Episode #366: Alex Dzierbicki, Cultivate Advisors

Alex Dzierbicki has held a variety of positions in the  hospitality and HALO sectors. At one point, he owned three gyms, worked in private equity, moved on to the franchise space, and now works for the highly regarded Cultivate Advisors, where all advisors must possess a minimum of at least 10+ years of business ownership. 

When asked about the importance of perspective, he states, "The broader that is, the better you will be able to form commonality and pattern recognition skills. So saying, 'Hey, I've seen how the big boys play. I've seen how the little ones play. I've seen how the winners, losers, various intention have walked these notions out. I can say, Oh A, B and C, are common factors . . . so this is what I think is likely.' What are we doing to address these problems? How can we peak around these corners?"

It's critical to ground businesses in data--to take something from the more "etherial" to the more concrete. He discusses how an engagement works with Cultivate, what the process entails (the need for 2 years+ of operating data being the starting point), and more.  

"One of the big differentiators from the larger consulting companies, is we do our proposals and contracts based on scope of work, not on time. Because we don't want to say, 'Hey, this task took me 45 extra minutes, that'll be $200.' We want to figure out what's needed, put a price tag on it, and then do the work. We are implementers."

Cultivate has clients on 4 continents, is industry agnostic, and has just over 60 advisors. He strongly urges Founders to consider their personal views and long term interests on brands and franchise systems, when thinking about expansion. ("Franchising is only sexy from the outside.")

Any business owner can always use a fresh set of eyes from time to time--and you may want to consider reaching out to Alex and Cultivate at some point down the road.  

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