By The Economist
Publication Date: 2026-05-25 02:00:00
When Greg Flynn graduated from Stanford Business School in 1994, with the dot-com boom in full swing, his friends chose the obvious career path. But while they were “all making PowerPoint presentations…becoming paper millionaires,” he set out to help a friend open a second restaurant. A few years later, when Flynn discovered the generous financing offer for potential franchisees, he bought eight of his own Applebee’s restaurants.
He now operates more than 3,000 franchise stores for seven brands in three countries and is reportedly worth more than US$1 billion ($1.4 billion) – likely the first franchisee in the world to reach this milestone. On February 22, the International Franchise Association, a lobbying group, inducted him into its Hall of Fame – an honor previously reserved for franchisors, the innovators on the other side of the business who founded major chains, like McDonald’s Ray Kroc or Colonel Harland Sanders of…