My Guest
Michael is the Founder of Streetlight Capital, a firm that invests in search funds and other forms of entrepreneurship through acquisition.
Through Streetlight Capital, Michael successfully acquired, operated, and exited Buckeye Restaurant Group, an operator of franchised Wingstop restaurants. Michael acquired Buckeye’s first restaurants via a self-funded search in 2018, and via new unit development and M&A, grew the business to be one of the largest operators in the Wingstop system before selling the company in 2023.
Michael started his career as an venture-stage software investor at Bessemer Venture Partners. He received an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, and an MBA from Harvard Business School
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Achieving the Entrepreneurial Dream Through Franchise Ownership – In The Trenches
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Specific Questions and When They’re Asked
[0:03:22] Walk through of Michael’s career path and major stops along the way.
[0:05:59] Winding down Michael’s self-funded search and taking a “normal job” after being an entrepreneur.
[0:07:54] Catalyzing factors for acquiring a franchise
[0:11:19] Landing on Wingstop out of all possible restaurant franchises to acquire.
[0:12:22] How many franchises ended up being owned and the split between organic and inorganic growth.
[0:13:00] Consideration of acquiring a franchisor versus a group of franchisees.
[0:19:08] Evaluating the business model of a franchise versus criteria typically used for search fund deals.
[0:23:12] Merits and risks of the franchise acquisition path for those who have not yet considered it.
[0:26:56] Perceived lack of control within a franchise system.
[0:30:36] Importance of ROI and other key metrics in evaluating franchise opportunities.
[0:37:45] Weighing organic versus inorganic growth and the relative attractiveness of each.
[0:44:13] “Ease” of execution of a consolidation strategy in a franchise context versus other contexts.
[0:50:36] Potential valuation overhang on franchise businesses due to franchisor control.
[0:53:37] How much value do franchisors truly add?
[0:59:52] Primary agreement between franchisor and franchisee and what truly matters in that document.
[1:04:52] How real estate works in these franchise agreements.
[1:08:23] Addressing the skeptical view of franchising as not a truly entrepreneurial path.
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