Tom Kranz, Principal of The Franchise Mentor, Inc., will present an introduction to franchises. The presentation will include discussions about what a franchise is and isn’t, what you get when you invest in a franchise, who should invest, how to get started and critical things to think about through the evaluation process. Folks that should consider attending include corporate refugees, executives with “secure” jobs wanting to hedge their bets, Mom’s wanting to re-enter the workforce but not in corporate America, current business owners looking to diversify their “Livelihood Portfolio^TM,” recent college grads not wishing to work for “The Man,” and anyone else with an entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to control their own destiny. After all, franchising is about being in business for oneself, but NOT by oneself.

Tom Kranz, MBA, The Franchise Mentor, Inc.

Tom, as Principal of The Franchise Mentor, Inc. (TFMI), at no cost, provides guidance to clients interested in investing in a franchise business, assisting them through the selection and due diligence phases of the formation. Since TFMI is itself a franchise, he practices what he teaches. Tom has 30 years of diverse business experience with expertise ranging from business start-up, due diligence, and process creation and improvement to P&L management, transaction structuring and negotiation, as well as relationship management and business development. Prior to founding TFMI, Tom started and led a business for GMAC with a portfolio in excess of $2B.

Tom earned his MBA, with Honors, from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University with a concentration in Finance. His undergraduate degree is from St. Lawrence University in Economics, cum laude. He is currently Chair of the Richmond, VA chapter of the Financial Executive Networking Group and leads an annual equity conference in conjunction with the New York Society of Security Analysts