That’s how Dan Rowe describes his admitted apathy for the computer software business with which his career background is intertwined. At first thought, the word “hate” might seem a bit strong. But to hear Rowe tell the story of trudging the mundane career path he chose in his early 20s, “before it was cool to be a nerd,” hatred might be fitting.

“We were selling six-figure software systems that apparently were very good because the biggest companies in the world were buying them, but half the time, the software was never even used,” Rowe says. “In the industry, we called it ‘vaporware,’ and it wasn’t very inspiring to me.

“We worked in data centers around people that hated their jobs, and who always talked about doing something different,” he adds, “and it didn’t take me long to realize that I wanted something different as well.”

Working amid the clear disdain and scorn of his co-workers, Rowe knew a change was in order. He knew that to be successful, he needed to be around motivated, success-driven people. So he heeded the call of the franchise industry.

Rowe, founder and CEO of Fransmart, couldn’t have chosen a more successful industry in which to immerse himself. After all, in what better climate is there to grow the entrepreneurial spirit than franchising? And those wanting a piece of the pie look to Fransmart to satisfy their appetites. Rowe’s company provides strategic advice to a growing portfolio of brands and companies, helping them grow successfully, maximize unit economics, and achieve brand awareness in the restaurant and franchise industry.

Need proof that Fransmart works? Check its track record.

Fransmart helped guide Five Guys Famous Burger and Fries through the sale of 300 franchises within the first 18 months of working with the brand. Three years into the relationship, more than 100 new units have opened, with another 1,000 in development. And within five years of taking Camille’s Sidewalk Café under its wing, Fransmart helped open 100 units, with 1,000 in development worldwide, including franchisees such as Aramark and HMSHost.

Leading the charge for the Fransmart juggernaut is Rowe, who took a moment with QSR to discuss all things related to growing a small brand into a big one.

Discuss your involvement in helping to expand Qdoba Mexican Grill when you were with Franchise Development Co. My business partner and I owned a few Chesapeake Bagel Bakery franchises in Denver; one of our restaurants was across the street from the original Chipotle. We knew Chipotle had legs, but they weren’t interested in franchising. We joined forces with Qdoba. It was originally called Zuma, then ZTECA, before they finally found a name we could own…expensive lesson. We got with Qdoba when there was only one unit and less than a year under their belt. We coordinated the legal and administrative processes of setting up the franchise system, helped with the manuals and systems, and provided a key senior operations executive to help steer the franchise company. We sold hundreds of franchises our first few years to large, multi-unit franchisees of other brands. After about 80 or so restaurants were opened, Jack in the Box purchased Qdoba for $45 million.

What are some of the challenges of franchising in today’s economy and marketplace versus expansion, say, 15–20 years ago? The cost of building and operating businesses has gone up and continues to go up disproportionate to the ability to raise menu prices; therefore, it is tougher for undisciplined operators to succeed. The smarter companies are figuring out how to do more volume in less space, and companies such as WD Partners are in huge demand. The fragmentation of marketing has forced more operators to focus on strong four-walls and neighborhood marketing—strategies that typically people don’t like to focus on, but, unfortunately, these strategies are all that emerging brands should be focusing on. Emerging brands will never be able to compete in a marketing context with concepts that have been around forever or concepts that advertise during the Super Bowl. next