'Franchising has quietly made countless Americans rich. In the age of AI, running a McDonald’s may soon look a lot more appealing.' @TheEconomist 'Mr Flynn bought eight Applebee’s restaurants of his own. He now runs more than 3,000 franchise outlets across seven brands in three countries, and is reportedly worth more than $1b, probably the first franchisee in the world to reach that milestone.' 'The Flynn Restaurant Group operates on what its owner calls a “state and federal” model: regional managers share profits and run their local markets, while the head office handles areas such as finance and training where there are economies of scale.' 'The terms on offer to franchisees are remarkably easy to look up: any business selling a franchise in America must produce a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), and several states publish their registries. FDDs disclose the many fees a franchisee must pay—including both upfront and ongoing payments—and can include detailed data on how existing franchisees are performing.' https://t.co/qjiRwsZgbi