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Show Summary
In this conversation, Leo interviews Alex Smereczniak, the founder of Franzy, a platform designed to streamline the buying and selling of franchise businesses. Alex discusses the innovative use of AI in his business model, the importance of adapting to market demands, and the significance of building relationships in the industry. He emphasizes the emotional aspect of purchasing a business and shares insights on enhancing client experiences through thoughtful engagement and support.
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Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Alex Smereczniak (00:00)
we’ve done with Franzy is we’ve compiled 26,000 franchise disclosure documents across 4,000 brands, ⁓ as well as census data, Bureau of Labor Statistics data.Google My Business listings and reviews, 21 million of them, so that we have the most robust data set that we then feed an AI model that we’ve built into so that we can curate Leo’s top five or Leo’s top 10, so that we know you’re looking in the right areas. And then we have a coach kind of walk you through,
Leonardo Prada (02:02)
Hey everyone, welcome to Investor Fuel. I’m your host, Leo, and today I am joined by someone I’ve been looking forward to chatting with, Alex, who’s been making serious moves in the industry of real estate. ⁓ Alex, I’m glad to have you here, I think our listeners are really going to take something away from how you are handling your software business in the real estate. So let’s dive in. So first of all, ⁓For people who may not be familiar with your world, can you give us the short version on what’s your main focus these days?
Alex Smereczniak (02:39)
Yeah, so I’m working on a platform called Franzy. Think of it as like the Zillow for buying and selling franchise businesses, whether they’re retail-based or territory-based businesses. You can go to them just like you would Zillow and start to filter by your net worth, your liquidity, what your total desired investment is, what your risk tolerance is.operational goals and experience. And then we help narrow down from the thousands of opportunities out there to say, Leo’s top five or Leo’s top 10. And then that platform also helps with lending, finding the right commercial real estate location, finding the right franchise CPA, all of those services that you have to have as you buy a business, whether it’s the first time or the 30th time.
Leonardo Prada (03:25)
All right. Hey, that’s good. And let me ask you something, Alex. ⁓ Do you operate in all like nationwide or only in certain states?Alex Smereczniak (03:35)
Yep, so we’re nationwide, and so you can look for businesses in Cincinnati or Dallas, Texas or Los Angeles. We’ve got franchise listings and businesses for sale in every market.Leonardo Prada (03:49)
Hey, that’s actually I love it. Now, one thing that caught my attention about ⁓ about how you handle your business is the way the way you compile data and how you set AI into your business. All right. Now, can you please explain us a little bit of how you were able to introduce AI?in your software so that you can apply actually to your investors.
Alex Smereczniak (04:20)
Yeah, so one of the issues that I had as I built my previous business, which was a large laundromat franchise business, I was the franchisor of it. We sold 118 plus locations. An issue that we had was a lot of people buying businesses will come through, you know, a franchise broker. And I have a lot of good friends that are franchise brokers, but the issue wasone individual might not know about the 4,000 plus brands that are out there and be able to adequately speak to them and share those opportunities with their clients.
And so I thought it’s kind of, you know, it’s tough for people looking to buy a business to maybe only be looking at 10 to 20 at a time, you know, this universe of 10 to 20. What if they could search all of the available businesses and use data and use AI to help kind of curate that list and then insert a broker or a coach to help with.
the parts that require a lot more complexity or massaging and guidance as far as which type of loan should you take or what’s the right price for the business, all these things that require a lot more kind of human touch and relationship building. And so what
we’ve done with Franzy is we’ve compiled 26,000 franchise disclosure documents across 4,000 brands, ⁓ as well as census data, Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Google My Business listings and reviews, 21 million of them, so that we have the most robust data set that we then feed an AI model that we’ve built into so that we can curate Leo’s top five or Leo’s top 10, so that we know you’re looking in the right areas. And then we have a coach kind of walk you through,
what do you like about this? What do you not like about that? And we just constantly get smarter and smarter over time, using that AI engine as the foundation and then the human touch and coaching.
Leonardo Prada (06:52)
the human touch.Yeah, I remember you mentioning ⁓ that, you know, even though that you apply AI into your software, you still have trust your advisors to talk, you know, in person with your with your investors. And trust me, that’s not an easy task nowadays, because obviously, a lot of people are trying to implement the same thing that you’re doing in your business, you know, so there’s a lot of competition. So that’s very good. Now, talking about
Alex Smereczniak (06:54)
on top of it.Leonardo Prada (07:23)
competition and how you know how you being able to to handle your your business and your investors what what’s been the key you know to keep Francie running smoothlyAlex Smereczniak (07:38)
Yeah, I think it’s really trying to be where our clients are consuming information and where they want to be. So our go-to-market strategy has been doing a lot of various guest appearances and podcasting like this to go in front of where investors are consuming content as we continue to establish ourselves as an authority and a credible source for getting expertise and education on the world of franchise ownership, commercial real estate if you’re going to buy the business andthe asset as well. And so being front and center, you know, as much as we can from a marketing perspective has been really a differentiator for us. We’ve started to build a media company on top of Franzy.
Leonardo Prada (08:18)
All right. Okay. That’s good. That’s good. Now, Alex, I know that every operator has a moment, you know, where things got real, maybe a deal that went sideways or not your way. ⁓ Do you, you know, maybe a time that you had to pivot really fast, you know, not to lose the, the, the client. Do you mind sharing one of those moments?Alex Smereczniak (08:43)
Yeah, absolutely. So a time that we had to pivot really fast, especially as it relates to Franzy, ⁓ we had a few individuals coming through the platform ⁓ and they really wanted to look at resale opportunities. We’re getting a lot of people that want to buy new franchise opportunities as well, but we’re getting probably equally as large of an audience that wants to buy an existing car wash franchise or chicken finger concept franchise.And we didn’t have resales listed on the platform. was all only new territories or new retail concepts that you could develop, meaning you’d have to find the right site in Charlotte and then find the right building and develop it and actually build out the restaurant versus just buying an established Chick-fil-A or whatever it may be from an existing operator.
And so we pivoted very quickly and within about a three month period have built a prototype and an MVP.
Leonardo Prada (10:09)
Wow.Alex Smereczniak (10:11)
for a full-blown resale marketplace because that’s what the market is telling us that they want. so having to listen to our customers and really put their needs and their wants at the forefront and listening again and building what they’re asking for quickly has been the name of the game.Leonardo Prada (10:26)
All right. Hey, actually, you know, that’s the kind of things that most people don’t do. You know, they don’t take in account, you know, what the relationship that they have with the clients, you know, or what the market is asking for. All right. And honestly, I think that’s what separates the people, you know, who just dabble from the ones that actually stay in the game for a long term, which is in your case, you know. OK, so I have another question for you asked.Alex, what are you most focused on solving or scaling next?
Alex Smereczniak (11:03)
Yeah, so resales, that marketplace is one of them for sure. But I’d say immediately right in front of us is how do we provide better level of service further down our sales funnel? So we’re getting tens of thousands of people coming to Franzy a month, new unique visitors that are wanting to buy businesses. They want to leave their nine to five. They want to have exposure to a different asset class in franchising. And our site’sperforming incredibly well for that all the data all the due diligence tools that we’ve built all the research capabilities and the coaching Has helped a lot top of funnel, but as soon as people you know continue to move further and further down We’re finding that we need to get more brands You know verified on the platform because they’ve started to hone in on this very specific thing This very specific concept that we might not have yet signed as a verified brand on on franzy ⁓ As well as realizing that
You know, this process, someone’s buying a business. It’s not a toothbrush or even a car. It’s a, it’s probably one of the most, I wouldn’t say luxury wants that you could possibly buy, but you don’t need to buy a business necessarily. It’s a want, it’s this desire, but they’re not cheap. know, many businesses are 200,000 at minimum plus. And in many cases, our clients are buying half a million to a million dollar plus businesses. And so it’s a much more emotional.
sales process. And so we’re continuing to make sure that we’re providing everything that our clients need, but also helping them address their fears without being pushy or ⁓ overbearing, because that’s not our goal at all at stage in the process. But at the same time, people get in their way a lot of the times like, well, what if this happens? What if this happens? What if this happens? And if you play that game too much, you’re never going to do anything. And it’s how do we professionally and politely
help individuals overcome those fears. They’re real, but they might just be hypotheticals.
Leonardo Prada (12:53)
Exactly. Well, actually that’s big what you’re trying to do man, you know ⁓ listen, I know that a lot of peoplethat are listening are either early in their journey or they’re looking to level up, you know, and ⁓ I think they will benefit, you know, from someone like you when, you know, if they hear something like this, okay. So when it comes about building relationships and growing your network, what’s made the biggest difference for you?
Alex Smereczniak (13:24)
Yeah, I think this is kind of like a general piece of advice, but someone told me a long time ago, you’d be surprised how willing people are to help you if you reach out thoughtfully. And so, that stuck with me. And what that person meant was, don’t just say, hey, can you do this for me? Or how did you get rich? Can I get rich fast? It’s not that easy. There’s no shortcuts. You have to do the hard work no matter what. But if you reach out and say, hey, I know Leo is an expert in XYZ topic.Leonardo Prada (13:52)
Uh-huh.Alex Smereczniak (13:52)
And Ireally need to learn more about that, but specifically these two or three things about it. If I reach out to you and I say, hey, here’s my story, this is what I’m trying to accomplish. I saw that you’re an expert in X, Y, and Z. I really want 20 minutes of your time. I know your time is valuable and you’re busy, but these are my four specific questions that I have that would really help me unlock the next level for myself as an individual or my business.
I would say 90 % of people are gonna be willing.
to take the time, and they could be experts in this topic again, they’ll take their time, they’ll give you the advice and their feedback because they can tell that you are reaching out, again, thoughtfully with intention and being mindful of their time. I’ve had people like Mark Cuban respond to me and take some time, Ashton Kutcher, a lot of these kind of high-profile individuals that will respond to emails and actually give advice.
Leonardo Prada (15:23)
Wow.Alex Smereczniak (15:25)
if you again are crafty enough in finding their contact information to begin with, but then also being thoughtful about the questions you’re asking in their time.Leonardo Prada (15:28)
Thanks.Alright. Yeah, actually relationships are everything in this space. ⁓ Trust me, I speak from my own experience when you actually need help from someone and you reach out in a polite manner, you know, being mindful of their time and everything. People like to help other people.
So that’s actually very good, very good. All right, Alex. Now before we wrap up, if someone wanted to reach out, connect with you, know, collaborate or learn more about what you’re doing, what’s the best way for them to reach out to you?
Alex Smereczniak (16:07)
Yep. So there’s a couple of ways I’m really big on social media. So on Instagram and TikTok and Twitter and X, I’m Alex from Franzy. And then on LinkedIn, my name is Alex Smereczniak. It’ll probably be in the notes, so check that out for the spelling. But we post very interesting business breakdowns, investment costs, potential revenues, kind of interesting or funny business stories on a daily basis. So you could check out those accounts.And then my email actually is just [email protected]. So if anyone has questions about business ownership, entrepreneurship, franchising, happy to be a resource and happy to be helpful.
Leonardo Prada (16:46)
Perfect, perfect. Alex, I really appreciate your time, your story, and your perspective. We need more people in this space who are doing it the right way. So thanks again for being here, man. I really appreciate it. And for those of you tuning in, okay, if you got value from this, make sure you’re subscribed, all right? We got more conversations with operators just like Alex, okay, who are doing out there real businesses, all right?See you to the next episode. Alex, thank you very much, my friend.
Alex Smereczniak (17:17)
Thanks, Leo.
