I opened a sandwich shop at 17.
Not because I dreamed of being a businessman —
But because I needed to pay for college. 
I came from a lower-middle-class family.
We never had much, but there was always love.
I wanted to be a doctor, but the tuition was overwhelming.
One day, I told our family doctor:
“I want to study, but I can’t afford it.”
He looked at me and said:
“Why don’t you start a small business?”
That night, the idea was born.
With $1,000 in borrowed money, I opened my first sandwich shop.
No experience. No cooking skills. No clue what I was doing. 
The first year was a disaster.
The location was terrible, the name didn’t work, and people just walked by.
I thought I had ruined everything.
But instead of giving up — I opened a second shop.
And that one took off.
That’s when I learned:
Good intentions aren’t enough.
You have to learn, adapt, and take risks.
I talked to customers, changed the bread, improved the portions, upgraded the service.
Every mistake became a lesson.
I didn’t pay for those classes — but I lived them. 
Subway didn’t start as a franchise.
That came later, when I realized I couldn’t do it alone.
I started teaching others how to replicate what we built.
From one small shop in Connecticut, we grew into thousands across the world.
But one thing never changed:
The heart of it all — simple, honest work.
Because that’s the ingredient no recipe can do without. 
Today, many call me “the sandwich kid.”
And yes, it started out of necessity…
But it became my passion.
Because sometimes, what begins as a way out —
Becomes the way forward. 
“Never underestimate small beginnings.
Sometimes, the hunger for a dream is stronger than any obstacle.” 
— Fred DeLuca, founder of Subway