Deborah Torres is the founder and CEO of Atlas Monroe, a company that provides vegan meat. She ensures people get high-quality fried chick’n across the world.

Her company managed to feature in Shark Tank in 2019. At the time, Deborah had declined a deal worth millions of dollars to retain full possession of Atlas More, a report by afrotech. She didn’t even look for investors, and now Deborah Torres is happy with that decision. As a result, the company is making revenue of multimillion dollars per year.

They are shipping out more than enough products to different nations. Our menu is composed of fried chicken, turkey stuffing, and dupes of ribs. They have managed to win awards like the Best Friend Chicken from the National Fried Chicken Festivals. Atlas Monroe also secured the Best Plant-Based Fried Chicken from Mothers Cluckers in 2020. Deborah Torres has many popular fans, including Mark Cuban, Tabitha Brown, Dj Duffy, and Jermaine.

Deborah Torres has pushed her company to become a trajectory within a few years. They launched it in late 2017.

I grew up in the famous tech land, Silicon Valley in the US. My parents were immigrants, i.e., my father came from Guyana, while my mother was from England. So you can imagine the mixed culture of food in our house. On most occasions, we could eat delicious cuisine foodstuffs. My grandparents had huge restaurants in their local homes, so everyone in the house was foody. I guess my parents’ foody lifestyle attracted me.

We used to cherish fried chicken. I started preparing vegan meat products at a young age for the whole family. I mixed different ingredients to get a new taste daily through trial and error. Finally, my mother taught me how to prepare real fried chicken.

My major inspiration for starting a food company was growing up eating meat in every meal. It was very weird. There was a time my father got diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I was brainstorming on something I could do so that my father could not undergo amputation. I didn’t want his insulin to shoot to the worst level.

Through my research, I got a book titled “Simply Raw,” where a group of six people ate raw vegetables for a single month. So I tried to impose that on my family. We did the same thing for the next 90 days. So I started preparing raw vegetable meals. When you are preparing such a diet, you need to be creative. So I experimented with different plant foods to get the best taste. My father responded positively while on this diet. He was a happy man.

After three months, my father went to taste diabetes, and it was absent. He had to re-confirm to three different doctors to be sure about that. That was when I realized I could set up a company to experiment with different flavors and textures. That was the beginning of my family taking vegetables daily. Some of our members changed to become vegetarian. Then, I started brainstorming how I could come up with vegan meat.

With the support from my parents, I set up Atlas Monroe. We focus on deriving chicken from vegan wheat protein rather than soy protein isolate in my company. If you investigate, you will find out that many vegan slices of meat come from soy protein. I wanted to create something different because the protein isolate is genetically modified.

My mind thought about making vegan meat from plants based natural products. The meat must have as many ingredients as possible. The biggest challenge was preparing a variety of recipes. I tried out for a long period, almost two years, before selling my first piece.

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Even before setting up the company, there was a time my ex-husband suggested a business idea about a website. I had little tech skills. I developed a single-page website and started displaying different food images. In early 2017, I got a new email from an unknown person. “Deborah Torres, your food looks delicious. Think about coming up with a Vegandale Chicago in the Grant Par Competition.”I thought it was a spam message from the back of my mind. I went directly to my mum, who convinced me that I should reply. For sure, it was from a well-known chief. Although the festival was in a fortnight, they pushed me to attend.

We managed to get all the products together with a team of 10 members. Surprisingly, our queue was longer than the rest. The festival owner had posted our pictures on different social media platforms. I guess that is what gave us an edge over other companies. Artists, DJs, dancers were coming for more food. Everyone in the ceremony was talking about our new flavored chicken.

Subsequently, we were getting almost two invitations per week to prepare food in ceremonies. We keep growing our roots as we attract new customers. Currently, my company generates revenue of multimillion dollars. We have established different stores in various states. But I want to make one of our stores to prepare all the types of foods.

Just like any other person, challenges will come at a certain period. My father had worked at Gilroy Garlic Festival for almost 20 years. During the last ceremony, they were attacked by gangs. I heard my mother’s voice calling, “Your dad is under a table covering another person’s body”. I knew how selfless my father was. From that moment, subsequently, he wasn’t even sleeping. He also suffered from a heart attack within three weeks.

One of my elder sisters’ houses was burnt beyond recognition in the same year. Another sister lost her baby. Within a few months, we went different ways with my lovely husband. Then, while helping us to take some orders, my uncle got a stroke. For sure, it was the worst moment, and I guess the climax of my life.

In 2020, Tabitha Brown, one of the vegan media personally, posted a small video about our food products. All her fans were overwhelmed. After that, I started receiving calls about different clients. It was a bad moment because I was still healing from my father’s wounds. As soon as we recovered and made our first chicken. Within 4 hours, all the food was over. The demand outweighs the supply.

It took several months to expand the manufacturing facility. That place has solved the demand problems, but the orders are still infinite. So I have decided to take the grocery path. I will be introducing one product at a time in different grocery stores. While on the Shark Tank show, I learned that the best way to conquer is to take one thing at a time.

Many people will differ with me about this, but I skipped one class in my high school. Then, at the age of 15, I graduated and joined the labor force. I have worked with different brands like Popeyes & KFC. But I didn’t draw my chicken recipe from those brands; they have no relation or connection to Atlas Monroe.

I branded my company “Atlas Monroe” for a reason. Atlas means diversification across the world because of my parent’s different origins. The other word, “Monroe,” means pure thing from the river. It’s a Gaelic word. I believe water is the foundation of everything in life.

I am very thankful for the companies and celebrities that supported my startup. Large organizations like CNBC, Yahoo, Home & Family, Friday Night, and ABC have given me a platform to showcase my ability to cook delicious chicken. In most interviews, I find myself crying because of joy. The good, or should I call it a bad thing about me, is forcing a smile amid depression. God has held my hand all through.

There are so many projects that we are still working on. We want our customers to get the products as fast as possible. I believe the customer should come first before the rest. These strangers have stood by our side. We recently tested crispy chicken parts with a few customers, and they were happy. We are yet to release it in the market.

I am shy, depending on the occasion when it comes to personality. While in the interview, I speak out my mind without hiding any identity. It’s good when you become yourself.

Entrepreneurs must understand that not all that seems easy is so. The journey is rough, and one needs to be strong. Therefore, it would be best if you came up with a plan to beat the challenges and obstacles along the way.

To a younger Deborah Torres, life is good but expensive. There is room for everyone to become successful. It’s all about identifying the best path you can take. Then, learn to make your steps in silence. Making too much noise will kill your dreams.