Taking Small and scaling it Big

In North America we’ve been really good at taking uniqueness and enthusiasm and scaling it over a large number of units. Meanwhile, the little guys are nimble, and are very good at creating new value. Everyone can learn from them.

In North America we’ve been really good at taking uniqueness and enthusiasm and scaling it over a large number of units. Starbucks has done this really well, and any QSR chain that’s a household word has excelled at it too. It’s always difficult to bring about original brand value over a large number of units. It’s not just a matter of economies of scale. It’s also a matter of driving entrepreneurial spirit and brand value.

To start with, there has to be something of special value in the brand that can be extended. The little guys are nimble, and are very good at creating new value. Chains have a lot to learn from little guys.

Take Jon Nese - a man with such a generous, gentle, and determined vision that - if Mr Rogers had a University, Jon would be on the honor roll.

[The video is over 10 minutes long, so if you get the gist of it and want to move on, pause it and read on… ]

Nese has obviously built a delightful single store built on a unique and magnanimous vision.

There’s something really contemporary about Nese’s story, in my opinon. Something to think about - what are the ways that this story is transferable to large QSR chains. Much of it can be carried across.