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 her brand Assisted Living Locators to 166 franchises before selling to private equity in 2024. Liberty entered franchising straight out of high school, later founding Liberty Fitness, manufacturing proprietary equipment, and attracting private equity at age 24. Together, they bring forty years of hands-on franchising experience—and a shared understanding of the traffic challenge facing every brand.

In this episode, they break down why influencer marketing is the modern equivalent of early digital marketing: underpriced, underutilized, and massively effective when done correctly. They explain why local creators outperform large influencers, how AI can streamline brand–creator matching, and why real-time campaign oversight matters for protecting franchise brands.

Sweet Influencers offers accessible pricing for single-unit operators and multi-unit groups alike, along with a soon-to-launch platform featuring AI-driven tools, brand protection safeguards, campaign approvals, and a free ROI calculator.

If you want to understand the future of franchise marketing—and how authentic, localized influence can transform unit-level economics—this episode is for you.

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 sinking the business. Everything changed when he started listening — really listening — to franchise candidates and early operators. Their feedback reshaped the model and sparked explosive system-wide growth.

Today, VODA has 107 franchises across 260 territories in 32 states, backed by a dual-revenue model (carpet leaning + restoration,) a 24/7 national call center, and more than 9,000 five-star reviews. Dan explains how transparency, principle-centered leadership, weekly communication rhythms, and culture-first decision-making became VODA'S real competitive advantages.

This episode is a masterclass in humility, resilience,and building a franchise system that wins by putting franchisees first.

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 portfolio, leading Moe’s Southwest Grill from 160 to 700+ locations, and overseeing more than 5,000 restaurants at Focus Brands.

Now, as CEO of Ascent Hospitality Management, Paul is rebuilding two classic American brands through a back-to-basics approach — deep franchisee engagement, stronger leadership recruitment, operational discipline, and a renewed focus on loyalty over acquisition.

Paul explains today’s biggest shift in restaurant behavior: diners aren’t trading down… they’re disappearing. With fast food no longer a clear value play, he reveals how casual dining may actually reclaim value leadership in the coming years.

He also outlines what he looks for in franchise partners: substantial liquidity, meaningful net worth, portfolio experience, and the ability to open a minimum of five units within three years.

If you want to understand legacy brand turnarounds, strategic franchising, or the next era of restaurant growth — this episode is for you.