Woven’s Innovative Platform Streamlines Franchise Operations and Fosters Growth

“You don’t know what you don’t know.” That famous quote comes right out of Matt Goebel’s playbook. In fact, he built his business on that premise. In 2017, Goebel and his team founded Woven. Their mission: to streamline operations, empower frontline employees, and foster seamless collaboration across the franchising ecosystem.

“I was tired of seeing mom-and-pop Franchisees give business ownership a try via franchising, thinking it would be easier, only to get overwhelmed by day-to-day operations. Not only can this pose a devastating personal loss for those individuals if their location(s) fail, but it is a loss for the zors to have SNO [sold not open locations] or close should those zees have signed a multi-unit deal,” he says.

Franchise Operations Simplified

Goebel wanted to provide a solution that removed as many of the daily-grind headaches as possible and free up franchisees and franchisors to focus on their passions and get to the heart of why they wanted to open a business in the first place. With the incredible growth of franchising, more and more Franchise business owners are coming onto the scene and will face these common headaches. According to the International Franchise Association, the number of franchise establishments will increase by more than 15,000 units in 2024, or 1.9%, to 821,000 units in the U.S.

Woven was inspired by Goebel’s 15 years of experience in franchising, where he gained valuable insights as both a supplier and franchisee. Seeing the common challenges faced by franchisors, franchisees and suppliers, Goebel noticed significant gaps in available solutions. Franchisors had difficulty maintaining brand integrity because of disconnected communication channels, franchisees struggled with fragmented operational tools, and software suppliers often failed to deliver on their promises, leaving businesses in a difficult position after implementation.

Woven has crafted a comprehensive platform with 30-plus features tailored to meet the diverse needs of franchisees, gradually expanding to encompass franchisor functionalities, as well. “This strategic approach resulted in enthusiastic adoption from franchisees laying a solid foundation for subsequent enhancements. Today, Woven supports franchisors and franchisees alike,” he says. “With a robust platform and a satisfied clientele, we continuously reshape franchising, steering businesses toward lasting growth and success,” he says.

Unified Management

Woven brings together the people, operations, and facility management for an entire brand in one platform. The platform’s features are designed to enhance efficiency, accountability and consistency in the routine back-office processes necessary to run a franchise business on a large scale.

Franchisors benefit from consistent communication, training and operational checklists, extending all the way to frontline employees. They also have anonymous visibility into location and employee engagement, ensuring compliance with joint-employer regulations and allowing them to predict the trajectory of their brand. For franchisees, the platform provides a unified system to manage their locations and frontline employees collectively. “It’s a win-win,” Goebel says.

Common Franchise Problems

Woven provides a solution to Common Franchise Problems, freeing up franchisees and franchisors to focus on running and growing the business. Here are some common mistakes Woven founder and CEO Matt Goebel sees.

• Franchisors and franchisees having separate solutions to perform the same core/basic functions (i.e. communications, knowledge management, etc.)
• The absence of a clear ‘source of truth’ creates confusion about the latest procedures. This confusion arises from a proliferation of documents and information that lack a unified source.
• Believing that a semi-annual or annual location visit provides the brand with any meaningful data to make decisions.
• Blindingly and repeatedly inundating franchisees with information in the hope that they will read it, without knowing if they are.

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