look to improve on solid campaigns in 2024. Advertisement Related: USC Trojans 2026 Recruiting Numbers Reveal Dominant Statistic Related: Historic Big Ten Program is Dominating 2026 Recruiting This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
New York Times
4 hours ago
- New York Times
NiJaree Canady, Texas Tech bring stunning end to Oklahoma softball's dynastic run
OKLAHOMA CITY — We gather here today to say goodbye to the Oklahoma softball dynasty, and hello to the NIL era. Because if Texas Tech just proved anything, it's that you can buy a championship. Last summer, the school spent a million dollars and change to lure the best player in softball to Lubbock, Texas, in hopes of making it to its first-ever Women's College World Series. Advertisement Naturally, NiJaree Canady upped the ante. The junior transfer from Stanford headlined a 3-2 defeat of No. 2 Oklahoma in the Women's College World Series semifinal on Monday. Canady struck out eight batters, allowing four hits, to end the Sooners' pursuit of a fifth straight national championship. Of course, nothing is easy when it comes to facing the Sooners, who gave Canady everything she could handle. In the top of the seventh, Canady was one strike away from shutting out the Sooners, who have not been held scoreless in more than 300 games, since exactly six years ago Monday, per the ESPN broadcast. Then, Oklahoma junior Abigale Dayton stepped up to home plate with everything going against her. The Sooners trailed 2-0. There were two outs. It was the bottom of the seventh. And she was staring down a 0-2 count. Dayton hammered one out of the park, bringing squealing Oklahoma fans to their feet and tying the score at two to give the Sooners life. Believe. — Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) June 3, 2025 But if the Sooners suggested that if there's one pitch left, there's life, the Red Raiders proved it. Red Raiders redshirt sophomore Lauren Allred hit a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh to secure Texas Tech's first-ever appearance in the WCWS championship series. Canady, playing in her third WCWS after steering the Cardinal there the past two years, leads the nation with a dumbfounding 0.86 ERA and the Red Raiders with 11 home runs. No. 12 Texas Tech meets No. 6 Texas in the championship series starting Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET. Game 2 follows Thursday at 8 p.m. ET and Game 3, if necessary, is slotted for Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. This story will be updated. (Top photo of NiJaree Canady: Nathan J. Fish / The Oklahoman / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
USA Today
11 hours ago
- USA Today
Michigan football all-transfer portal team: Top Wolverines stars revealed
Michigan football all-transfer portal team: Top Wolverines stars revealed In the not-so-distant past, it was something of a rare occasion that you'd see teams like Michigan football taking in many, if any, transfers. But with the transfer portal now essentially unrestricted, especially with NIL, if you're not bolstering your team with incoming transfers, you're not trying very hard to win games. Michigan football has gotten on board in recent years, not going as portal crazy as some other teams -- relying more on recruiting out of high school -- but the Wolverines have added some key pieces that have helped the team win. So we're doing a bit of a thought exercise: what would an all-transfer portal team look like for the maize and blue? Given that Michigan hasn't been as prolific in the portal as some other programs, there are some key positions that don't have more than one player. And some of our inclusions are current players on this 2025 team -- whether they've been on campus for a while or they're just joining. With that in mind, here is our all-transfer portal team for the Michigan Wolverines. Offense QB - Shea Patterson Former school: Ole Miss We're getting controversial right out of the gates. Patterson was a former five-star who didn't quite rise to the level that Michigan fans expected. He had a solid year in 2018, helping the Wolverines go from 8-5 the year before to 10-3. In 2019, he was injured on his first play from scrimmage, but by the year's end, he was firing on all cylinders, with three 300-plus yard games to close out the regular season. Alternate: Jake Rudock, Iowa RB - Justice Haynes Former school: Alabama Haynes has yet to play an actual game for the Wolverines, only the spring game, where he rushed six times for 51 yards. But he's expected to be a co-starter along with Jordan Marshall, and has very high expectations as he enters his junior year. Alternate: Ty Isaac, USC TE - AJ Barner Former school: Indiana Michigan actually does a stellar job recruiting tight ends out of high school so it's pretty rare that it goes out and gets one in the transfer portal. Yet, despite Colston Loveland emerging as a potential star at the end of 2022, it went out and got Barner to pair with him, and he ended up being stellar for the Wolverines as a pass-catching threat. Alternate: None LT - LaDarius Henderson Former school: Arizona State We could have gone with Myles Hinton here, but since he's played on both sides, we've chosen Henderson here. It took a few games to get going, but he ultimately settled in at left tackle, en route to Michigan's 2023 national championship. Alternate: Brady Norton, Cal Poly LG - Josh Priebe Former school: Northwestern Though expectations were very high that Priebe would come in and look the same as the previous few years' transfers along the offensive line, he didn't quite rise to that level. It took him most of the season to find his groove, but he ended up being OK once he got fully acclimated. Alternate: None C - Olu Oluwatimi Former school: Virginia The greatest of the O-line transfers for the Wolverines, Oluwatimi was a standout and engine for the best offensive line in the country. Not only did he become an alternate captain, but he won the Rimington Trophy, given to the nation's best center, and helped lead the OL to a second-straight Joe Moore Award. Alternate: Drake Nugent, Stanford RG - Lawrence Hattar Former school: Ferris State Little is known as of yet about Hattar, who arrives on campus this summer. But due to a lack of incoming transfers, we've slotted him in here. Alternate: None RT - Myles Hinton Former school: Stanford Hinton makes the list after all. He was hit-or-miss in 2023, his first year in Ann Arbor, despite getting the nod to start right away. But he improved greatly, actually, after moving to left tackle in 2024, which allowed him to get drafted in 2025. Alternate: None WR - Donaven McCulley Former school: Indiana It actually speaks volumes that Michigan football doesn't have a productive wide receiver transfer who's already played in games at the top here (because there really aren't any), thus we're going with the expected No. 1 wideout coming into 2025. McCulley had a solid 2023 in Bloomington, had one catch in the spring game for the Wolverines this year, for 25 yards, and should be formidable in the new-look Chip Lindsey offense. Alternate: C.J. Charleston, Youngstown State WR - Anthony Simpson Former school: UMass Even less is known about Simpson, who was productive for UMass in 2023. He comes to Ann Arbor as the receiver on the roster with the most yards (at the FBS level) and figures to be a factor in 2025. Alternate: Amorion Walker, Ole Miss (via Michigan) WR - Daylen Baldwin Former school: Jackson State There were high hopes for Baldwin when he came in 2021, but his big highlights were a pair of touchdown catches in garbage time against Western Michigan and Wisconsin (both from then-freshman J.J. McCarthy). He never quite settled in beyond that and left some potential on the table. Alternate: None Defense EDGE - Mike Danna Former school: Central Michigan Danna was one of the bright spots for Michigan football in 2019 and he showed out as a reserve edge rusher. We strongly considered fellow one-year rental Eyabi Okie-Anoma, but ultimately went with Danna, who played so well he ended up being a draft pick by the dynastic Kansas City Chiefs. Alternate: Eyabi Okie-Anoma, Alabama DT - Cam Goode Former school: UCF Goode took a full year before he started to come on strong, but in 2023, even as an alternate, it was hard to take him off the field once he got into the rotation. He was a solid player, despite going undrafted in 2024. Alternate: Damon Payne, Alabama DT - Tré Williams Former school: Clemson Like we did a bit on offense, there's a bit of projection here with Williams, who has yet to play a down (outside of the spring game) for the Wolverines. But expectations are high for the transfer who very well could be a starter for the maize and blue this year. Alternate: Jordan Whittley, Oregon State EDGE - Josaiah Stewart Former school: Coastal Carolina One of the feel-good stories, Stewart was a very good player as a freshman with the Chanticleers, but would the undersized edge rusher see his game translate to the Big Ten? The answer ended up being a resounding yes, with big plays made in the 2023 Rose Bowl, in addition to what he did in his senior year. Alternate: None LB - Ernest Hausmann Former school: Nebraska A current player, Hausmann was solid as a reserve in 2023 before stepping into a starting role in 2024. Now expected to be a team captain in his senior year, he's one of the best linebackers in the Big Ten. Alternate: Troy Bowles, Georgia LB - Jaishawn Barham Former school: Maryland Another current player (Michigan didn't start getting transfer linebackers until quite recently), Barham has all of the talent in the world and certainly could find himself being called on day one of the 2026 NFL draft if all goes right. With freaky athleticism, he checks all the boxes, but he also took almost the entire 2024 season before he started playing within the confines of the defense. Alternate: Edward Warinner, MSU CB - Josh Wallace Former school: UMass Wallace was a late addition to the 2023 team, coming aboard in the summer. But he got the nod as a starter in Week 1 and though there was a bit of a learning curve, he eventually became a solid defensive back who was pivotal in the Wolverines national championship run. Alternate: Ricky Johnson, UNLV NB - Tevis Metcalf Former school: Arkansas Nickelback is a premium position for the Wolverines, which means they recruit the position well without much of a loss of talent. We're slotting second-year defensive back Tevis Metcalf in here due to his production in the spring game, though we haven't seen him play the position in real games yet. Alternate: None S - Wesley Walker Former school: Tennessee Walker started all season for the Vols but didn't quite replicate his performance in Knoxville while in Ann Arbor. However, he was OK as a reserve but had a big moment in the ReliaQuest Bowl, picking off Alabama QB Jalen Milroe to really help Michigan put its knee on the Crimson Tide's throat early in the game. Alternate: Jaden Mangham, MSU S - TJ Metcalf Former school: Arkansas Strongly expected to be a standout for the Wolverines this year, it's unclear if the 2025 transfer will be a starter at safety, a key reserve, or play nickel. Still, there has been a lot of talk about how good the former Razorback might be in Ann Arbor. Alternate: None CB - Aamir Hall Former school: Albany Like his transfer predecessor, Josh Wallace, it took some time for Hall to come around. Perhaps a bit longer than it did Wallace. But once he did, he was solid, making huge plays in the Ohio State game and the ReliaQuest Bowl. Michigan certainly wishes it had another year with Hall in the defensive backfield. Alternate: None Special teams K - Dominic Zvada Former school: Arkansas State It didn't seem likely that anyone would come in and make Michigan football fans forget about Jake Moody, the Wolverines' most prolific kicker, yet Zvada appears to have done just that. A standout in 2024, he should be a likely candidate to win the Lou Groza Award in 2025. Alternate: None P - Hudson Hollenbeck Former school: Mississippi State We're going with Hollenbeck here, not only because there haven't been a lot of incoming transfer punters, but also because he's played in games (the ReliaQuest Bowl) whereas incoming transfer, Luke Bauer, has yet to earnestly put on a winged helmet. Alternate: Luke Bauer, Missouri
