Episode 79:Most people think franchising is aboutfast growth. Joe Tagliente knows it’s about control, ownership, and playing the long game.

In this episode of Raw & Relentless, Bo DePaoli sits down with Joe Tagliente, second-generation Burger King franchisee, hotel developer, real estate investor, and advisor, to unpack what it really takes to build lasting wealth across decades — not hype cycles.

Joe shares the full story of growing a multi-unit Burger King operation, launching and scaling a hotel brand fromscratch, navigating massive leverage, family partnerships, real estate entitlement battles, and ultimately exiting operations while keeping the assets.

This isn’t theory.
It’s lived experience through multiple economic cycles.

In this conversation, Joe breaks down:
• How his father built a Burger King empire by owning the real estate
• Why most franchisees misunderstand risk, leverage, and scale
• The real margins behind fast-food and hotel businesses
• How to pivot from operator to landlord without losing control
• Why negative leverage destroys long-term wealth
• What today’s investors get wrong about cap rates and IRRs
• How legacy brands like Burger King compare to McDonald’s and Chick-fil-A
• Why “shopping in your own closet” is often the smartest real estate move

This episode is slow-burn wisdom.
No shortcuts.
No hype.
Just decades of hard-earned lessons about business, franchising, and real estate done the right way.

If you care about ownership, durability, and building something that lasts, this conversation is required listening.

Connect with Joe Tagliente
LinkedIn: Joe Tagliente