Founderology
Welcome to Founderology – Built to Breakthrough, the ultimate podcast created by Founders, for Founders. Hosted by Kathleen Wood—Founder and CEO of Kathleen Wood Partners and creator of the Founders Growth Summit. Founderology is your go-to resource for actionable insights and proven strategies to propel your business and yourself to new levels of success.
Kathleen brings over 20 years of expertise, working side-by-side with Founders to turn small businesses into award-winning concepts, national expansions, and billion-dollar brands. Each episode is designed to speak the unique language of Founders and address the challenges, opportunities, and triumphs of the Founder journey.
What you’ll gain from Founderology:
- Inside track insights from successful Founders who have broken through.
- Proven strategies and practical solutions to grow your business.
- Tools and resources to strengthen yourself, your team, your business and your bottom line.
- Expert advice on building your net worth through developing powerful networks.
- Competitive insights to help you dominate your market and breakthrough.
This isn’t just another business podcast—it’s a Founder’s inside track for success. Join us on Founderology – Built to Breakthrough and get inspired, motivated, and equipped to take your business—and yourself—to the next level.
Founderology
How Urban Bird Hot Chicken turned a bad lease into a fast-growing brand
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Urban Bird Hot Chicken founders Brandon and Chantel Gawthorp are sharing the lessons behind the Texas-based brand's growth on a new podcast episode, discussing the decisions that helped transform a struggling lease into a fast-growing hot chicken concept.
The episode explores how the couple launched Urban Bird after negotiating a costly lease obligation into an opportunity to open a new restaurant. Despite having limited experience with Nashville hot chicken, the founders spent roughly 60 recipe tests before opening, prioritizing product quality over speed even as lease payments mounted.
Among the topics discussed:
- Why Brandon Gawthorp sent what he describes as a difficult but necessary text message that many entrepreneurs would hesitate to send.
- How an employee who spoke little English when hired eventually became the manager of one of the brand's restaurants.
- Why the company has turned away numerous franchise inquiries to protect its long-term growth strategy.
The founders also discuss how an operational challenge became a business opportunity. Early on, many chicken pieces delivered by suppliers were too small to meet the restaurant's jumbo tender specifications. Rather than discard the product, the team developed a new menu item using the smaller cuts — a decision Brandon says became one of the company's top-selling offerings and helped improve restaurant profitability.
The conversation also examines Urban Bird's rapid expansion. After doubling its footprint in a single year, the founders recognized they needed to redesign their operating systems to support continued growth.
"What got us to 23 stores is not what's going to get us to 46," Brandon Gawthorp said during the episode.
Throughout the interview, the couple discusses building the brand without taking on debt, navigating operational challenges and preparing the business for its next phase of expansion.