In this episode of the FranchiseU! Podcast, Dr. Kathy Gosser speaks with Matt Kunz, President and CEO of Fastest Labs, about relationship-first leadership, franchisee coaching, and the systems required to support sustainable growth. Matt draws on more than 27 years in franchising, beginning with his experience as a Sylvan Learning franchisee. By closely following the operating model, maintaining disciplined marketing and sales practices, and focusing on execution, he outperformed many of his peers, acquired struggling centers, and successfully turned them around. That experience eventually led him to Sylvan’s corporate operations team and later to leadership roles at Neighborly, where he guided brands including Mr. Rooter Plumbing and Five Star Painting.

Today, Matt leads Fastest Labs, a private-equity-backed franchise system with approximately 250 locations providing drug, alcohol, and DNA testing services. The company serves businesses and individuals through compliance-focused solutions, rapid results, and respectful customer service. During the conversation, Matt explains why franchisees must develop a strong business-to-business sales mindset, how local relationship-building supports lead generation, and how national accounts help the brand serve clients with operations across multiple markets. He also discusses mentorship, communication, franchisee accountability, and the importance of combining proven processes with personal connection.

Matt brings more than two decades of franchise leadership experience and has helped guide several brands through significant periods of growth. Most notably, he helped scale Five Star Painting from $41 million to $156 million in systemwide revenue. He has led franchise systems ranging from roughly 230 to more than 300 locations, consistently emphasizing people, operational discipline, and long-term performance. Matt holds an Executive MBA and the Certified Franchise Executive designation. His leadership philosophy is captured in a central message from the episode: growth is a relationship sport backed by process.

Key topics include:

· Relationships come before results.

· Strong processes support strong relationships.

· Franchisees must actively develop their markets.

· B2B selling is largely a mindset.

· Sell the solution, not the service.

· Growth requires reflection and coaching.

· Mentorship accelerates leadership development.

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This episode proudly brought to you by the Yum! Center for Global Franchise Excellence at the University of Louisville College of Business.