Franchise organizations are investing heavily in AI, automation and increasingly sophisticated marketing technology. But are those investments actually making their businesses better?

That's the question at the heart of this week's Franchise Today, featuring Gabriella Ferrara, Vice President of Strategy and Franchise at Scorpion.

Gabriella's unconventional journey began at PwC, working with blockchain and cryptocurrency before discovering an underserved segment of the franchise industry. Through networking, mentorship and relationship-building, she found her place in franchising and eventually joined Scorpion.

Her experience reinforced an important lesson: Technology may enable growth, but relationships remain essential.

Gabriella discusses why franchisors must decide whether they're human-led with technology supporting the experience, or technology-forward with people providing the essential human connection.

She also explores Scorpion's franchise marketing playbook, developed with the IFA, including consumer behavior, speed to lead and the importance of franchisors helping their franchisees generate more business and profit—not just sell more franchises.

The conversation examines the evolution from traditional SEO to search everywhere optimization, as AI changes how consumers discover, evaluate and engage with brands.

And perhaps most importantly, Gabriella explains why marketing, operations, sales and technology can no longer function in separate silos. Without shared information, clear accountability and coordinated execution, even the most advanced tools can fall short.

It's a conversation about using technology with purpose, strengthening relationships and creating smarter, more sustainable franchise growth.

Scorpion's Gabriella Ferrara, this week on Franchise Today.

Ricky Kalmon on Rescripting the Beliefs That Limit Success

What if some of the things holding you back aren't actually true? They're simply beliefs you've repeated so often that you've accepted them as facts.

That's the fascinating territory Ricky Kalmon explores as he returns to Franchise Today. Ricky's journey began at age ten, performing magic for paying audiences. Over the decades, his career evolved through entertainment, hypnosis and mindset coaching, eventually bringing him into the worlds of professional sports, corporate leadership and franchising.

His clients have included major hospitality brands such as Marriott, IHG and Choice Hotels. But Ricky isn't interested in delivering another motivational speech that leaves everyone feeling terrific until Monday morning.

He believes real transformation begins when people recognize the mental barriers they've created for themselves—and learn how to challenge them.

In this conversation with Stan Friedman, Ricky explains how visualization, guided imagery, breathing techniques and other practical tools can help individuals rethink limiting beliefs and develop more productive habits.

The discussion also explores why successful franchisees need more than standardized leadership programs, how mindset development has gained importance since COVID, and why even highly analytical executives and Type A's, can benefit from questioning their assumptions.

Ricky also shares how he's making his methods more accessible through books, a mobile app and AI-powered coaching.

And, perhaps his most practical observation? Meaningful personal development doesn't necessarily require hours of your day. As little as ten to fifteen minutes of consistent practice will make a difference.

Because sometimes the biggest obstacle between where you are and where you want to be is the story you've been telling yourself.

Ricky Kalmon returns to Franchise Today.

How Tim Vogel Created an Entirely New Franchise Category

What if an entire industry has been solving the wrong problem? That's the question Tim Vogel eventually asked after spending nearly a decade in the pet grooming business.

Traditional grooming helps dogs look better. Tim believed though, that there was an even greater opportunity to help them feel better and live longer, healthier lives.

That insight became Scenthound—a franchise built around routine canine hygiene and wellness, rather than cosmetic grooming alone.

Today, Scenthound has grown from five company-owned locations to more than 170 operating franchise locations, with approximately 200 more in development, and 70 additional locations scheduled to open in 2027.

This week on Franchise Today, Tim joins Stan Friedman to discuss the entrepreneurial journey that transformed one insight into an entirely new franchise category.

The conversation explores why undercapitalization remains one of franchising's greatest risks, why Tim intentionally invested in infrastructure years before he needed it, and why coachability consistently outweighs industry experience when selecting franchisees.

Tim also shares his vision for AI, not as a replacement for people, but as a tool that may help identify health issues earlier, improve outcomes for pets and create an even stronger customer experience.

This isn't simply a conversation about pet care. It's more about challenging assumptions, building systems that scale and discovering opportunities hiding in plain sight.

Tim Vogel, Co-Founder and CEO of Scenthound, this week on Franchise Today.

Franchising has a funny way of finding people who never went looking for it. Samantha Musonda was finishing her psychology degree at Temple University when her dance-team coach suggested a part-time job teaching gymnastics at a nearby, "The Little Gym." Samantha started by teaching classes and running birthday parties.

It was supposed to be a stopgap before beginning a career, but that's not how it turned out.

Eight years later, Samantha left the franchise location she'd grown up in professionally and moved across the country to join The Little Gym International as a Franchise Business Coach, initially supporting roughly 60 franchisees.

She went on to lead franchise support, became Director of Consulting and, following The Little Gym's acquisition by Unleashed Brands, moved into the VP of Operations role.

Today, she's Brand President.

Samantha joins Stan Friedman to talk candidly about that climb—including the mentors who opened doors, the importance of actually telling people you want to grow, and the inevitable moments of self-doubt that accompany leadership.

They also look at The Little Gym today as it celebrates its 50th anniversary, with approximately 275 locations operating in the U.S. and Canada and more than 100 more, internationally.

Samantha shares how the brand supports franchisees, where AI can genuinely make their lives easier, what she looks for at Discovery Day and why the best franchisees build community rather than simply market, locally.

And then comes the challenge ahead:

How do you evolve a 50-year-old brand without losing the very things that made it successful?

Samantha Musonda kicks off Season 18, this week on Franchise Today.

What happens after an entrepreneur builds the company, scales it and ultimately lets it go?

For Shelly Sun Berkowitz, the answer is, "another chapter of purpose."

Shelly founded BrightStar Care in 2002 after her own family struggled to find comprehensive care for her grandmother. She began franchising the concept in 2005 and went on to build one of the most recognized brands in home healthcare.

But the journey came with sacrifices.

During COVID, Shelly describes working 20-hour days protecting caregivers and patients. At the same time, her son Luke needed more of her. Family, legacy and the kind of life she wanted beyond BrightStar began taking on new importance.

Then came the extraordinarily personal process of selling the company she had spent more than two decades building. Shelly discusses walking away from a potential buyer whose values she felt did not align with hers, and ultimately completing the transaction with Peak Rock Capital.

Today, she's putting all of her lessons learned to work for other entrepreneurs.

Through Founder to Founder, Shelly provides founders with the emotional and tactical guidance she believes is often missing when preparing to scale or sell. Through Next Phase Capital, she's also working to provide patient capital designed to help founders grow while preserving ownership and equity.

The conversation goes deeper into exit strategies, financial literacy, the barriers women entrepreneurs continue to face in accessing capital, and why the biggest number isn't necessarily the best outcome.

Most of all, it's a conversation about what success looks like after you've already achieved the success everyone else can see.

This week, Franchise Today closes out Season 17, with Stan Friedman revisiting his 2025 conversation with entrepreneur extraordinaire, Shelly Sun Berkowitz. Stan labels this conversation as Top 10 of all time, which includes 600+ Franchisor interviews.

Amanda Duplantis didn't set out to build a career in franchising. At 21, armed with a biology degree and uncertain about what came next, she moved from Louisiana to Colorado and joined LearningRx at the ground level, working for a multi-unit franchisee. What began as a first job became a 16-year education in franchising, as Amanda advanced through virtually every level of the organization, ultimately becoming Executive Director.

Her first IFA convention opened her eyes to a much larger franchise world. Four years ago, a LinkedIn posting led her to FranNet. She joined as Director of Training and, on January 1st of this year, became President.

This week on Franchise Today, Amanda joins Stan Friedman to discuss that journey and the lessons she's learned about leadership, systems, franchisee relationships and navigating change.

The conversation explores FranNet's unique model, where consultants are themselves franchisees helping prospective entrepreneurs identify franchise opportunities, and how the organization navigated the difficult decision to eliminate exclusive territories and allow consultants to operate nationally.

Amanda also shares her decidedly practical approach to AI: Don't chase every new technology. Identify one or two real business problems, solve them well, and remain franchisee first.

Then there's today's franchise buyer.

AI has created extraordinarily well-researched candidates—but sometimes all that information creates analysis paralysis. Technology can organize data, but can it assess grit, motivation, commitment and fit?

Amanda believes human judgment and relationships remain essential.

Amanda Duplantis, President of FranNet, this week on Franchise Today.

Amanda Duplantis didn't set out to build a career in franchising.

At 21, armed with a biology degree and uncertain about what came next, she moved from Louisiana to Colorado and joined LearningRx at the ground level, working for a multi-unit franchisee. What began as a first job became a 16-year education in franchising, as Amanda advanced through virtually every level of the organization, ultimately becoming Executive Director.

Her first IFA convention opened her eyes to a much larger franchise world. Four years ago, a LinkedIn posting led her to FranNet. She joined as Director of Training and, on January 1st of this year, became President.

This week on Franchise Today, Amanda joins Stan Friedman to discuss that journey and the lessons she's learned about leadership, systems, franchisee relationships and navigating change.

The conversation explores FranNet's unique model, where consultants are themselves franchisees helping prospective entrepreneurs identify franchise opportunities, and how the organization navigated the difficult decision to eliminate exclusive territories and allow consultants to operate nationally.

Amanda also shares her decidedly practical approach to AI: Don't chase every new technology. Identify one or two real business problems, solve them well, and remain franchisee first.

Then there's today's franchise buyer.

AI has created extraordinarily well-researched candidates—but sometimes all that information creates analysis paralysis. Technology can organize data, but can it assess grit, motivation, commitment and fit?

Amanda believes human judgment and relationships remain essential.

Amanda Duplantis, President of FranNet, this week on Franchise Today.

One year ago, Magnolia Bakery was just beginning the next chapter of its extraordinary story: bringing one of America’s most recognizable bakery brands to U.S. franchising.

This week on Franchise Today, I revisit my conversation with Bobbie Lloyd and Jason Mattes of Magnolia Bakery — but with an important update.

Since our original interview, Magnolia has onboarded 19 new franchise owners representing 79 bakeries scheduled for development over the next 36 months. Its first two domestic franchise locations have already opened in Salt Lake City and Louisville, with six more expected before the end of 2026 and approximately 30 domestic franchise bakeries projected to be open by the end of 2027.

That makes this encore much more than a trip back into the archives.

Our original conversation explored how an iconic New York bakery became a globally recognized brand, why cultural relevance and authenticity matter so much when scaling, and what has to happen operationally before a beloved consumer brand is truly ready to franchise.

A year later, we now get to see how those principles begin translating into real franchise growth.

An Encore for This Moment:

Shirin Behzadi and The Unexpected CEO

With Iran once again commanding attention around the world, this felt like the right time to revisit one of the most remarkable personal stories shared on Franchise Today last year.

Shirin Behzadi was born and raised in Iran before the 1979 revolution changed everything. As a young girl, she witnessed upheaval, lost the sense of safety she had grown up with, was arrested twice as a preteen, and ultimately left her family and homeland at just 17 years old.

She eventually made her way to Los Angeles, where she worked as a cashier inside a bulletproof gas-station booth while putting herself through college. But even then, Shirin had a vision: someday, she would run a big company.

She did.

Her journey took her through EY, the CFO suite, entrepreneurship and ultimately Home Franchise Concepts, where she helped build one of franchising’s most successful home-services platforms. Along the way came the Great Recession, a life-threatening brain tumor and a lesson she still carries today: adversity can become a superpower when we learn how to grow through it.

Her book, The Unexpected CEO: My Journey from Gas Station Cashier to Billion Dollar CEO, is about possibility—and this encore conversation may be even more meaningful today than when it first aired.