Franchise Freaks

Continuing with part 2 of a conversation with Ali Kraus, CMO of Benetrends and the Chair of the IFA Women’s Franchise Committee and host Jack Monson. We jump right into an overview of local IFA Women’s Franchise Network chapters and the value of local networking for franchise professionals. How to get your franchisees inspired. We also discuss an update from Benetrends and how the branding has bro...

Welcome to a two-part episode with a One-on-One conversation with one of Franchising’s favorites, Emily George! Emily has just joined franchise marketing agency Thunderly as Vice President of Client Services, leading a new division and helping the best brands in Franchising grow. In Part Two, we’ll discuss: The incredible amount of knowledge sharing that happens between franchise brands The unique...

Today we’re welcoming our newest Franchise Freak to the franchise marketing agency Thunderly. Carlos Cortiñas is the Chief Strategy Officer who will bring a new level of strategic conversations to Thunderly’s client brands. Carlos joins podcast host Jack Monson to discuss: • Spotting marketing trends which can help grow franchise brands • How a franchisor’s authentic storytelling affects AI search...

Kristen Pechacek is the CEO of MassageLuXe and has grown the brand to new heights in recent times. She joins host Jack Monson for a chat about the status of franchise development at the International Franchise Expo in New York City. They dive into: Expansion plans for the MassageLuXe brand Current profiles of people who make a successful owners Franchisees who are diversifying The attractiveness o...

Robert Bhagwandat is the Senior Director of Franchise Development at Checkers & Rally’s. Podcast host Jack Monson caught up with Robert at this year’s International Franchise Expo in New York. In this episode, Robert shares: *Who makes a successful owner of a Checkers or a Rally’s?  *Expansion plans, including multi-unit owners, individual owner operators, and those in between *Some inter...

Brian Britton is the CEO of Kilwins Chocolates Franchise. Brian joins the podcast to share updates on this tasty franchise brand including: • How and where the future growth is happening for the brand • Multi-unit opportunities • Support when opening stores followed by ongoing support • And a newer concept called Scoops and Sweets by Kilwins For more info on opportunities with Kilwins, please visi...

J.J. Sorrenti, CEO of Best Life Brands, and Monica Feid, Co-Founder and COO of Franchise Marketing Agency Thunderly, discuss the status of in-home care franchises. Jack Monson hosts them live at The International Franchise Association 2026 Convention. They dive into the IFA’s Economic Forecast and J.J.’s brands’ growth including: • The importance of culture, dignity, and comfort • Solving problems...

James Franks of WellBiz Brands and Monica Feid, Co-Founder COO of Franchise Marketing Agency Thunderly, dive into portfolio diversification of many Multi-Unit Multi-Brand owners. Host Jack Monson joins them live at The International Franchise Association 2026 Convention to discuss: • The red-hot health & wellness vertical that is projected to grow 2.1% this year according to the IFA’s forecast...

Ricky Richardson, CEO of Eggs Up Grill, and Monica Feid, CCO of Thunderly, discuss the state of restaurant franchises. Host Jack Monson joins them live at The International Franchise Association 2026 Convention just after the release of IFA’s Economic Forecast which predicts excellent growth for full-service restaurants. Eggs Up Grill is growing ahead of schedule so far this year, and the team dis...

This is the latest in our series of conversations recorded at The IFA 2026 Convention in Las Vegas with host Jack Monson and the top franchise thought leaders discussing how an Amplified Integrated Marketing plan is accelerating their franchise system's growth. Craig Sherwood, SVP of Development at The Joint Chiropractic, joins Thunderly's Monica Feid to share his system's growth plans in a landsc...

We begin a series of conversations about Amplified Integrated Marketing programs with Mark Jameson, Chief Development Officer at Propelled Brands and August Johnson, VP of Brand Management at Thunderly. Join us for a discussion on the latest franchise development new and growth strategies from one of Franchising's top thought leaders recorded live at The International Franchise Association's 2026...

Amplified Integreated Marketing starts with cohesive, unified design work for you brand. On a new season of Franchise Freaks, CEO Scott White and Creative Director Dan Wiley of the premier Franchise marketing agency Thunderly share their tips for stepping up your brand's design work. They join host * Jack Monson * to discuss: Brand recognition being more critical that ever Using all of your brand...

Brent Greenwood is the Vice President of Franchise Development at Sport Clips Haircuts. He joins host Jack Monson for a conversation about fran dev trends for rest of this year and into next year. Brent shares his outlook on franchise growth for the whole industry, how the landscape looks for small business ownership, and how his brand is standing out in a competitive field. Connect with Brent at...

Welcome to The Franchise Freaks Podcast, presented by Thunderly. This podcast is for – and by – people who are freaky for franchising. Today’s guest is Craig Sherwood, Senior Vice President, Development at The Joint Chiropractic. Craig shares: • The Joint’s unique position in the franchise space • Recurring revenue models and flexible schedules • The franchisees’ passion for helping people, reduci...

Gini Dietrich joins the podcast with an update on the PESO model – the relationship of implementing Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned media strategies. • Breaking down the silos between these essential media types • Pairing 2 elements of PESO to get rolling • The future of the model Join us over on the Social Geek podcast for part 1 of our conversation available now. Special Guest: Gini Dietrich.

Felicia Reeves, CMO of Empower Brands, joins to the podcast to discuss Personal Branding. We’re chatting about personal branding not only for executives, but also for franchisees. Many small business owners are finding success and new customers by becoming local micro-influencers and subject matter experts. Felicia also shares advice on how to enable, equip, and empower franchisees to market effec...

We caught up with Ken Kanzaki at Franchise Expo Charlotte where Charleys Cheesesteaks was exhibiting and speaking with many aspiring entrepreneurs about opportunities in Franchising. We’re chatting about franchise trends, menu trends, and of course, wings! Ken also shares his take on what makes a successful franchisee. Special Guest: Ken Kanzaki.

Welcome to The Franchise Freaks Podcast, presented by Thunderly. This podcast is for - and by – people who are freaky for franchising. Today we’re chatting with Ricky Richardson, CEO of Eggs Up Grill, live from Vegas at The Multi-Unit Franchising Conference. Ricky shares his thoughts on The explosion in Multi-Unit Franchise ownership especially in restaurants Why Multi-Unit operations are more far...

JJ Sorrenti, CEO of Best Life Brands, joins the podcast to discuss the rise of platform companies and Multi-Unit, Multi-Brand Owners. JJ shares his vision on the sectors that are seeing the most growth in the near future, the forecast for Franchising for the next 5 years, and other elements that will have an impact on franchising including the economy to government regulations. Thanks to the Inter...

Anne Huntington Sharma, President of Huntington Learning Centers discusses the positive outlook for franchising growth and for small business owners. Anne shares her thoughts on: • What will make the biggest impact on franchising this year • The future of education enterprises and how technology and AI will make a difference • What most people don’t yet understand about franchising Special Guest:...

Mark Jameson, Chief Development Officer of Propelled Brands joins the podcast love from The IFA Convention! Mark the discusses the strategies between the growth of the various brands that are part of the Propelled platform – including some upcoming rebranding for some of Mark’s brands coming up at this year’s MUFC! We also discuss: • The difference between Consumer-focused franchise brands and B2B...

Rocco Fiorentino is the CEO of Benetrends Financial, member of the International Franchise Association Board of Directors, and a leading voice in Franchising and Entrepreneurship. Podcast host Jack Monson caught up with Rocco at this year’s IFA Convention to get his perspective on the current vibe and future outlook for Franchising. Rocco discusses a bright, bold future with the next generation of...

It’s The Franchise Freaks Podcast with your host Jack Monson and today’s guests, Brad Stevenson, Brian Woods, and Brian Weiters of Neighborly. We’re chatting live at IFA 2025 about the future of Franchise Development and small business ownership. Visit us at https://thunderlymarketing.com Special Guests: Brad Stevenson, Brian Wieters, and Brian Woods.

It’s The Franchise Freaks podcast with Jack Monson. This is Part 2 of our conversation with Scott White and Monica Feid, Co-founders of Thunderly, recorded live at IFE 2025. Also joining us today: the next generation of leaders from the agency, team supervisors Ellie Robertson and Jason Weaver. Ellie and Jason share their ideas on: How Marketing, PR, and Communication integration works How to bala...

Welcome to Season Two of Franchise Freaks, the podcast from the franchise marketing agency now called Thunderly! Host Jack Monson is live at The International Franchise Association 2025 Convention with the co-founders of Thunderly (formerly known as BizCom and Brand J), Scott White and Monica Feid. Scott and Monica share: Their vision on where Franchising is going. Why relaunch a brand or agency i...