Franchise Leader Spotlight
Insights from the leaders behind franchise growth.
From scaling operations to strengthening franchisee relationships, each episode highlights the strategies and mindset driving performance across multi-unit brands.
Season 1 Episode 1
How Mitch Cohen Defines a Great Multi-Unit, Multi-Brand Operator
Season 1 opens with a conversation with Mitch Cohen, a multi-unit, multi-brand franchise operator and industry leader who believes giving back is just as important as building systems.
From supporting franchise associations to helping brands deliver what franchisees need most through Performax Franchise Advisors, Mitch sets the tone for this series with insight, experience, and perspective.
Season 1 is underway - stay tuned for more.
All Episodes
How Jennifer Durham Lets the Numbers Lead | Potbelly SVP of Franchise & Development
Jennifer Durham has scaled franchise brands across restaurants, hospitality, and wellness — from Checkers & Rally's to Cooper's Hawk, Hand & Stone, and now Potbelly, where she's leading the brand's push from 467 shops to 2,000 locations. She's also a CPA, which means when she talks about unit economics, she means it.
In this conversation at IFA 2026, Jennifer makes the case that franchising has been measuring and marketing to the wrong number. New unit count looks great on a banner. But it doesn't tell a prospect how long it takes to get open, how long it takes to get profitable, or how the existing network is actually performing. Those are the questions serious candidates are starting to ask — and the brands that can answer them honestly will win the development race.
We also get into Potbelly's approach to preserving struggling locations rather than closing them, why the scarcity mindset that drives a franchise sale can damage the franchisee relationship post-close, and what Jennifer thinks franchising needs more of — and less of — right now.
What we cover:
Why new unit count may be the wrong development headline
The metrics that actually tell the franchise story: time to open, ramp to profitability, same-store sales growth
How Potbelly gets creative to keep struggling shops alive
The scarcity mindset problem in franchise development
Jennifer's take on Item 19 standardization
A leadership lesson about leading through other people's expertise
The future of franchising — and what Jennifer is optimistic about
Guest: Jennifer Durham, SVP Franchise & Development, Potbelly Host: Katherine LeBlanc, Fractional CMO | Founder, Apollo CMO & MyPodcastHost Recorded: IFA Annual Convention 2026
