Bryant Keil – Startup Investor Profile

Bryant Keil is an accomplished entrepreneur and business executive based in Chicago. He currently serves as the Chairman of Potbelly Sandwich Works, LLC, having acquired the original Potbelly Sandwich Shop in 1996. Under his leadership, the business has expanded rapidly, opening more than 200 Potbelly Sandwich Shops across the nation. Keil primarily focuses on seed round investments and has a geographical preference for selecting locations in cities not saturated with sandwich chains. His previous investments include developing 15 new Potbelly locations in Maryland and aiming to reach 2,000 units in the next 10 years. Bryant Keil’s investment check size ranges between $594,950 and $899,700 for opening a Potbelly franchise. He is known for his successful track record, having earned awards such as the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2007 and being named the Illinois Restaurateur of the Year in 2003. Keil’s partnership and collaboration styles emphasize perceptions towards partner competence and dependability, human-likeness assessment, and system’s perceived cognitive flexibility.

Location: Chicago, IL

Country: United States of America

Investment Regions:

Investment Stages: pre-seed, seed

Website:

AI Reasoning: I found a Potbelly press release dated November 8, 2024 stating commitments and expanded partnership with Bryant Keil, and that multiple development agreements were signed since July 2024 (including new development agreements and commitments for 32 new U.S. shops). The most recent known investment-related activity therefore occurred in November 2024, which is less than 12 months and also less than 6 months before the target date? Calculating from the reference date, November 8, 2024 is within 12 months but more than 6 months before November 1, 2025? Wait recalculating: From November 8, 2024 to November 1, 2025 is just under 12 months (minus 7 days) – that’s 358 days, which is between 6 and 12 months, corresponding to “active”. However the instruction requires final tag only. Given the November 8, 2024 activity, the correct classification is active.

Low Activity – Only known angel investments more than 12 months ago.

Active – Known angel investments between the last 12 and 6 months.

Very Active – Known angel investments in the last 6 months.