Kian Abedini

At 21, I worked two full-time jobs as a manager at two different restaurants. I saved my salary, and sponsored several nonprofit events in Los Angeles art galleries, attracting hundreds of people and allowing me to make vital connections in the city's entertainment and hospitality industries.

I continue to work as an event producer. My skills as an event manager and promoter translated into a reputation as a restaurant consultant in Los Angeles; in the past four-years, I have consulted on the design and logistics of three restaurant concepts in the city, and two in Honolulu, Hawaii. These skills have included A-Z creative concept development, graphic design, conventional and nontraditional marketing, management, budgeting, forecasting, and more. I was recently interviewed by the Los Angeles Times to comment upon trends for the industry, and I expect my reputation to grow as I am attracted towards more high-profile work across the country.

My personal philosophy in building an enduring, profitable restaurant concept is based on the concepts broached in Robert K. Greenleaf's school of Servant Leadership, Joseph Michelli's The New Gold Standard, what Danny Meyer called "enlightened hospitality," and German industrial designer Dieter Rams' principle that good design is vital to the endurance of a product.

As a part of my results-oriented approach, I prefer to work on restaurants with compensation of equity. Although this goes against the conventional wisdom of consulting work, I believe it speaks to my commitment in working with business owners to build a long-lasting brand versus a gig that would just pay me a quick buck.