Pizzaman or Chickenman is one of the top rising restaurants in Ghana now. But do you know the history of Pizzaman or success story of the valiant young man who started this franchise?
Today lets discuss the history of Pizzaman and Chickenman. or better yet, lets talk about the success story of Christian Boakye Yiadom, the man behind Pizzaman and Chickenman restaurant. Although as of now Christian Boakye Yiadom and Ebenezer Essuman-Amankwah are the co-founders of the franchise.
The Story Behind Pizzaman
Pizzaman was started as a hobbie. He said that he birthed the idea to set up a food business after attending a party at East Legon back in 2017 According to Chris B, he was a candidate for the KNUST SRC president during his time but unfortunately, he lost in the fourth position. He was then advised by his friend, Essuman-Amankwah Ebenezer, to start a business, and that birthed PizzaMan and then later Chickenman.
Appearing on The Day show on TV3, the 25-year-old entrepreneur, Christian Boakye Yiadom recounted the challenges he faced when things first took off while still in school.
“Raising capital was one, and then getting the right people to work with. Sometimes, things don’t go as planned, and you feel like quitting; you get tired of combining the work with academics. I was still in school, in my final year, when I started.
He also revealed that at the beginning of the business, people close to him including lecturers tried to talk him out of the idea because they feared it would affect his academics. He invested so much into the business just to make sure it was successful.
“Any money available that I could chance on. I risked it… I wouldn’t advise it because it wasn’t pleasant… in January 2018, when I started, I had some money on me because I had gone to school fresh. It got to a point things got locked up, so during National Service time, I had to take money for the hostel and use that money to secure a place around campus and then some small small pocket monies I had on me, including my roommate, Ebenezer, we just combined whatever we had and then got some oven. I mean, it was so rough.
The History of Pizzaman
Christian Y Boakye also opened up on how others interpreted his ambition as a move by the devil to sway him away from his books.
“At a point, one of my lecturers had to pray for me. He was our patron when I was a department president. He knew how academically good I was, and he was quite surprised. “He was like, what is wrong with Chris? Is it a spiritual attack? He was wondering because I’m the front seater in class, but then after class, I’m done – that’s it… to him, he felt I was under attack or I was losing focus. Well, yeah, I was losing focus in my academics, but I was making money, and it’s addictive,” he said.
During the interview, he concluded by admonishing the youth to be go-getters and also to aspire to reach high heights. He advised that they put in all the effort they can because that is the only way they can reach their goals.
“I feel whatever it is you want to do, if you want to do it, you won’t find excuses. Just manage your time well. There were times that I had to skip class and cook and my mates – my classmates, bought into the idea. They were like, Chris, you are too good academically. Why don’t you just do your master’s and then probably get a job outside, like how our seniors have been doing? Why are you risking so much?” he added.
Quick-Facts About Pizzaman
- Educational Background of CEO
Chris B had his Junior High School education at Cambridge. He proceeded to Kumasi Academy where he completed in 2013. Chris B pursued his BSc Actuarial Science studies in KNUST and completed it in 2018.
- Degrees and Achievements
He has a bachelor’s degree (1st class honors) in Actuarial Science from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, a professional diplomat Certificate in Food and Beverage Management from the Bocconi University, and a professional diplomat in Data Analysis from the University of Colorado.
- Cooking Hobbies
Chris B stayed with his big cousin who taught him how to cook at the age of 8. Pizzaman was, however, how he modernized and got his hobby monetized.
- Pizzaman Endorsement
Pizzaman has Medikal and Fella Makafui as it’s brand ambassadors. Aside from them, Strongman, Oseikrom Sikani, Ras Nene, Efia Odo, Hajia4Real, and others have endorsed the food venture.
- Branches
Pizzaman has over 10 branches now. The first branch was opened on the KNUST campus on 17th January 2020. The other branches are located at Suame, Softline, and Ahodwo.
Pizzaman opened four branches later in Accra around 2021 and more in 2022. He has planned to take over the entire nation as time goes on.
From a rented apartment in Kumasi as a shop to opening branches across the Ashanti and Greater Accra Region. This has clearly been a success story we all need to acknowledge.
