About Us
At the Franchise Edge, we understand that often times your business is your life. It is very personal. It is your dream. It is the result of your time, energy and money. We feel that selecting the right group to grow this dream is equally personal and we are confident that The Franchise Edge is the right team to make your dream a reality.
We’ve Been In Your Shoes: Our partners have experience as independent business people, owners, franchisees, and franchisors so we are able to evaluate businesses from a real world perspective, not just from a theoretical perspective. We pride ourselves on the personal and entrepreneurial approach we take with each client, from evaluating potential franchisees to helping establish and achieve franchisor’s growth goals.
Personalized Service: Not every business is the same and not every franchise program is the same either. With over 100 different business sectors in the franchising industry, the needs of each client vary greatly. Drawing on our experience and a thorough evaluation of your business, we will be able to tailor a franchise development program to meet your specific needs, both
personal and financial.
Partners Not Salespeople: When you talk to a member of the TFE team about our franchise development services, you are talking to a partner who will:
- Guide your program through the entire process from beginning to end.
- Give you support, knowledge and advice along the way.
- Provide you with a level of commitment, integrity and involvement that is unmatched in the industry
We have grown our business by providing our clients with an experienced team, dependable services and steady, trusted guidance and look forward to learning more about how we can assist you in growing your business.
Meet The Team
OPERATIONS
Paul Samson
President & Founder
Mr. Samson founded The Franchise Edge (TFE) in 2005 because of a need that he saw in the market for an affordable, client focused franchise consulting service. His experience in franchising began as President and Founder of Lenny & Vinny’s Management, Inc., a corporately owned and managed pizza chain that he operated for 14 years and grew to 14 units before deciding to franchise. Mr. Samson was also the Founder of Head West Enterprises, LLC, which grew the Westshore Pizza chain from 16 stores to 52 stores in 3 ½ years, with an additional 90 units committed and combined sales of over $27,000,000 prior to the sale and transition of the marks.
Under the guidance of Mr. Samson, TFE educates its clients on the challenges new franchisors face and creates the strategies necessary to develop a successful franchise system. Mr. Samson’s expertise includes vendor sourcing and pricing, sales and marketing and business modeling for franchisors.
Scott Anderson
Senior Partner
Mr. Anderson has been a Partner in TFE since May 2006 and works closely with prospects and clients in evaluating the viability of franchising and then developing the needed components for establishing and launching their franchise. Mr. Anderson has over twenty years of entrepreneurial experience, during which he founded Automated Artist, a multi-unit, robotic, t-shirt company that operated in the Walt Disney World and Busch Gardens theme parks as well as in regional malls for over 17 years. Mr. Anderson’s stores were recognized for outperforming Walt Disney World’s retail shops on a sales per square foot and a profit per square foot basis by 2.5 times. The top grossing location generated sales per square foot of over $8,000 at its peak. Having operated a corporate model with six locations, Mr. Anderson understands the demands of the corporate model and the benefits of the franchise model. He also gained significant experience in retail, technology, store design, branding, and operations. Having started and managed a number of businesses, Mr. Anderson understands startup strategies as well as systems evaluation and implementation to take businesses to a new level.
As a partner with The Franchise Edge, Mr. Anderson oversees all client projects and lends his expertise with competitor analysis, financial modeling, business modeling and system’s enhancements. In addition to this, he works with clients to develop their franchise marketing and franchise sales programs.
Josh Bowles
Senior Operations Director
Mr. Bowles brings fifteen years of operational, management, sales and marketing experience to The Franchise Edge giving him significant expertise in addressing the varied needs of the company's extensive list of clients. He has proven success at improving operational efficiency through the implementation of systems for cost-control, as well as programs to insure the most effective use of labor.
Prior to joining TFE, Mr. Bowles held the post of VP of Operations for Yacht Starship Dining Cruises for over 5 years. Mr. Bowles was responsible for running three individual ships in separate ports; hosting between 800-900 events per year, with over 110 employees and sales of between $5,000,000 and $8,000,000 per year. All aspects of the operation, including food and beverage, personnel, vessel logistics, regulatory compliance, fleet maintenance and repair, and retail, all fell under Mr. Bowles’ area of responsibility. This experience has given him the skills necessary to create and implement specialized employee training programs, to enhance operational procedures, and to develop motivational programs designed to reduce employee turnover, improve employee morale and help surpass customer service goals.
With The Franchise Edge, Mr. Bowles oversees the team that is responsible for producing Operational Manuals and Training Aids for our clients. His extensive experience in food and beverage, as well as his operations and management background, provide Mr. Bowles with an ability to document current systems and to recognize and recommend opportunities to improve our clients’ overall business performance. Mr. Bowles is also responsible for overseeing the operation of The Franchise Edge’s ICare partnership with Sysco Foods.
SALES TEAM
Annette Samson
Franchise Sales
Ms. Samson has extensive sales and marketing experience, having worked as a national account manager and data consultant with MCI Worldcom. More recently, she has managed the sales development process for a retail wine franchise and an emerging toy chain.
Carol Franz
Franchise Sales
Proven success as the Director of Franchising for Vedic Math Development Corporation. Her extensive background as a Senior Mortgage Banker provides an additional benefit to potential franchisees.
Marilyn Jett
Midwest Franchise Development Manager
Marilyn Jett has been actively involved with real estate for over 30 years. Initially beginning with a family owned real estate company, Marilyn began her own real estate and appraisal company in 1980. For the last 20 years her primary focus has been commercial real estate and development. Together with commercial brokers and investors she has been instrumental in tenant procurement and retail development. Her designations have included Broker, CCIM, Realtor, Appraiser, Investment Consultant and owner of several companies including retail, real estate, marketing and promotions.
This extensive background has brought Marilyn full circle as a franchise consultant.
While watching retailers and private owners work their entire life in successful and unique businesses only to reach retirement age and sell their business, she realized that franchising was a better answer. Franchising allows the business owners to develop an ongoing stream of royalty income, in addition to the profit generated from selling their location so that individuals do not have to liquidate their real estate and business that they have sunk their entire lives into. By using her experience and expertise Ms Jett is able to help successfully guide these American entrepreneurs in the franchising direction.
Dale Waite
Southeastern Franchise Development Manager
Mr. Waite brings over 20 years of franchise experience to The Franchise Edge. He opened his first business, an automotive franchise, in 1986. After selling the business, he went into franchise development and sold master franchises for a major food franchisor based in Georgia. Mr. Waite also owned a travel agency for 19 years and was a multi-unit franchise owner for 15 years with Regis franchising. Mr. Waite has worked with numerous franchise companies and was the Director of Franchise Development for Units Storage, an east coast mobile storage franchise, until January 2008. Having owned and operated franchises, Dale brings an understanding of the needs of both franchisees and franchisors alike.
Darren Yelin
Franchise Sales and Development
Mr. Yelin has spent the past 15 years consulting and franchising for various brands in North America. He has sold hundreds of territories throughout the US and Canada to meet the needs of franchisors and franchisees. Mr. Yelin has an extensive sales and marketing background working with both startup and well established brands.
Michelle Cook
Public Relations and Marketing
Michelle brings thirteen years of marketing and sales experience to The Franchise Edge. Her past experience in the golf and country club industry in various roles such as a Membership Director, Regional Marketing Director and General Manager has given her the ability to communicate with multiple personality types, handle various marketing responsibilities and be an integral part of many start up construction projects. For many years she was extremely involved in the Professional Club Marketing Association and served as the President of the West Central Chapter 2007- 2008. She is nationally and regionally published in club industry publications on topics such as personal career growth, membership marketing and customer service.
ADMINISTRATION
Jessica Gilbert
Executive Assistant
Having worked as an executive assistant as well as an office manager for over 10 years, Ms. Gilbert brings her experience in the everyday management of the internal operations of a business and she is able to coordinate the daily operation of our office to ensure organizational efficiency.
Ms. Gilbert is responsible for our National iCare Partnership with SYSCO Foods, in their preferred vendor program, and is the gatekeeper for communication as well. In addition, she schedules travel arrangements for our clients and for our staff when travelling to visit client locations. Because of her extensive experience, she is able to assist our clients and efficiently provide direction when a partner is not available.
