Tech and Mortar

3 Takeaways:

• What can listeners gain from the Tech and Mortar podcast?
• Why retail isn't dead – just evolving
• The importance of having young perspectives in business

Speaker Bio:

Tyler Carlson is a serial entrepreneur who was involved in an acquisition of a company during college. As Freshman in college, Tyler began selling study guides for his classes. He went on to sell more guides than any individual in the country, averaging around $10,000 each semester. Eventually he went on to join a website that facilitated the sale of guides and was involved in the acquisition.

In 2015, Tyler joined the sales team at SiteZeus, a technology company assisting in the growth and optimization of brands like Subway, Checkers, Vitamin Shoppe, Burger King, and more. After leading the sales efforts as the VP of Sales, he transitioned to the VP of Customer.

Tyler enjoys playing golf, spontaneous traveling, and learning from people. He loves reviewing customer experience/service and considers himself the ultimate secret shopper. His goal is to touch a million lives.

3 Takeaways:

1. What went wrong when introducing Chipotle in Jacksonville that led to Bobby's biggest insight?
2. How $8 and 10 minutes can facilitate creating culture at a Whataburger
3. Know the difference between good and great performers - if you can't define it you can't find it

Bio:

Recognized in 2016 by Fast Casual in their annual Top 100 report as a Top 25 Executive, Bobby Shaw has held senior leadership roles with several restaurant companies including Freebirds World Burrito, Chipotle, and McDonald's.

Bobby got his start in the restaurant business at McDonald's where he spent 17 years, starting his career in the kitchen and working his way up to a successful multi-unit leader. He joined Chipotle as an Area Manager in 2002, where he was one of the chief architects to the strong culture supporting the high growth Chipotle experienced during that time. Bobby grew the South Region to over 200 restaurants during his tenure. His focus on developing people gave him the opportunity to guide numerous individuals into senior leadership roles throughout the organization.

An avid writer, Bobby writes and about leadership development extensively on LinkedIn, various industry publications, and on his ​blog at bobbyshawconsulting.com. His first book, "Cutting Onions: Leadership Lessons Learned from the Restaurant Industry" releases in March 2020 from Morgan James Publishing. Pre-order it now: https://amzn.to/2XDiRDy

3 takeaways:

1. What is the state of cannabis today and how is the west coast leading the way?

1. What can retailers do to embrace the changing tide?

1. What are some of the expanding applications of cannabis?

Speaker Bio:

Ryder Jeanes has unparalleled expertise in the intersection of cannabis and retail having spent decades on the retail side. He is also a member of the very first cannabis hedge fund. Through his experience in the industry, Ryder founded Canntilever.

Canntilever operates at the intersection of real estate, capital markets and the global cannabis industry. The main objective of Canntilever is providing strategies and solutions to the complex and growing cannabis industry.

Talk Highlights

1. What is a leader's true job? To help them see what they don't see
2. 5 year outlook on off premise
3. What is going to happen to those 30% fees third parties are charging?

Speaker Bio

Mo is an expert at aligning technology development and corporate strategy to anticipate, shape and lead major market trends. As a professional manager with over 25 years of Software Development and Technology experience, most of his career has been spent in an executive technology management role developing and managing products ranging from an extensive enterprise solution, to corporate wide client-server solutions, to an off-the-shelf consumer based solution. He has owned and driven entire releases of major software solutions, taking ownership of tasks and believes in management through empowerment.

Mo is results oriented, energetic, with entrepreneurial spirit, thriving on new challenges and opportunities, with the ability to wear different hats and properly communicating information to individuals with different backgrounds and focus areas. He has proven success attracting and retaining technical and non-technical resources, allowing him to build dynamic teams in a variety of company structures/environments, and defining technical and operational processes to help those teams be highly effective. As a volunteer high school coach, Mo's leadership and coaching skills transcend into his professional world motivating his teams to maneuver difficult, changing, fast paced environments.

Mo scored in the top 5% of all senior managers tested in an internal in-depth leadership assessment evaluation. Scoring above average in all aspects of the test including: vision, execution, inspiration, drive, ownership and empathy.

Talk Highlights

1. Jayson takes us from the days of Census data on CDs into 2019
2. Without a leader who understands analytics and technology, there is no hope
3. How a jazz band can relate to a well-run organization

Speaker Bio

Jayson Tipp is the CEO of PINCHO, which is the family owned Latin American fast-casual concept known for pioneering the combination of premium hamburgers and grilled kebabs ("Pinchos") with a Latin-twist. A nationally recognized restaurant leader considered an expert in consumer analytics, market strategy and development, Mr. Tipp has a track record of translating insights into results. He was named CEO of PINCHO in June 2018. Prior to that, Tipp was at Papa Murphy's International (PMI), where he served as Chief Development Officer overseeing the brand's growth across franchise sales, real estate and technology.

Prior to being named Chief Development Officer at PMI, Mr. Tipp served as PMI's Senior Vice President of Marketing, helping the organization post 14 consecutive quarters of sales growth. Mr. Tipp has also held leadership roles in marketing, development, finance, and strategy roles at Redbox, Potbelly Sandwich Works and Starbucks.

PINCHO recently announced plans to open 10 locations in the Washington D.C. market with plans to expand to 100 locations nationwide over the next 5 years. The Company opened its first location in Miami in 2010.

Talk Highlights

1. The pros and cons of the requirement to work as a manager at Dominos to become a franchisee.
2. His experience opening different format stores emphasizing the carryout and dine in sales with 126% increasein sales.
3. How teaching kids to make pizza creates customers for a lifetime.

Speaker Bio

Jack Henry has over 25 years in the Restaurant Industry in the international market. He was a franchisee for 2 major fast food chains SUBWAY | Domino's. Experienced at raising capital or financing, the accounting system and understanding financials, holding people and self-accountable, deep understanding of sales data and creating spread sheet data bases to figure out trends and plans to take action, confident creator of presentations and speaker.

Jack shares his story of moving to Puerto Rico, becoming a franchisee, and the lessons learned along the way.

To review Jack Henry's written articles click here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mercerjackhenry

3 Takeaways

1. #1 advice for retailers? Reduce friction.
2. "Rookies do not listen to the vets, and the vets hush up"
3. The blaring truth that our industry is ignoring? Social media.

Bio

Affectionately known as 'The Canvassing Queen', Beth Azor is the founder and owner of Azor Advisory Services (AAS), a leading commercial real estate advisory and investment firm based in Southeast Florida.

Beth has been in the Commercial Real Estate Industry since 1986, from 1998 to 2004 as President of Terranova, Florida's largest 3rd party asset manager. She founded Azor Advisory Services in 2004 to invest in her own properties and provide consulting and training to industry leaders such as Kimco Corporation, Cushman & Wakefield, Brixmor Properties, Equity One, The Shopping Center Group, Phillips Edison, and DLC Management Group. Azor now owns and manages a $79,000,000 portfolio of commercial retail properties in southeast Florida. She most recently wrote and published Don't Say No For The Prospect: How I Went from a Sales Rookie to a Retail Leasing Rockstar to a Shopping Center Owner with $79 Million in Assets.

Beth was the Chairman of the ICSC Florida Conference and awarded Top Retail Broker by South Florida Business Journal, Superstar Broker by Real Estate Forum and Broker's Favorite Broker by Commercial Property News. She was also awarded the Davie/Cooper City Chamber of Commerce 2015 Small Business Person of the Year.

Beth attended Florida State University where she obtained her AA 1980 and subsequently her B.A. in English. She was Chairman of the Board for the FSU Real Estate Foundation and a Member of the FSU Executive Board of the Real Estate Program. She is past President and now sits on the Board of Directors of the HOPE Outreach center. She also co-founded 100+ Women Who Care of South Florida and currently serves as the Chair of the Broward County Chapter. Ms. Azor has two sons and resides in Davie, Florida.

3 Takeways

1. Observational research difference between asking questions and observing.
2. One location CRUSHING it and one FAILING. Similar Demos. How can you explain the differences?
3. Cambridge analytica. What is Lydens opinion on data privacy?

Bio

Lyden is the Cofounder of Spatial, the world's first human-driven layer for cities. A Techstars company. Before Spatial Lyden was an Ethnographic Research consultant for brands like P&G, JnJ, Intel and an adjunct professor of Ethnography at Miami University. He also founded Campus Solutions which he sold in 2014. In eighth grade, he pitched a no-hitter.

3 Takeaways

1. Stories from back in the day, mailing in financial statements to the corporate offices to report sales

2. The evolution of the restaurant space from the 70s, 80s, 90s, and into today. What lessons were learned?

3. Advice for restaurants to raise capital the right way to prepare for the inevitable.

Bio

John Hamburger is the founder and president of Franchise Times Corp. A national publisher of business trade journals in franchising and finance. The company publishes:

- Franchise Times Magazine,

- Restaurant Finance Monitor,

- Foodservice News

He also produces industry executive conferences including RFDC. John is a frequent speaker at the restaurant and franchise industry. He is also quoted about financial matters concerning restaurant, franchise and hospitality businesses. He has over 32 years of experience in franchising and finance. He served as a chief financial officer of a public restaurant chain and a CPA in a national accounting firm.

John attended St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota. He also attended the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. He graduated with a B.A. in accounting in 1977. John is director of the Western Golf Association.