Franchise Today

From a college painting business to a multi-brand franchise empire with more than 1,100 locations—this episode of Franchise Today dives deep into the entrepreneurial journey of Paul Flick, founder and CEO of Premium Service Brands and Extraordinary Brands.

Paul’s story began nearly 40 years ago with Student Painters in Canada, followed by a brief corporate stint at Coca-Cola. In 2005, he launched 360 Painting in Northern Virgini...

What happens when you ignore everything that industry tells you to do—and it works?

On this episode of Franchise Today, Stan Friedman sits down with Alex Filipuk, Founder and CEO of Ideal Siding, to unpack one of the most unconventional and successful franchise models in home services today.

Alex’s journey into franchising began unexpectedly—with a college assignment at age 23 and early work experience as a Subway Sandwich Artist. Af...

Success in franchising takes more than financial expertise — it takes relationships. In this episode of Franchise Today, Stan Friedman sits down with Jessica Wescott, CEO of Stellar Service Brands, to explore her unexpected journey from private wealth management to leading some 200+ franchise locations across Stellar's home service brands.

Jessica entered franchising twelve years ago believing she could focus solely on analytics...

What if the best franchise systems aren’t planned—butdiscovered? In this episode of Franchise Today, Stan Friedmansits down with Shane Evans, CEO of Heights Wellness Retreats, to explore how an unplanned franchise journey turned into a 120+ unit wellness brand built on organic demand, adaptability, and resilience.

Shane opened the first Massage Heights location in 2004 withno intention of franchising. But customers quickly began ask...

Franchise Today did not begin as a polished podcast… farfrom it.   — it began as a live radio show in the middleof the Great Recession of 2009.

In this special episode, Paul Segreto and Stan Friedmanlook back on the early days of Franchise Today, one of, if not the very first podcasts dedicated to franchising.

From guests broadcasting live from their cars during federalbuilding lockdowns, to last-minute cancellations that mysterious...

What happens when two veteran franchisors look at the industry and realize that one of the biggest challenges of all at the unit level - is driving local traffic!

You get Sweet Influencers, a first-of-its-kind platform built by Angela Olea and Liberty Bernal, designed specifically to connect franchise systems with vetted nano and micro influencers, who move the needle at the local level.

Angela spent decades in senior care, scaling h...

After years in recruiting, franchise development, and lead generation, Dan Claps sold his company to build something else, on his own. That decision became the foundation for VODA Cleaning & Restoration — but the company nearly collapsed after launch.

In this episode, Dan shares the gritty truth behind VODA'S early struggles: high monthly losses, a failing model, and the moment he realized that defending his ideas was sinkin...

After 41 years in hospitality and franchising, Paul Damico has seen it all — scaling restaurant brands through explosive growth, navigating economic downturns, selling companies for a combined $90 million, and now revitalizing two iconic, 60-year-old legacy brands: Perkins and Huddle House.

In this episode, Paul sits down with Stan Friedman to share how his career began at Marriott in 1986 before co-founding a 102-unit restaurant po...

Nick Lopez left Colorado as a wide-eyed first-generation college student, to work on a BS in Business Marketing at Michigan State. His plan was to "walk on" to the wrestling team, which would ultimately pay for the cost of tuition and living.

The reality was that a scholarship was a couple of years away, so Nick made the tough decision to hang up his wrestling boots for an entrepreneurial endeavor, in order to support the ...

What separates a successful franchise exit from a costly one?
In this week’s episode of Franchise Today, Stan Friedman sits down with Patrick Galeher, Founder, CEO and Managing Partner of Boxwood Partners, one of the leading M&A advisory firms focused on franchising and multi-unit brands.

Patrick has lived every side of the franchise world — franchisor, franchisee and supplier — giving him a 360-degree perspective few deal-ma...

What happens when two brothers nearly lose everything—only to discover they were accidentally building a franchise model the entire time?

In this Encore episode, host Stan Friedman sits down with Ryan Parsons, CEO of Evive Brands and co-founder of The Brothers That Just Do Gutters. What started as a small family-owned gutter business nearly went bankrupt during the 2007–2008 recession, after diversifying into general construction. B...

What happens when a journalism graduate with no franchiseexperience gets assigned a PR client that changes her entire professional destiny? That’s exactly what happened to Monica Feid, co-founder and COO of Thunderly Marketing, Advertising and PR. What started as a random PRassignment to the Dwyer Group in 1996 became the beginning of a decades-long career shaping some of franchising’s most recognized brands.

In this episode, Monica...

"This week, Shelly Sun Berkowitz, founder ofBrightStarCare, joins host Stan Friedman for a deeply personal and inspiring conversation about the intersection of franchising, family, and female entrepreneurship. Shelly’s journey was born out of her personal need to find care for her grandmother. Shelly’s decision to expand BrightStar through franchising came later though, and began with a spark — watching her mother-in-law inves...

What happens when a hurricane changes your entire life philosophy? For Jeff Dudan, a late-night drive home from Hurricane Katrina relief became the turning point that transformed him from a traveling restoration contractor into a franchise empire builder.

Starting with a college painting business and pivoting into restoration after Hurricane Andrew, Jeff launched Advanta Clean in 1994. By 2005, he realized franchising could give him...

After five years as Chief Development Officer at Another Broken Egg, Jeff Sturgis is making another bold pivot—returning to independent consulting.

In this conversation with host Stan Friedman, Jeff reflects on three decades in franchising, from his unexpected entry after leaving professional sports to senior leadership roles at Coldwell Banker, U.S. Franchise Systems, Focus Brands, Fantastic Sam’s, McAllister’s Deli, Fazoli’s, and ...

From exile at 17 to CEO of a billion-dollar franchise platform. Shirin Bezhadi’s story is one of resilience, reinvention, and remarkable leadership. Hear how she scaled Budget Blinds/Home Franchise Concepts, survived a brain tumor, and turned adversity into her greatest advantage.📌 Key Takeaways

• Exile and hardship can fuel resilience and leadership ambition.

• Fractional CFO work can shape company growth and PE exits.

• Health crises...

Carlos Hesano is the brand President of Authority Brands DRYmedic Restoration Services, a company that steps in…  when life takes unexpected turns. Whether it’s water, fire, storm, or mold damage, DRYmedic is there 24/7 to helpfamilies and businesses recover, rebuild, and reclaim their lives. And, they’re not just about restoring properties — they’re about restoring peace of mind. In this episode, you’ll hear how their approach to ...

This week we welcome Mike Bahun, founder and CEO of Fundraising University. His journey into fundraising and franchising began as a high school coach, igniting his passion for enhancing resources for schools in need. Mike shares his vision to revolutionize fundraising through a service-based model that prioritizes the needs of students, teachers, and coaches. Discover how he shifted traditional fundraising approaches towards effect...