Franchise Advisory Board · 2026-05-05 · 52 min
In this episode of The Franchise Advisory Board Podcast, the conversation kicks off with a dose of humor (“smile like the village idiot”) and quickly settles into a masterclass on building franchise systems the right way - intentionally, sustainably, and with the right people in the room. Host Dave Hansen sits down with Jacob Grady, founder and CEO of Surface Experts, a rapidly growing mobile repair franchise that’s redefining what smart, tech-forward service brands can look like. But Jacob’s story doesn’t start in a boardroom - it starts in Bogotá, Colombia, where he launched a repair business to fund a nonprofit fighting human trafficking. That origin story sets the tone for everything that follows: purpose-driven growth over flashy expansion. A major theme throughout the episode? “Better before bigger.” Borrowed from the philosophy behind Chick-fil-A’s growth, Jacob emphasizes that scaling too fast - especially in franchising - can break a system if the wrong operators get in. Instead of chasing deal volume, Surface Experts has shifted toward tightening its candidate filter, focusing on long-term success over short-term wins.
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