Founderology

The success formula that took Everbowl from 1 to 400 locations

If you're a multi-unit restaurant founder stuck, knowing you have outgrown the early days but can't figure out the next move, this episode is for you. I sat down with Jeff Fenster, who built five eight- to nine-figure companies, exited three, and grew Everbowl to more than 100 open locations with almost 400 units sold across the country. His construction company, WeBuild, builds Everbowl locations at up to four times lower than the industry average and for clients across the industry. Jeff is also a best-selling author who runs the five-rule playbook on every company he builds, called his Success Formula. If you are stuck in the middle trying to figure out your next step this is your episode. What Jeff sees that most restaurant founders miss Five minutes into our conversation Jeff mentioned a line that addressed being stuck in the middle immediately: "Home cooking tastes better than a 25,000-unit McDonald's." His point? Home cooking has never scaled to 25,000 locations. McDonald's has because home cooks make food decisions. McDonald's makes business decisions. Most multi-unit Founders build their company the way a home cook builds a meal. They live in the recipes. They obsess over the product. The focus on opening a location. And the growth ceiling shows up anyway at 5 locations. Or 12. Or 20. Jeff put it this way: "I can hire a chef to be the chef. I can't hire a business owner to be the business owner." Business owner belongs to you as a Founder. The second you confuse the two roles, you stop scaling. The 25-year-old in the mirror Jeff was 25, running his first company, a payroll and HR business called i-CHEX (later becoming CanopyHR). He felt the pressure to look smarter than everyone he had hired. Every time his team brought him a brilliant idea, he tweaked it just enough to stamp his name on it. His best talent walked out the door. He kept blaming them. Until one day, he caught himself doing it again, and realized: "The common denominator here is me." That moment changed his career. From that day forward: All the credit went to the team All the blame stayed with him His only job was to make his people brilliant The company went from barely surviving to a successful exit (the first of many) and remains a key foundation of his Success Formula. When you can't afford talent, change the currency Jeff had one Everbowl location. A great guy named Brian Augustine, the brother of a family friend who had come out of Trader Joe's, applied to work with him. Brian wanted to build out Everbowl's training program. He was brilliant, however at this early stage, Jeff did not have the resources to hire him. Brian came back with a counter and every Founder listening needs to hear. He told Jeff to skip his paycheck for a full year. Every two weeks, instead of cash, he wanted to buy equity at the current valuation. Jeff said yes, and with Brian's support, Everbowl opened: * Year 1: 4 stores * Year 2: 14 stores * 24 months in: 18 Everbowls operating Brian still has his equity. He owns a couple of Everbowl stores in Utah, and his equity is worth a multiple of the salary he gave up. The takeaway is one I want every Founder to write down. When you cannot afford the talent, change the currency and it always doesn't have to be equity. Think about how many Brians are in your network right now? Three more breakthroughs waiting for you in this episode Jeff and I covered a lot of ground in this episode. Here are some more Founder insights you will want to hear and apply. No. 1 The cheapest hire is your most expensive mistake Why saving a few dollars an hour on mediocre talent costs you the lifetime value of a customer plus every friend they warn away. Jeff's math will rewrite how you hire. No. 2 Jeff's Success Formula The five-step playbook behind every business Jeff has built. He has run the same system through payroll, recruiting, restaurants, and construction. No. 3 The anti-pitch that protects every franchisee Every potential franchisee starts the call expecting a sales pitch. Jeff opens with the opposite. He asks them to find every reason NOT to sign. The result? Better operators. One last thing before you press play I asked Jeff what he would say to the Founder listening right now who is feeling the weight of every decision, and wondering how to take a first step. His answer was simple. "Make a phone call. Right now. Someone you know who can help you. Don't bury yesterday's problems and carry them into tomorrow. A bad plan today is better than no plan." This episode is one of those rare conversations where the second you finish it, you're going to want to do something. P.S. If you want to spend two and a half days with Founders like Jeff, in a room full of operators doing this work, join us at 2027's Founderology Growth Summit, Aug. 2-4 in Chicago [https://kwoodpartners.com/fgs-2027-waiting-list/]. We are rooting for you. Always

How R&R Brands scaled from a single brand to a multi-brand platform

I sat down with Scott Taylor, Founder and CEO of R&R Brands, a visionary and an industry icon whose fingerprints are on some of the most important brand-building work of the last two decades. He is also a great friend, past-colleague and dedicated educator too! R&R is trail blazing a new path in the multi-concept space: six brands and growing, anchored by Party Fowl, Bravo Brio, Cody's Original Roadhouse and Santa Fe Cattle Co., built on a model that partners with Founders instead of swallowing them or chewing them up. In this conversation, Scott held nothing back on what it actually takes to scale from a single brand to a multi-brand platform without losing the soul of any of the brands. The multi-brand model that isn't private equity and isn't a gotcha R&R is not a private equity roll-up business. It is not a franchise machine. It is something Scott, his partners and team are building deliberately to fill a gap he saw firsthand: smaller Founder-led businesses need infrastructure and a partner, not a buyout and a pile of paperwork. This is something every Founder weighing outside help or investment needs to hear. Why R&R was built as a family-office-backed strategic partnership, not a private equity vehicle. How the model leaves the Founder in a stronger position whether the end game is acquisition, partnership or support. The "we leave it better" philosophy that separates real partners from gotcha deals How Party Fowl went from bankruptcy to six locations without losing a single team member Seven restaurants down to two. A brand like so many that had lost its identity, its menu and its swagger. Scott walks through what he actually did in those first weeks at R&R's first major rebuild. The conversations he had with the remaining team that turned an underdog story into a 14-month turnaround. This part alone is worth pressing play. The first questions Scott asked the team to find the brand DNA again Why the underdog mindset became the rebuild's most powerful tool How not a single team member left during the turnaround Why every R&R brand has someone whose fob is to push back on R&R This is the structural decision that defines how Scott runs the platform. Inside every brand sits a leader whose job is to defend the brand DNA. Even when it could be so at the R&R level would be to consolidate menus, vendors or operations across the portfolio. Scott explains why scaling six identical brands is not the win it looks like on paper. The brand-protector role embedded in every R&R concept The trade-off between platform efficiency and brand integrity What happens the moment a multi-concept operator stops protecting what made each brand work Why culture, not food, not price, is the only real moat The decision-making matrix every founder needs before they build a second brand Must Consult - Must Inform - Don't Worry About It. Scott shares this simple and powerful framework he uses with leaders across the R&R portfolio. H explains why most Founders who want to launch a second concept are not actually ready, even when they think they are. His take on the Founder who insists on driving two buses at once and getting stuck is the kind of thing you do not forget once you hear it. The three-tier matrix every Founder can use to clarify decision rights How to know when you have actually replaced yourself as a steward of the brand The single test that tells a Founder whether they are ready for a second concept If you are a Founder saying to yourself, I am just stuck and What do I do next?, this episode answers that question in so many real and meaningful ways. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts and hear real insights from Founders who are building brands to breakthrough!

Bango: From a 300-square-foot acai shop to leading a 'Better for You' movement

Every Founder hits a moment where the business is too big to be small but too small to be big. I call it the Stuck Zone. And what you do next determines everything. On this episode of the Founderology — Built to Breakthrough podcast, I talk with Ryan Thorman, Founder and CEO of Bango and a contributor to the Founderology Growth Summit. Ryan and his friends started with a 300-square-foot açaí shop and have grown Bango into a better-for-you concept with 10 locations, two more in construction and a franchise model that is gaining serious momentum across the East Coast. In this episode, Ryan held nothing back about the critical decisions he made at every stage of growth — and why he chose to grow slower when everyone said grow faster. What I share here is just the beginning of what Ryan shares in this fast-paced podcast. Stop gunslinging and get clear  For the first several years, Ryan and his team had no plan. They were young, throwing things against the wall and running hard without direction. Then came the critical decision to stop and define what Bango was actually going to be. That single act of clarity changed every decision after it — and Ryan shares why he believes most Founders stay stuck because they never make this decision at all. Who you hire — and how fast you fire  Ryan made the decision to bring in executives to help scale. It backfired — and he had to walk it back with his franchisees. Then he made a second critical decision: how to solve the problem without making the same mistake twice. The answer was right in front of him the entire time. If you're about to make your first big hire, listen to this before you sign the offer letter. Grow Slow When Everyone Says Grow Fast  Everyone told Ryan to strike while the iron was hot. He made the critical decision to do the opposite — turning down markets, walking away from eager candidates and slowing down when the industry said speed up. His one non-negotiable before opening another location goes against everything the growth playbook tells you. If you are feeling pressure to move faster than you are ready, take a page out of Ryan's playbook on doing what is right, not fast. Choose your shots instead of taking every shot  When I asked Ryan about the one decision that changed everything, he flipped the question. His answer was not about what went right — it was about the hundreds of thousands of dollars in mistakes they could have avoided. Ryan is a risk-taker by nature. The critical decision was learning the difference between taking every shot and choosing the right ones. Every Founder who are wired to move fast needs to hear how he reconciled that. And that's not even half of it. Ryan goes deeper on franchising, culture, team and the decisions that separate Founders who scale from Founders who stall. But the two moments that will stay with you are these:  The moment where all the critical decisions paid off  Ryan describes a moment every Founder chases and almost no one talks about openly. It is the payoff of every critical decision on this list — and why no one could have prepared him for how it would feel. This part alone is worth pressing play. The advice that starts with turning off your phone  Ryan closes with something deceptively simple. It is not a strategy and it is not a framework. It is the one thing every stuck Founder knows they should do but never actually does — and it is the shift that makes every critical decision after it possible. If you are a Founder asking yourself, What do I do next? — this episode answers that question in so many real and meaningful ways. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts and hear real insights from Founders who are building brands to breakthrough! Kathleen Wood is the Founder of Kathleen Wood Partners, host of the Founderology —

Fueling Growth from a Single Cup to Over 100 Locations and Growing

On this episode of the Founderology — Built to Breakthrough podcast, I talk with Brandon Knudsen, Co-Founder and CEO of Ziggi's Coffee and a member of the inaugural class of Visionary Restaurant Founders recognized at the Founderology Growth Summit. Brandon and his wife Camrin have bootstrapped Ziggi's from a single coffee shop to more than 100 locations across 22 states, with 200 more in development — no private equity, no outside investors. Brandon held nothing back about what that journey actually cost them. The licensing deal that failed before franchising even started Before Ziggi's ever sold a franchise, Brandon tried licensing first. No fees. No royalties. Just handed over the playbook. It fell apart. The systems he and Camrin had been running for 12 years could not survive without them in the room. What Brandon did next — spending his own money to stress-test the model on his own managers before selling it to anyone else — is a strategic lesson in how to franchise the right way. Every emerging franchisor needs to take this lesson and immediately apply it to their business. Fifteen-hour days and the texts that never got returned Brandon began franchising so he would not have to do everything himself as he and Camrin grew Ziggi's. He then spent the next three years doing more of it than ever — driving to Realtor meetings, sitting through planning departments, showing up at construction sites and taking every call from every franchisee. Until the day he realized he was the bottleneck. The business was in the stuck zone – to big to be small and to small to be big. The $400K COO he refused to hire Brandon needed executive-level talent. The company was not in a position to take on six figures plus 10 percent of the business. So, he found another way. The fractional leaders he brought in did not just fill gaps — one of them changed the entire culture overnight without hiring a single new person. If you are a Founder who thinks you cannot afford high-level strategy, Brandon's path will change your mind. Hear the critical decisions he made to bring affordable executive talent. The one question he asks every struggling franchisee When a franchisee calls Brandon and says they are struggling, he asks the same question every time. The answer is always the same. His philosophy on why you should never spend a dollar on marketing until the house is in order — and why the best-performing Ziggi's locations all have one thing in common — goes against everything the industry tells you. The data backs him up. You know you want to know this critical question. The advice that will hit you harder than you expect Brandon closes with something personal — about the stores that keep him up at night, the success he forgets to celebrate and the one thing every Founder needs to hear when they are in the middle of the grind (literal in Brandon's case). It is simple. It is real. If you are deep in the Stuck Zone right now, it might be exactly what you need. If you are a Founder asking yourself, "What do I do next?" this episode answers that question in so many real and meaningful ways. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts and hear real insights and real solutions from Founders who are building brands to breakthrough. This is the community you have been looking for to grow your business!

Jeff's Bagel Run: From garage bagels to 30 and growing

Every Founder hits a moment where the business is too big to be small but too small to be big. I call it the stuck zone. And what you do next determines everything. On this episode of the Founderology — Built to Breakthrough podcast, I talk with Jeff Perera, co-Founder of Jeff's Bagel Run and a member of the inaugural class of Visionary Restaurant Founders recognized at the Founderology Growth Summit. Jeff and I discussed the critical decisions that took him from a garage operation to nearly 30 locations and more opening weekly — and he held nothing back. The Meeting He Said No to for Four Months Someone kept knocking on Jeff's door with an opportunity that could change everything. He refused the meeting. Every single week for four months. Then a personal loss shifted his perspective, and he and his wife Danielle finally said yes. What happened in that room — and the gut-check that followed — is something every Founder who has ever been approached by a potential partner needs to hear. The Title He Didn't Take Most Founders would have demanded the CEO title. Jeff made a different call, and his reasoning reveals a level of self-awareness that separates Founders who scale from Founders who stall. This part of our conversation alone is worth pressing play. Giving Away the Biggest Piece Jeff and Danielle gave up a significant portion of the business they built with their own hands, blood, sweat and tears. How they reconciled that decision — and how Jeff reframes what "your piece of the pie" actually means at scale — will challenge every Founder who believes that holding on tight is the safest move. The Hire That Changed Everything The first two people Jeff brought on after forming his franchise company were not restaurant operators. They were software engineers. That decision continues to be questioned, however today it stands as one of the biggest competitive advantages in the brand. Jeff explains why, and how his logic applies far beyond bagels. Why They Award Franchises and Never Sell Them One word – AWARD and it creates a competitive difference. Jeff walks through how he evaluates alignment over ambition, and why saying no to eager candidates protects the long-term health of everything he has built. If you are scaling through franchising or partnerships of any kind, this is essential listening. The Advice That Will Stop You in Your Tracks Jeff closes with a snowstorm story and a piece of advice so simple it almost sounds too easy. But it is the exact shift every stuck Founder needs to make — and it is the opposite of what most people expect. If you are a Founder asking yourself, "What do I do next?" This episode answers that question in so many real and meaningful ways. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts and hear real insights from Founders who are building brands to break through! Kathleen Wood is the Founder of Kathleen Wood Partners, host of the Founderology — Built to Breakthrough podcast and co-host of the Founderology Growth Summit.