Herndon, VA – August 5, 2025 – FranConnect, a market-leading provider of sales, operations, and marketing solutions for franchise and multi-location businesses, has unveiled FranConnect GO.   A purpose-built, pre-configured platform designed for emerging franchise brands.  FranConnect GO combines the company’s 20+ years of franchise expertise with industry-standard best practices and AI-powered coaching and automation to deliver a right-sized solution that accelerates operational excellence and impact from day one.   

“Too often, emerging brands are left cobbling together spreadsheets, generic tools, and homegrown processes,” said Gabby Wong, CEO of FranConnect. “With FranConnect GO, we’ve distilled the workflows and operational playbooks used by top-performing franchise brands and made them instantly accessible to those just getting started. It’s not just a software platform – it’s an operational jumpstart.”   

Unlike traditional deployments that can require longer configurations, FranConnect GO is ready to launch with pre-built workflows across core functional areas.  This enables fast implementation, streamlined training, and immediate impact across the organization.   

Key capabilities include:  

• Lead-to-Opening Workflows: Manage and convert franchise leads with automated tools that mirror how the best brands scale their networks. The embedded AI Sales Agents provide complete visibility into lead pipeline to maximize conversion and sales team productivity.  

• Location Opening Excellence: Ensure each new unit launches on time, on brand, and on budget with guided onboarding checklists and milestone tracking.  

• Franchisee Enablement & Engagement: Deliver consistent training, performance management, and communication from day one to drive unit success. Built-in AI driven insights also help franchisors monitor performance trends and identify opportunities.  

“Emerging brands don’t have the luxury of trial and error,” said Jaffrey Ali, Chief Product Officer at FranConnect. “FranConnect GO gives them a playbook for how successful franchises operate – right out of the box. That means faster ROI, higher adoption, and better outcomes for both franchisors and franchisees.”   

FranConnect GO is designed to evolve with each brand’s growth. As companies expand and operational needs grow more complex, they can graduate seamlessly to FranConnect’s enterprise-grade platform without losing momentum or historical data.   

FranConnect GO is already being adopted by early-stage brands looking to replace manual processes and disjointed systems with a scalable foundation built for growth.  

NEW YORK, Feb. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Calibre One is proud to announce the 2025 list of “Top 25 Women Leaders in US PE-Backed Software”. The list includes top Chief Executive Officers leading fast-growing software businesses that are backed by prominent private equity firms. They are recognized as some of the highest-caliber leaders in the industry.

The 2025 awardees were selected from nominations made by Calibre One’s extensive network of executives, board members and private equity partners. The list highlights the accomplishments of these successful executives with a demonstrated track record of growth and value creation. We are excited to honor these outstanding leaders and their achievements.

The 2025 winners include:

1. Ashley Andersen Zantop – Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Cambium Learning Group
2. Ann Barnes – Chief Executive Officer, IMO Health
3. Cassidy Smirnow – Chief Executive Officer, Apryse
4. Christa Quarles – Chief Executive Officer, Alludo
5. Christina Kosmowski – Chief Executive Officer, LogicMonitor
6. Dana Jones – Chief Executive Officer & President, RealPage
7. Dru Armstrong – Chief Executive Officer, AffiniPay
8. Erin Mulligan Helgren – Chief Executive Officer, OfficeSpace
9. Erin Shy – Chief Executive Officer, Watermark
10. Gabby Wong – Chief Executive Officer, FranConnect
11. Helen Rosen – Chief Executive Officer, Adlib Software
12. Jamie Candee – President & Chief Executive Officer, Edmentum
13. Janine Seebeck – Chief Executive Officer, BeyondTrust
14. Jennifer Sun – Chief Executive Officer, StarCompliance
15. Kate Eberle Walker – Chief Executive Officer, Presence
16. Kendall Pretzer – Chief Executive Officer, Grace Hill
17. Kendra Tucker – Chief Executive Officer, Truckstop
18. Kim Crawford Goodman – Chief Executive Officer, Smarsh
19. Laura Ipsen – President & Chief Executive Officer, Ellucian
20. Leagh Turner – Chief Executive Officer, Coupa
21. Marne Martin – Chief Executive Officer, Emburse
22. Michelle Abbey – President & Chief Executive Officer, Radancy
23. Pamela Joseph – Chief Executive Officer & Executive Chair, Xplor
24. Soumya Nettimi – Chief Executive Officer, Paradigm
25. Tina Vatanka Murphy – President & Chief Executive Officer, GHX

For more information, please visit: https://www.calibreone.com/Top25Women2025

About Calibre One

Calibre One works with the builders of great companies, helping them to create diverse and high-performing leadership teams. We provide Executive Search services to public companies, venture capital and private equity firms, and their portfolio companies within the technology, financial services, life sciences and healthcare, industrial and consumer sectors. For over 20 years we have operated from three principal hubs: San Francisco, New York and London. We are one of very few firms with a truly well-developed transatlantic presence. We pride ourselves as being small enough to provide a high-touch, partner-led service but as a well-established global firm, we are also experts at helping companies to grow beyond their domestic markets and access leadership talent across the world.

Media Contact: Victoria Lakers, Partner, Calibre One, victoria.lakers@calibreone.com

SOURCE Calibre One

FranConnect Launches Optik IQ™, an Intelligent Operational Excellence Platform, to Boost Compliance and Operational Effectiveness for Corporate-Owned Businesses 

Herndon, VA – February 5, 2024 – FranConnect, a market-leading provider of sales, operations, and marketing solutions for franchise and multi-location businesses, has unveiled Optik IQ™, its Operational Excellence platform, transforming how corporate-owned businesses close the loop between identifying operational issues and implementing lasting solutions. The platform converts compliance insights into verified improvements, enabling businesses to transition from audit findings to measurable results in hours instead of weeks. 

“FranConnect understands the complexities of managing multi-location businesses—whether franchised or corporate-owned. These businesses face the same operational challenges, yet most compliance tools stop at simply identifying issues, leaving brands trapped in a cycle of recurring problems,” said Gabby Wong, CEO of FranConnect. “Our platform breaks this cycle by automating the entire resolution journey, reducing correction time by 60%, and virtually eliminating repeat compliance issues. Customers have seen a 25% improvement in compliance scores through this systematic approach.” 

 The platform introduces three breakthrough capabilities for closing the operational loop: 

• Intelligent Issue Resolution: Instantly converts audit findings into assigned tasks with built-in verification steps, ensuring 100% follow-through on critical compliance issues. 

• Adaptive Learning Engine: Automatically triggers role-specific training based on audit patterns, reducing repeat violations by 85% through targeted skill development. 

• Predictive Performance Analytics: Identifies compliance trends across locations before they become systemic issues, with proven reduction in critical findings through early intervention. 

“Traditional compliance processes create gaps between detection and correction,” said Jaffrey Ali, Chief Product Officer at FranConnect. “By orchestrating every step from discovery to verification, we’re helping brands cut their compliance-to-correction cycle from weeks to days while ensuring sustainable improvements.” 

The solution addresses the growing challenge of maintaining consistent operations across hundreds or thousands of locations while adapting to evolving compliance requirements. This systematic approach ensures that insights drive immediate action and lasting change. 

 “In today’s operating environment, identifying issues isn’t enough – brands need to drive and verify improvement,” added Wong. “That’s why FranConnect consolidates multiple audit solutions into a single, centralized system, giving businesses a complete view of compliance and performance. Our platform transforms insights into verified action, giving corporate-owned businesses the tools to not just maintain standards, but systematically elevate them.” 

 For more information on FranConnect’s Operational Excellence Platform or to schedule a demo, visit www.franconnect.com. 

About FranConnect  

FranConnect is the leading enterprise software provider for franchise and multi-location businesses. For over 20 years, the FranConnect platform has served as the backbone for sales, operations, and marketing for over 1,500 brands and one million locations worldwide. Iconic brands such as SPARC/Authentic Brands (Forever 21), Tropical Smoothie Café, Authority Brands, and Papa John’s rely on FranConnect to expand locations, streamline unit operations, enhance collaboration, and improve profitability. Backed by private equity investor Serent Capital, FranConnect is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, with global offices in Australia, India, Colombia, and Canada.

Herndon, VA – January 9, 2025 – FranConnect, a leading provider of sales, operations, and marketing solutions for franchise and multi-location businesses, announces the launch of Frannie AI™, a suite of AI-powered agents embedded within FranConnect’s platform. These agents leverage multiple generative large language models to provide contextually specific insights, content, and automation trained on FranConnect’s deep understanding of the multi-location businesses. 

Frannie AI™ acts as a smart, reliable partner for teams in sales, operations, finance, and training, including three types of agents— 

• Analyzer surfaces personalized insights by user roles and recommends additional prompts for the user to explore what will drive more actionable insights across the business. 

• Builder autonomously generates content, such as tailored emails, targeted campaigns and workflows, and more salient visit summaries to be shared and distributed cross-functionally; and, 

• Automator identifies prescriptive actions that brands can take to optimize performance outcomes, such as suggesting the optimal engagement method to close a new franchisee, recommending locations to be visited, and custom coaching plans for owners, among many other actions.  

“Franchises and multi-location businesses manage hundreds of variables across development, operations, and complex ownership structures, that have consequential outcomes. Generative AI comes at a critical time for our customers who must navigate ever-changing markets and competing constraints while delivering growth to shareholders and exceptional products to consumers,” said Gabby Wong, CEO of FranConnect. “We have spent the better part of the last two years thinking through how we can leverage AI to help our customers fundamentally transform their businesses. Frannie AI™ simplifies the complexity of running a multi-location business by surfacing what truly matters—whether it’s pinpointing your next high-performing location or identifying unit-level challenges before they impact revenue and autonomously recommending actions that will improve business results.” 

“We are lucky to have some of the best minds in the industry focused on AI. Last year, we carved out a team of analysts, engineers, and AI specialists to focus on innovating with AI, both for our internal operations and for our end market. Frannie AI™ is one of the successful projects arising out of this initiative, and we are thrilled to announce its launch,” said Wong. 

“General purpose generative AI models by themselves cannot replicate what FranConnect delivers,” said Jaffrey Ali, CPO and Head of Innovation at FranConnect. “Frannie AI™ is architected on a proprietary franchise data model refined through years of deep domain training and based on the breadth of our reach in the market. This enables a level of system-wide intelligence that we are uniquely positioned to provide.” 

In the future, Frannie AI™ will have the capability to be a completely autonomous set of agents that can analyze, build, and execute key business actions to drive improved productivity and scale for multi-location businesses. 

Frannie AI™ is now available as a subscription for any FranConnect customer. To learn more about this exciting solution and how it can revolutionize your business, visit frannieai.com or contact your account manager.  

See Frannie AI in Action  

Experience Frannie AI™ firsthand at the International Franchise Association (IFA) Annual Convention in Las Vegas, February 10–13, 2025. Join FranConnect for a live demonstration and discover how Frannie AI™ is reshaping the future of franchise and multi-location management. 

About FranConnect   

FranConnect is the leading enterprise software provider for franchise and multi-location businesses. For over 20 years, the FranConnect platform has served as the backbone for sales, operations, and marketing for over 1,500 brands and one million locations worldwide. Iconic brands such as SPARC/Authentic Brands (Forever 21), Tropical Smoothie Café, Authority Brands, and Papa John’s rely on FranConnect to expand locations, streamline unit operations, enhance collaboration, and improve profitability. Backed by private equity investor Serent Capital, FranConnect is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, with global offices in Australia, India, Colombia, and Canada.