Our team

People who've sat at the kitchen table

We've read 140 franchise disclosure documents so you can read one. We'll also tell you which businesses we'd skip.

Ron Taylor

Founder & Certified Franchise Consultant (CFC)

Ron grew up watching his father build restaurants in West Virginia and start from scratch every time he wanted to grow. That's why Ron believes in franchising. It doesn't remove risk, it just changes where you start. He has worked on every side of franchising: multi-unit franchisee, operator, franchisor executive, investor and advisor. He and his wife, Lori, opened their first Edible Arrangements in Youngstown, Ohio in 2006 and grew to nine locations in three states. When they sold in 2023, they left as the brand's all-time sales leader, with more than $53 million in sales. On their last Valentine's Day as owners, the Youngstown store did over $100,000 in a single day. He has also helped scale a fast-casual brand, owned three The Simple Greek restaurants, and today owns SweatHouz sauna and cold-plunge studios in the Pittsburgh and Akron-Canton markets. Ron started Open Territory to help people figure out what to buy, and whether to buy at all. "I'd rather tell you no than force a fit." He also runs Franchise Authentic, which helps emerging brands franchise the right way, and INVON, which advises owners on growth and acquisitions. He studied at West Virginia University and wrote the book Stop Starting From Scratch.

Certified Franchise Consultant (CFC) · Franchisee since 2006 · #1 all-time Edible Arrangements sales leader ($53M+) · Author, Stop Starting From Scratch

Reva Enzminger

Franchise Advisor

Reva has spent more than 30 years on every side of the small-business table. She started in corporate, running a software and peripherals division at Dell, then bought her first Edible Arrangements franchise in 2005 and grew it to seven locations over 15 years — hiring, training and making payroll through booms and recessions. She has since founded an ecommerce startup, worked as a fractional COO, and today owns Zoocade and VieVR in Austin, where she opened America's first holographic zoo and brought the Horizon of Khufu virtual-reality expedition to Texas. She speaks regularly to franchisee and small-business audiences on hiring, retention and customer experience, and she has read more franchise disclosure documents than most people will ever see. A longtime Big Brothers Big Sisters mentor in Austin, Reva does this work because she has seen what the wrong franchise does to a family's savings — and what the right one does for its future.

Former multi-unit Edible Arrangements owner · Fractional COO · Franchise consultant · Public speaker

Why Reva does this

I started this work after watching a friend put $200,000 into a franchise whose entire value was a scheduling app. Two years later, the app was a free feature in three other products, and the franchise was a logo.

That's the business I don't want you to buy.

The ones I do want you to buy are less glamorous. They fix, clean, teach, cook, and care for things. They have trucks. They have a hard part, and the hard part is why they work.

— Reva

Common questions

If franchisors pay you, why would you ever tell me no?

Because placing you in the wrong business is the fastest way to ruin a reputation we need for the next 20 years. We'd rather lose a fee than a client. We tell people to pass all the time, including on brands that pay us.

Do you use AI yourselves?

Yes, for research, and we say so. We're not anti-technology. We're pro-human-business, which is different. A ranking can't call a franchisor's references. We do that part ourselves.

I've never owned a business. Is that okay?

Yes. Many of the people we work with are first-time owners, career changers and veterans. We start with the basics and go at your pace. Some brands want industry experience. Most want people who follow a system and treat customers well.

What happens after I sign a franchise agreement?

We don't disappear. Ron stays with you for 12 months after signing, at no extra fee. He helps with lease review, site selection and plan review.

See all questions →

Own something
a robot
can’t run.

A few questions, about 5 minutes. Costs you nothing. Franchisors pay us, and we still tell you when to walk away.

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Open Territory

Franchises that still need people.