Name: David Kostman, 46

Previous profession: Managing director, Lehman Brothers

Startup: Nanoosh, a chain of three organic hummus bars in Manhattan launched about three years ago.

Startup capital: "A few million dollars" for four restaurants (one of which closed -- the company is preparing to re-open it in another location), from personal savings and private investors.

Key challenge: Securing space. "It's known that most first-time restaurants fail," he says. "Even if you give landlords good financial guarantees, they don't want to lease the space."

What happened: Drawing on his experience in business operations, Kostman collaborated with two partners -- a friend with experience in the restaurant industry and a chef -- on a business plan for a chic but informal restaurant that would capitalize on Americans' increasing appetite for hummus. "It was the most analytical business plan ever conceived for a hummus restaurant," says Kostman, who delved into details from the best procedures for maintaining the consistency of the food to the most effective human resources policies for attracting and retaining staff in a high-turnover industry. He often had to meet with his partners at midnight because he was still working 12+ hour days and traveling every week at Lehman Brothers. (He left Lehman in 2008 before the company went belly up.)

While it took months of diligent research with brokers to get a lease for his first restaurant, it has become easier to secure new space now that he has a track record.A detailed business plan that outlined everything necessary to make the concept scalable was the key to getting the chain off to a strong start, says Kostman. 

He used his own money to launch the first restaurant; when that succeeded he turned to outside investors in his professional network with confidence. Today his chain has sales in the $5 million to $10 million range