Advertise on podcast: Social Geek

We’re live in Texas at Franchise Expo Dallas hearing the stories of some great franchise brands with Social Geek host Jack Monson. In part 1, you'll hear from: Tim McCarthy, Rosati's Pizza Daniel Trigo, UniVista Insurance Darlene Viering, Poolwerx Tom Martin, Milo Insulation Erik Premont, Acceler8Success Britany Vinson, Tomé Catering Thanks to today’s sponsors Thunderly, AnswerConnect, Northeast Color, and Pilot.

Today we have a 2-part podcast with one of the top influencers in Franchising making a real impact on the community in the past few years. Ali Kraus is the CMO of Benetrends, Chair of the Women’s Franchise Committee of the IFA, the co-founder of Fury Frans, and a 2026 Franchise Thought Leadership Award winner. I’ve known Ali for several years and just learned today that she shops for her blazers to wear at IFA Convention based on the branding and colors for that year's event. Now that’s 110% commitment! In part 1, we dive into: *Letting others take responsibility but supporting them if they fail *Moving from a “doer” role to a leader role *Delegating and holding team members accountable *And … what makes the WFC so successful? Check it part 2 on the Franchise Freaks podcast - available now! Thanks to our sponsors: Pilot, AnswerConnect, and Northeast Color. Special Guest: Ali Kraus.

Welcome to a two-part episode with a One-on-One conversation with one of Franchising’s favorites, Emily George! Emily has just joined Thunderly as Vice President of Client Services, leading a new division and helping the best brands in Franchising grow. In Part One, we’ll discuss: Why do people from the hospitality industry make fantastic customer service pros? Why does everything go wrong sometimes for just one customer while everyone else has a great experience every time? Why does the Franchising Community rely so heavily on trusted relationships? Check out Part Two on the Thunderly Franchise Freaks podcast available right now on all podcast platforms. Thanks to our sponsors: Pilot, AnswerConnect, and Northeast Color. Special Guest: Emily George.

The Franchise Rock Stars are back for the new fall season on Social Geek! Danielle Wright, Ali Kraus, Derrick Ableman, Scott Greenberg, and Kristen Pechacek are here with host Jack Monson We’re talking about The Expert Effect. We’ll cover: Do you still have to earn the title of expert or do you just fake it ‘til you make it? What does “an expert” even mean anymore? How do they find and evaluate an expert when needed? Thanks to today’s sponsors Thunderly, AnswerConnect, Northeast Color, and Pilot. Special Guests: Ali Kraus, Danielle Wright, Derrick Ableman, Kristen Pechacek, and Scott Greenberg.

Franchising is part relationships and part magic! Sherry McNeil joins the podcast for a One-on-One conversation with Social Geek host Jack Monson. As a 2026 Franchise Thought Leadership Award winner and as the President and CEO of The Canadian Franchise Association, Sherry is on the front lines of the Franchising in Canada and across the globe. Today she discusses: *Relationships at all levels of Franchising and what she calls the WOW factor *Stats on World Franchise Day 2026 (and gearing up for 2027) *Strategic plans for CFA over the next year *A tri-party agreement between franchise associations in Canada, the US, and Mexico *Investigating the growing challenge of fraud in Franchising Thanks to today’s sponsors: Thunderly, AnswerConnect, Pilot, and The IFA World Franchise Show with The International Franchise Association. Special Guest: Sherry McNeil.

We’re continuing our series of one-on-one talks with this year’s Social Geek Franchise Thought Leadership Award winners. Sean Falk, President and COO of Careertopia, is here to share what he sees happening right now in Franchising. We dive deep into: What has happened to the Fran Dev Sales role over the past 2 years How Private Equity’s move into Franchising has affected hiring Talent not “of Franchising” coming into Franchising Being purpose-driven Thanks to today’s sponsors: Thunderly, AnswerConnect, Pilot, and The IFA World Franchise Show with The International Franchise Association. Shout outs: Kim Falk, Gary Gardner, Tom Portesy, Scott Lehrer, Scenthound, Tim Vogel, Jessica Vogel, VetFran, Doug Dwyer, FranFaith, Todd Recknagel, Kristi Mailloux Special Guest: Sean Falk.

Recorded Live in New York – host Jack Monson is at The International Franchise Expo 2026 interviewing some of the top executives in Franchising! They will share the latest about their brands, their goals for ’26 & ’27, and the opportunities for franchise owners. In part 3, we’ll chat with: John Hayes of Hayes Worldwide and The Titus Center for Franchising Dave Lamere of Almera Tech Services Robyn Bovino of Rebel XL Kim Coe of Small Town Play Café AJ Titus of Signarama / United Franchise Group Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and more. Thanks to today’s sponsors Thunderly, AnswerConnect, and Pilot.com. The next Franchise Expo is in DALLAS Sept 18 & 19 from MFV Expositions!

🎧 Recorded Live in New York City – Social Geek host Jack Monson is continuing our series of interviews at The International Franchise Expo 2026 with some of the top executives in Franchising. They are sharing the latest about their brands, their goals for ’26 & ’27, and the opportunities for franchise owners. Today, it’s part 2 featuring: Agnes Mauro One River School of Art + Design Chuck Buttiglieri, Pizzeria Uno Mark Levis, Denny’s Sean Oatney, Planet Fitness Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and more. Thanks to today’s sponsors Thunderly, AnswerConnect, and Pilot.com. The next Franchise Expo is in DALLAS Sept 18 & 19 from MFV Expositions!

Recorded Live in New York – host Jack Monson is at The International Franchise Expo 2026 interviewing some of the top executives in Franchising! They will share the latest about their brands, their goals for ’26 & ’27, and the opportunities for franchise owners. In part 1, we’ll chat with: Cheri Mullen, GNC Craig Sherwood, The Joint Chiropractic Stephanie Benze, AC Inc Greg Salzano, Philly Pretzel Factory Thanks to our sponsors: Pilot, AnswerConnect, and Thunderly.

Social Geek presents a mini-episode today getting ready for World Franchise Day! Join Sherry McNeil, CEO of the Canadian Franchise Association and the creative mind behind World Franchise Day, along with host Jack Monson. They'll chat about the background for WFD and what franchise pros across the globe can do to celebrate and spread the word about Franchising! Thanks to The Canadian Franchise Association, World Franchise Council, and Thunderly. Special Guest: Sherry McNeil.

AI-generated slop versus Premium content created by talented humans. You know what side I’m on ... where do you land?? But, maybe there’s a third leg of this stool.  We’re talking to John Jantsch,  founder of Duct Tape Marketing.  Thanks to today’s sponsors Thunderly, AnswerConnect, and Pilot. Special Guest: John Jantsch.

Social Geek, the most popular franchise podcast, presents another One-on-One conversation with a 2026 Franchise Thought Leadership Award winner. James Stapleton, Vice President of Franchise Development at Caring Transitions, joins host Jack Monson to discuss: The difference between coaching & helping versus managing & bossing in franchise leadership The changes James has seen in the franchise development in just the few years How working together makes everyone become more successful (and make more money!) Thanks to today’s sponsors Thunderly, AnswerConnect, and Pilot. Special Guest: James Stapleton.

On our kind-of-weekly chat on the franchise restaurant space, Lauren Fernandez of Full Course and Jack Monson of Thunderly are discussing updates like franchisee buyouts, IPOs, and AI blowback. AND we have a preview of Lauren and Jack's workshop at The Franchise Growth and Marketing Conference. Join us at FGMC in Atlanta June 2 - 4. To register for FGMC, please visit: https://www.franchisegrowthmarketingconference.com/ See the video version of So, Here’s The Thing on Lauren’s LinkedIn feed! Special Guest: Lauren Fernandez.

Rebranding – what brands have done it well? Or maybe not so well? And when should you rebrand? The Franchise Rock Stars are here: Scott Greenberg, Ali Kraus, Danielle Wright, Kristen Pechacek, and Derrick Ableman. We’ll dive into these elements of rebranding including: Not just changing the logo, but repositioning a brand’s identity The “curse of the new CMO” who wants to rebrand for the sake of rebranding The best timing for rebranding within a franchise system How rebranding a franchise affects not only consumer sales but also fran dev efforts And we look at interesting rebrands of some of some favorite brands in Franchising like Domino’s, Benetrends, Celebree School, Thunderly, Dunkin’, Edible, Burger King, McDonald’s, Northeast Color, Anytime Fitness … plus other types of franchises like the NFL and Marvel Comics! Thanks to today’s sponsors Thunderly, AnswerConnect, and Pilot. Special Guests: Ali Kraus, Danielle Wright, Derrick Ableman, Kristen Pechacek, and Scott Greenberg.

We’re continuing our series of one-on-one conversations with this year’s Social Geek Franchise Thought Leadership Award winners with Dustin Thompson, Director of Franchise Development & Marketing at Jack In The Box Dustin is a marketing expert who thinks like a sales guy. Or maybe he’s a successful salesperson who sees the landscape through the eyes of a marketing pro. Either way, he’s our kind of Franchisor! Dustin is here to share: That he’s a real live franchise pro and not an AI bot! How franchise candidates are more informed about your brand (and other brands) before you even know who they are The future of the hybrid sales + marketing position Pushing a franchise versus executive filtering The importance of website schema Why those 10 blue links on Google aren’t as important for your candidates as answers on AI platforms The value of “Day In The Life” Videos with your franchisees He’s not in the burger business, he’s in the business of being in the burger business! Thanks to today’s sponsors Thunderly, AnswerConnect, and Pilot. Special Guest: Dustin Thompson.