FAQ

Which Franchises?

Although the ultimate goal is to get a top brand franchise (McDonald's, Burger King, Popeye's, Domino's, etc.), we will likely target a smaller brand first.

"Acquiring" smaller franchises is typically faster than larger, more complex brands, thereby allowing friesDAO to build interest momentum as well as do a "practice run" with less risked as we learn to balance the community governance and actual store operations.

There are also considerations to develop our own network of friesDAO branded or co-branded stores or ghost kitchens that are not part of existing franchise brands, which may involve more detailed governance options of the restaurants.

Who is Managing the Day-to-Day of Stores?

Seasoned operators designated by the friesDAO community will kick off each franchise, or an outsourced professional franchise operator will likely take over the day to day of individual stores. The ideal type of store to target is an absentee store (where existing management and staff are in place, and are fairly turnkey).

Although there's potentially greater profit margin to directly operate stores, horizontal expansion is more important than vertical expansion in the initial stages as occupying resources to manage a single store is too limiting. We do have the intention, however, to explore possible direct operation as we begin to mature our DAO system.

For stores financed by friesDAO merchant cash advances, these are owners who retain full control other than repayment through cash flow/receivables and other friesDAO negotiated obligations by agreement.

Why Use a Contracted Company to Own Stores?

Initially, owning the store directly as the DAO will be difficult due to the exotic and unique nature of this type of organization in the eyes of a brand. Every purchase of a store will need approval from the brand's corporate headquarters and they may not understand or approve a DAO. Thus it will be easier to use a third party, traditional entity to acquire the stores, from which DAO governance of the the store profits, free food allowances, marketing initiatives, and other potential variables are obligated through a legal agreement for a period of time between the contract company and the Wyoming DAO LLC of friesDAO. Furthermore, using a contracted company enables us to have an owner who can physically supervise the day to day operations of the individual stores better than a remote, virtual management can. Eventually, as we demonstrate our ability and value to brands, we may explore true direct ownership of franchisee stores.

Why a DAO?

A DAO community can share information and suggestions rapidly, crowdsource intel and new assets/people, and have more frequent participation in decision making through governance ownership.

Successful execution can become established framework and reproducible by anyone in the community. Any community member can evolve ongoing discussion, leading to governance proposals and votes, to help shape the DAO's objectives and related utilities.

There's also a huge novelty factor for being the first DAO to acquire/operate a franchise while also enabling potential blockchain technology to be integrated with the finances and logistics of the franchise operation.

DAOs don't have to be constrained to DeFi. The first DAO to successfully bridge between the world of decentralized finance and the real world while interfacing deeply with both will be a game-changer and set a precedent for all future DAOs.