Kathleen Wood Partners

01/19/2026

Stop working IN your restaurant and start building your EMPIRE. 🚀
Most restaurant conferences are for corporations. Founderology is built specifically for FOUNDERS.

On Feb 2-4 in Austin, we aren’t just talking about spreadsheets. We’re honoring the disruptors who turned "gas station dreams" into national movements.

We just announced our 2026 Visionary Restaurant Founder honorees, and the lineup is a masterclass in scaling:
-Pinky Cole (Slutty Vegan): From a single location to a national cultural phenomenon.
-Arman Oganesyan (Dave's Hot Chicken): From a Hollywood parking lot to a billion-dollar brand.
-Derrick Hayes (Big Dave's Cheesesteaks): The highest-ranked Black entrepreneur in Fast Casual history.
-Jeffrey Perera (Jeff's Bagel Run): Proving hospitality is the ultimate secret to scaling.
-Brandon Knudsen & Camrin Knudsen (Ziggi's Coffee): From mopping floors to a national franchise powerhouse.

The best part? They aren’t just staying on stage.

Following the awards, we’re hosting a raw, "no-BS" Q&A session where these founders will share the scars and strategies that built their brands.

If you are a founder looking to scale from 1 to 100+ units, this is the room you need to be in. No fluff. No corporate speak. Just the founders who have done it.

📍 Where: Austin, TX 📅 When: Feb 2-4, 2026

🔗 Secure your spot here: https://founderologysummit.com/

https://www.fastcasual.com/blogs/founderology-growth-summit-honoring-inaugural-visionary-restaurant-founders/?utm_source=ROD&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=&utm_content=2026-01-16

To celebrate the spirit of innovation, the Founderology Growth Summit, being held Feb. 2-4 in Austin, will host a special ceremony to honor the "Top 5 Movers & Shakers: Visionary Restaurant Founders."

01/16/2026

For the first time ever, every Founder who attends will receive the Investor-Grade Assessment used
behind closed doors by private equity firms, strategic buyers, and top-tier advisors to evaluate businesses
for growth, investment, and acquisition.

This is the same Investor Grade Assessment framework used to determine:
- What drives enterprise value
- Where value is being lost
- How your business compares against best-in-class scaling brands
- What you must do to increase valuation

You will not only get your assessment…
You will learn how to improve it through a bonus session designed to build your roadmap for raising
your valuation in 2026 and beyond.

This powerful Investment Grade tool is not sold. It’s not available online. And you cannot access it
anywhere else.

If you want clarity, confidence, and a plan to increase the value of your business, this is the room you
need to be in to increase your value and accelerate your business.

Secure your assessment + your seat.
Register here: https://founderologysummit.com/
Use code: Founder20

We have a few seats left!

01/16/2026

If you want a breakthrough in 2026, there is one decision that can move you from a year of struggle to a path of accelerated success. And that decision is to be in the room at the Founderology Growth Summit.

This is where your breakthrough begins. This is where you can share your story, your journey, and your expertise as well!

We break down why in today’s newsletter and how one decision can change your entire year.

👉 Read the newsletter here. Your breakthrough starts there.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/stop-resolving-start-building-2026-kathleen-wood-pxp1c

01/16/2026

What do the most visionary restaurant founders know that you don’t?

Sunday’s your chance to find out.

In this powerful panel, the Top 6 Visionary Founders take the stage to share:
-The decisions that changed everything
-Mistakes they’d never repeat
-What they’d double down on if they started over

No fluff. No ego. Just the real, hard-earned wisdom from Founders who’ve built something great—and are still building.

Come get your blueprint.
🎟️ founderologysummit.com

01/15/2026

01/15/2026

01/15/2026

This is the only Founder-centric experience built for multi-unit restaurant Founders.

Your biggest bottleneck has an answer. And that answer is in this room.

Danielle has blazed a trail for Founders bold enough to create something the market has never seen.�
You will gain:
* How to see opportunity where others see nothing
* The mindset required to create and own a new category
* Real lessons from the Shark Tank experience—what it takes and what it teaches
* The power of building a brand rooted in connection and purpose

This is for Founders ready to stop following “what you are supposed to do” and start leading “with your vision and purpose.”

Join us in Austin!

Register here: https://founderologysummit.com/
Use code: Founder20

We have a few seats left!

01/15/2026

Four friends. $900. A parking lot.

That’s how Dave’s Hot Chicken started.

Now? They’re a global brand with 300+ locations, celebrity investors like Drake, and a billion-dollar valuation.

Hear from the founders + President/CEO Jim Bitticks at as they share:
→ The playbook behind viral growth
→ The brand + culture strategy that made them unstoppable
→ What it really takes to scale from pop-up to powerhouse

It’s not just about going big. It’s about getting it right.

🎟️ Ready to think bigger? Register now → founderologysummit.com

01/14/2026

The strategies, decisions, mistakes, pivots, and inside advantages that actually scale brands — those
never get shared on podcasts, panels, webinars, or social media.

Those conversations only happen Founder to Founder — in the right room, with the right people, who
speak the same language and are building at the same level.

That room is the Founderology Growth Summit.

Join us in Austin!

Register here: https://founderologysummit.com/
Use code: Founder20

01/14/2026

You want to grow. But do you know what your business is really worth?

Wayne Vacek from Founders Advisors is pulling back the curtain at with their Investor Grade Assessment—and giving it to every attendee. ($499 value 👀)

You’ll walk away knowing:
→ Your business’s score across 17 investment-ready dimensions
→ What’s helping—and what’s hurting—your valuation
→ How to become acquisition-ready (even if you’re not selling)

Clarity = confidence = value.

Know where you stand. Build what lasts.
🎟️ Grab your spot now → founderologysummit.com

01/13/2026

There are hacks, shortcuts, and inside strategies no one teaches—until now.

In this unfiltered session, James Bonanno, Founder of Upstream Hospitality, leads the realest mastermind of the Summit:

-Margin hacks
-Hiring shortcuts
-Tech, tools, and vendor tips

This is the stuff Founders whisper about at the bar after the event. But at ? It’s front and center.

Bring your notebook. Bring your questions.
Leave with other Founders’ best-kept secrets.

🎟️ Get in the room → founderologysummit.com