Maxim is an international men's magazine, devised and launched in the UK in 1995, but based in New York City since 1997, and prominent for its photography of actors, singers, and female models whose careers are at a current peak. Maxim has a circulation of about 9 million readers each month. Maxim Digital reaches more than 4 million unique viewers each month. Maxim magazine publishes 16 editions, sold in 75 countries worldwide.
The United Services Automobile Association (USAA) is a San Antonio-based Fortune 500 diversified financial services group of companies including a Texas Department of Insurance-regulated reciprocal inter-insurance exchange and subsidiaries offering banking, investing, and insurance to people and families who serve, or served, in the United States Armed Forces. At the end of 2020, it had more than 13 million members.
Steak 'n Shake Operations, Inc. is an American casual restaurant chain concentrated primarily in the Midwestern United States with locations also in the South, Mid-Atlantic and Western United States, Europe, and the Middle East. The company is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Biglari Holdings. As of 2018, 628 Steak 'n Shake restaurants were in operation; 414 corporate operations and 214 franchised establishments, although the company has since been attempting to convert to a fully franchised model. Typical restaurant locations have sit-down, drive-thru and front-window service, resulting in a hybrid of fast-food to-go service and diner-style sit-down service. Many Steak 'n Shake restaurants are open 24 hours a day, seven days per week. The menu features primarily burgers and hand-dipped milkshakes, though other entrees, side items, and drinks are also available.
Markel Corporation is a holding company for insurance, reinsurance, and investment operations around the world. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia and founded in 1930, Markel reports its ongoing underwriting operations in three segments, and products originate from three insurance divisions and one reinsurance division. Through Markel Ventures, they allocate capital to invest in opportunities outside of insurance.
Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd. is a Japanese diversified retail group headquartered in Nibancho, Tokyo. Seven & I was founded in 1920 as Ito-Yokado, the Japanese chain of general merchandise and department stores. In 1991, Ito-Yokado acquired majority control of 7-Eleven, the American international chain of convenience stores. Seven & I was then established in 2005 as part of a corporate restructuring to serve as the holding company of 7-Eleven, Ito-Yokado, and its other business ventures. It was the fifteenth largest retailer in the world as of 2018.
Nine West Holdings is an American designer, marketer and wholesaler of branded clothing, shoes and accessories. In 2019, the company restructured under and is renamed Premier Brands Group Holdings Llc.
WesBanco, Inc., is a bank holding company headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia. It has over 200 branches in West Virginia, Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Maryland, and Southern Indiana.
TravelCenters of America LLC is the largest publicly traded full-service truck stop and travel center company in the United States. The company operates full service centers, convenience stores, and restaurants under the TravelCenters of America, TA, Petro Stopping Centers, TA Express, GOASIS and Quaker Steak & Lube brands.' TravelCenters of America is headquartered in Westlake, Ohio, operates in 44 U.S. states and 1 Canadian province, and employs nearly 20,000 people, as of 2021.
Souper Salad is an American restaurant chain based in Dallas, Texas. It is an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant serving fresh salads, made-from-scratch soups, homemade breads, and more. All locations are in the Southwestern United States, with the majority located in Texas. The chain is privately owned and has been in operation since 1978. As of May 2020, the chain had 17 locations.
Randa Apparel & Accessories is a manufacturer, distributor and marketer of men's, women's and children's clothing and apparel, belts, wallets, neckwear, neckties, jewelry, slippers, hats, gloves, and leather goods.
Sardar Biglari is an American entrepreneur and is the founder, chairman and CEO of Biglari Holdings, a holding company that trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BH. Biglari controls the Steak 'n Shake Company, First Guard Insurance, Maxim, Southern Oil of Louisiana, Southern Pioneer Insurance and the Western Sizzlin' corporation, which are subsidiaries of Biglari Holdings. Biglari is also founder, chairman and CEO of Biglari Capital, the general partner to The Lion Fund.
Solera Inc is an American company based in Texas which provides risk management and asset protection software and services to the automotive industry and property insurance marketplace. Solera also provides digital identity management services, as well as re-underwriting and data analytics for the automotive, property and casualty insurance industries. Solera is active in 88 countries across six continents.
Visionworks of America, Inc. (formerly known as Doctors' Value Vision) is an American company which operates or manages 711 optical retail stores in 40 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The company was incorporated in 1988. It is based in Downtown San Antonio, Texas, and has about 8,000 employees.
CraftWorks Holdings, Inc. was a multi-brand restaurant operator headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee with an additional Restaurant Support Office (RSO) in Broomfield, Colorado. The company owned several casual dining restaurant chain brands, including Logan's Roadhouse, Old Chicago, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurants, and Rock Bottom Restaurants Breweries. As of November 2019, CraftWorks owned and operated over 390 restaurants in the United States, but all of its owned-and-operated locations closed by March 2020, after a Chapter 11 bankruptcy followed immediately by the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, and CraftWorks and terminated its 18,000 employees, leaving fewer than 25 employed. On June 12, 2020, SPB Hospitality purchased Craftworks businesses out of bankruptcy for $93 million.
Bernard Rapoport was an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, author, and the founder of American Income Life Insurance Company.
Western Sizzlin’, stylized as WesterN SizzliN, is a chain of privately held and publicly held retail buffet restaurants and steakhouses, with its headquarters in Roanoke, Virginia. The company has 46 franchise establishments located across 13 U.S. states generally in the southeast. It is a subsidiary of Biglari Holdings which is controlled by Iranian American businessman Sardar Biglari. The Western Sizzlin' business model was conceived in 1962, by Nick Pascarella, and founded the same year in Augusta, Georgia as: WesterN SizzliN Steak & More Restaurant. In conceiving the business, Pasceralla reasoned that, "If searing the bottom of the steak made it juicy, adding flames to the top would make them twice as good."; leading to its renowned searing process trademarked as the FlameKist steak.
Authentic Brands Group LLC (ABG) is an American brand management company headquartered in New York City. Its holdings include various apparel, athletics, and entertainment brands, for which it partners with other companies to license and merchandise. ABG owns more than 50 consumer brands, as well as the likeness rights or estates of celebrities, including Muhammad Ali, Elvis Presley, and Marilyn Monroe. ABG has had recent discrimination lawsuits filed against the company by former employees.
State National Companies, Inc., is a specialty provider of property and casualty insurance operating in two niche markets, Program Services and Lender Services. The company is licensed to do business in all 50 states and D.C.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., doing business as simply Cracker Barrel, is an American chain of restaurant and gift stores with a Southern country theme. The company was founded by Dan Evins in 1969; its first store was in Lebanon, Tennessee. The corporate offices are located at a different facility in the same city. The chain's stores were at first positioned near Interstate Highway exits in the Southeastern and Midwestern United States, but expanded across the country during the 1990s and 2000s. As of September 16, 2020, the chain operates 663 stores in 45 states.
Jason Feifer is the editor in chief of Entrepreneur Magazine. He has previously worked as an editor at Men's Health, Fast Company and MAXIM.
