About · The Franchise CTO

I’ve sat on both
sides of the desk.

I have run franchise units as an operator, and I have built and sold the technology that franchise systems run on. Most people in this market have done one or the other. Doing both is the whole reason The Franchise CTO exists, and it is the lens I bring to every engagement.

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Fractional technology leadership · 50–300 unit franchisors

The short version

Operator

Former multi-unit franchisee who lived the rollout, the P&L, and the adoption fight firsthand

150+

Global franchises supported by the analytics platform he founded, built, and sold

Builder

Founder who shipped the vendor stack, then advised franchisor development from the inside

The Story

Two careers most people
never get to combine.

I did not arrive at franchise technology from a consulting firm. I arrived from inside the system, twice: once as the operator holding the bag on a rollout, and once as the founder who built the platform on the other end of it. The gap between those two seats is where most franchise technology goes wrong, and it is exactly where I work.

I operated the units

As a multi-unit franchisee, I lived the franchisee side. I know what it looks like when the franchisor rolls out a new platform with a forty-page implementation guide and no operator buy-in, and I know what that failure costs in time, money, and goodwill. When I talk about adoption, it is not theory.

I built and sold the technology

I founded a franchise analytics platform, Adaptive, and its product Intelli-hub, which supported 150+ global franchises before I sold the company. I understand the vendor side from the inside: how data agreements get structured, where the leverage sits in a technology contract, and exactly what a brand gives up when it lets a vendor own its customer data.

I advised the development side

I have also worked as a franchise development consultant and coach, which gives me standing on the candidate journey and the franchisor development engine, not just the operating stack. I can read a system from the recruit’s first search all the way through to the mature unit’s P&L.

Why This Is Different

The two skills you need
rarely live in one person.

Most franchisors end up choosing between advisors who understand franchising and advisors who understand technology. That choice is the problem. The whole point of The Franchise CTO is that you do not have to make it.

The Generalist Gap

Tech consultants who have never run a unit

A generalist technology consultant can read an architecture diagram, but has never sat across the desk from a franchisee, never fought a rollout, never felt what an adoption failure does to a system. They optimize the tool and miss the operator. In franchising, that is most of the job.

The Franchise Gap

Franchise consultants who can’t read the stack

A franchise consultant knows the system and the disclosure document cold, but cannot evaluate a data architecture, price out vendor lock-in, or tell you what an AI assistant is saying about your brand. They understand the business and stop at the technology.

The Rare Overlap

Operated, built, and sold inside franchising

I have done all three: operated franchise units, built and sold the technology that serves them, and advised the development side. That overlap is rare, and it is the reason I can look at your stack and see both the diagram and the operator who has to live with it.

Not a Vendor

On your side of the table, by design

I do not resell software and I do not take vendor commissions. My incentive is the same as yours: fewer disconnected systems, real data ownership, and infrastructure your next stage of growth can actually run on. When I recommend a tool, it is because it is right for you, not because it pays me.

The Firm

Fractional technology leadership,
built only for franchising.

The Franchise CTO provides fractional technology leadership exclusively to franchised organizations at roughly the 50 to 300 unit scale. Not a generic martech agency, not a fractional CTO who happens to have a franchise logo in the portfolio. Franchising is the entire practice, and it shapes everything from how I read your disclosure document to how I plan an operator rollout.

I work with brands that are past the startup phase but have not yet built the technology infrastructure the next stage of growth demands, whether that is a private equity event, a strategic acquisition, or simply running a tighter operation. Most engagements begin with a fixed-price diagnostic and grow from there.

The Functional Technology Framework

Every engagement runs through the Functional Technology Framework, my proprietary lens for how franchise technology should actually function: unify the data so leadership can see the truth, reclaim ownership from vendors and agencies, and build for the units you will have, not just the ones you have today. It is not a maturity model or a consulting deck. It is an operating view of how a scaling franchisor’s technology should behave, drawn from having lived on every side of it.

I’ve sat on bothsides of the desk.

Two careers most peoplenever get to combine.

The two skills you needrarely live in one person.

Fractional technology leadership,built only for franchising.

The Functional Technology Framework

If your board is asking questionsyour tech stack can’t answer, start here.

I’ve sat on both
sides of the desk.

Two careers most people
never get to combine.

The two skills you need
rarely live in one person.

Fractional technology leadership,
built only for franchising.

If your board is asking questions
your tech stack can’t answer, start here.