Fireside chat with Craveworthy Brands CEO Gregg Majewski, alongside Mike Gottlieb, from the Prosper Forum about his unique philosophy on leadership, employee rewards, and franchise success.

Key Takeaways

Empowering Talent Through Trust and Example
Rewarding Employees with True Ownership
Franchisee Success as a Path to Shared Prosperity

Gregg Majewski, CEO of Craveworthy Brands and Room For Seconds host, recently spoke at the 2024 Prosper Forum and shared his unique philosophy on leadership, employee rewards, and franchise success. From his commitment to building millionaire employees to his focus on franchisee profitability, Gregg reveals the values that drive his approach to business. Find out how he creates lasting partnerships by investing in people, leading by example, and fostering an environment where everyone—from employees to franchisees—can share in the company’s growth and success.

Empowering Talent Through Trust and Example

Gregg believes that the foundation of effective leadership is building genuine trust. For Majewski, this trust isn’t about sharing every financial detail or concern; it’s about being transparent in direction and consistent in actions.

“They don’t need to know or see you sweat,” he says. Instead, he focuses on open communication about the company’s goals while setting a powerful example through his own work ethic.

One standout approach Majewski takes is "over-promoting" talent, inspired by his own early experience when Jimmy John Liautaud took a chance on him at age 21.

“How many of you would have gambled on me...and given me the keys to the castle?” he reflects.
Majewski now pays it forward by offering significant opportunities to his best talent, regardless of age or tenure, knowing that “if you over-promote the best talent...they’re gonna work their butts off for you.”

This approach is key to Craveworthy Brands' success, fostering a culture of opportunity and trust built on his unwavering example.

Rewarding Employees with True Ownership

Gregg sees employee rewards as more than just bonuses—they’re about creating real wealth and long-term ownership for his team.

“The only thing I care about is making my employees millionaires,” he shares, underscoring his commitment to helping those who help build the company. Early in Craveworthy’s journey, he put this into action by gifting $1 million in equity to his first employees, despite the company’s startup status.

“The company was probably worth zero,” he admits, “but $1 million worth of equity in Craveworthy” went to reward those who took a chance on the vision.

This unique approach not only recognizes hard work but fosters loyalty, inspiring his team to share in the success they help create.

Franchisee Success as a Path to Shared Prosperity

For Gregg Majewski, CEO of Craveworthy Brands, success in franchising is all about helping franchisees achieve their own American dream.

“Your responsibility is to make them millionaires, make sure they're so successful,” he explains. This philosophy drives him to focus “100% of our attention on making sure the franchisees win,” even if it means reducing his own profit margins or working harder to increase theirs.

As Majewski puts it, “I win by them winning.” By investing in franchisee success, Craveworthy Brands builds lasting partnerships and shared growth, creating a model where everyone prospers together.

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About Mike Gottlieb

As Managing Director, National Hospitality Advisory, Michael Gottlieb provides deep industry expertise to CohnReznick Hospitality clients. A renowned restaurant industry expert, he is a global business and financial leader with over 35 years of experience in business strategy, P&L management, operations, enterprise risk management, and governance.

Mike has deep knowledge and expertise in optimizing revenue channels, digital transformation, workforce challenges, supply chain management, franchising structuring and operations, real estate and lease considerations, and operational, transaction, and tax matters. He has worked with most of the leadership in the restaurant industry and was involved in several of the high-profile transactions.

Mike began his career as a restaurant operator, providing him with inside experience on the financial and operational complexities of the restaurant business. He leveraged that experience into a career in public accounting, serving as a senior audit partner and global business leader for a Big 4 firm’s restaurant practice. During his 20-year restaurant leadership tenure with that firm, he achieved significant growth for the practice.

Mike is a sought-after expert and was most recently named one of The Consulting Report’s Top 25 Travel and Hospitality Consultants and Leaders for 2023.

About Gregg Majewski

About Craveworthy Media

Gregg Majewski has a vast amount of experience as a corporate executive in the restaurant industry. As the former CEO of Jimmy John’s, he played a major role in expanding the franchise from 33 to 300+ stores in just 5 years by surrounding the company’s marketing strategy around the innovative approach of delivering sandwiches and being “freaky fast”. Majewski has worked to develop restaurant concepts over the last two plus decades, before starting Craveworthy Brands in 2023, which currently includes a growing portfolio of restaurant brands. Craveworthy Media is Majewski’s gift back to the industry that has given him so much. The goal of Craveworthy is to inspire the up and coming industry leaders by providing important information, stories, and insights from titans past and present.

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Room for Seconds is produced and published by Cali BBQ Media on behalf of Craveworthy Brands

Videos, Podcast

Gregg Majewski’s Fireside Chat at the 2024 Prosper Forum