Global Franchise 10.2

12 GLOBAL FRANCHISE Issue 10.2 Lessons in scaling, succession & letting go – from a franchise founder who’s done it Shelly Sun Berkowitz SIX IDE AS. fter nearly two decades building BrightStar Care into one of America’s leading home care and medical staffing brands, Shelly Sun Berkowitz understands how to scale, and how to let go. In 2025, she sold a majority stake to Peak Rock Capital, remaining a material shareholder and board member. The experience – both strategic and deeply personal – inspired her new advisory firm: Founder 2 Founder. Shelly now helps entrepreneurs navigate their own transitions, from rapid growth and succession planning to the emotional and complex process of selling, while preserving their vision and legacy. A BUILD SUPPORT BEFORE YOU SELL What’s one thing franchise founders often get wrong when trying to scale quickly? It’s starting to sell franchises before building the infrastructure to support them. If a franchisee fails to start strong, they risk running out of cash before reaching break-even, making strong, KPI-driven support from day one critical to their growth and success. Otherwise, struggling franchisees give poor references, killing your sales pipeline. The critical mistake is waiting too long to hire support personnel. Franchise coaches need at least six months within a brand to blend their experience with the system’s nuances, meaning by the time you act, you’re already nine months behind. The solution is building your support systems and understanding your KPIs before scaling, not after. START SUCCESSION PLANNING BEFORE BURNOUT Most outsiders underestimate the emotional and physical toll on managing pressures from multiple stakeholders. That grind accumulates – and many founders don’t recognize burnout until it’s too late. I learned this the hard way, juggling a divorce, COVID pressures, and family challenges before realizing how depleted I’d become. If I had self-assessed sooner, I would have been more thoughtful about succession planning and taken the time to look internally and externally for the critical qualities and experience. Ideally, begin a CEO search 18-24 months before a potential sale if you don’t plan to stay operational for another three to five years. Otherwise, your options narrow, and trade-offs more likely in the new leader’s culture and core values, geography, experience, and strategic alignment. START SOONER THAN YOU THINK Get brutally honest about your remaining runway. If your buyer is private equity, their typical hold period is four to five years, and they’ll expect the CEO at sale to stay for at least three of those. Challenge yourself on howmuch time and energy you realistically have left – and work backwards from there. If you have one to two years left, start finding your successor now. You’ll need at least 18 months of overlap before any sales process. If you have five years, begin planning three years out by bringing in a strong COO or president, giving you time to see if they can transition to CEO. The signal isn’t about being “ready to exit” – it’s about being proactive to protect your business and financial future. WHO’S REALLY IN YOUR CORNER? You can find service providers or advisors to handle almost every part of a sale or scale-up, from investment banks to run the process to consultants to triage due diligence. But the reality is that most of these providers – even your own management team – get paid only when the deal closes. They earn more if you sell to the highest bidder, regardless of whether that deal protects your legacy. No one will have the founder’s best interests as their first priority. For me, it wasn’t just about economics – it was about finding a buyer aligned on core values, someone who would prioritize quality and ensure franchisees had access to the right resources. But everyone around me had a vested interest in me selling, no matter the buyer fit. The pressure can be immense when incentives are misaligned. I couldn’t find anyone whose interests truly aligned with mine – that’s why I started Founder 2 Founder, to be that sounding board and guide for other founders facing the same challenge.