Entrepreneur Case

Introduction

The entrepreneur we interviewed was Michael Finelli who opened up his own pizzeria in New Jersey at the young age of 13. Currently Michael Finelli is 51 years old, works in banking and owns a construction company building and remodeling homes in the Chicago land area.

1. What was the business you started and what year?

My name is Michael Finelli and my brother and I started a pizzeria named Finelli's Pizzeria after the family name. We started the pizzeria in 1975 in Cedar Knolls, New Jersey.

2. Were you the only owner?

No, my older brother Louie was part owner. I was 13 years old my brother was 15 years old at the time. We borrowed money from a close family friend because my parents, other siblings, and I did not have enough money at the time to open up the restaurant.

3. Why did you choose this kind of business?

We chose a pizzeria for many reasons. One reason being we are an Italian family and would already has pizza at least 5 times a week. We figured we had an edge on how our pizza should taste to maximize customer satisfaction. The second reason was due to the fact that the store we were purchasing. It was a previous pizzeria that came with all the equipment to cook the pizzas. We also believed we could improve the quality of pizza the previous pizzeria made. Not to mention it was the only pizzeria in Cedar Knolls.