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General Session / Tuesday / March 21, 2023 / 2:45 PM

Prove Your Case!

Operators hear pitches all the time about products and services that will grow their business, but where’s the proof? We’ve got it right here.

This session includes four 15-minute presentations, each featuring one vendor and one operator sharing the how, when and ROI behind recent rollouts.

  • Eggs Up Grill & Bikky
  • Jason's Deli & Upside
  • McDonald's & Paradox
  • Chatmeter

PRESENTERS

Laura Boles | Marketing Director | Eggs Up Grill
Laura Boles joined Eggs Up Grill in 2018 when WJ Partners acquired the Brand at 24 restaurants. She has led the marketing efforts as Eggs Up Grill has grown to 60+ restaurants across 7 states. Laura oversees both brand and local marketing programs, franchise development and communications. Her background also includes a decade of experience working as an Emmy award winning local television news producer. Laura graduated from Washington and Lee University and lives in Spartanburg, SC with her husband and two young children.
Brandy Butler | VP of Marketing & Communications | Jason's Deli
Brandy Butler is Vice President of Marketing & Communications for Jason’s Deli, a family-owned restaurant brand founded in 1976 that has grown to 250 locations in 28 states. Brandy is a data-driven, results-oriented Marketing Executive with 25+ years' experience and a proven track record in B2C and B2B Marketing Strategy, Email Marketing, Digital Marketing, Brand Development and Social Media Marketing. Before joining Jason’s Deli in 2014, Brandy worked at advertising/PR agencies in the US and Canada and was a partner in a firm in Austin, TX. Her expertise includes a variety of industries and specialties including: Restaurants, Hospitality and Tourism, Real Estate, Healthcare, Nonprofits and The Arts.
David Costa Jr. | Owner & Operator | Costa Enterprises McDonald's
David M. Costa is an entrepreneur, family man, and business leader, owning and operating 28 McDonald’s restaurants with his family in cities throughout Northwest Florida – primarily along the gulf coast – including locations in Niceville, Panama City, Marianna, Crestview, and others. A franchise owner for the past 20 years, Costa became one of McDonald’s youngest franchisees at just 23 years old. His involvement in the restaurant business, however, stretches back to 1993, where he began his McDonald’s franchise career in Mobile, AL. Costa Enterprises was founded with the vision of exceeding customer’s expectations and creating a positive experience for each and every customer. Today, Costa Enterprises employees over 1,500 people and serves more than 30,000 customers per day.
Ryan Gaylor | VP of the Restaurant Vertical | Upside
Ryan Gaylor is the VP of the Restaurant Vertical at Upside. Ryan has over 20 years of experience bringing innovative solutions to the market, as well as finance and capital markets. Ryan’s experience spans across product management, financial analysis, business development, sales and leadership roles at several early and late stage technology companies. Ryan graduated from the University of Michigan and also obtained his MBA from Northwestern.
Ryan Hastings | Director of Client Success | Chatmeter
Ryan Hastings brings 20 years of experience building customer-obsessed teams to Chatmeter. He has a proven track record in growing and scaling Client Success teams for startups, Pre-IPO, and Post-IPO companies. He spent over 20 years at Verizon/Placesign and Hookit working in sales, client success, and support. Ryan manages Chatmeter’s Customer Success Teams and Channel Sales team while overseeing all existing revenue and partnership growth.
Abhinav Kapur | Co-Founder & CEO | Bikky
Abhinav Kapur is the co-founder and CEO of Bikky, a Customer Data Platform (CDP) built exclusively for multi-unit restaurants. Bikky integrates across all in-store and off-premise channels to help brands understand how marketing, menu, and operational decisions impact guest frequency and lifetime value. This empowers everyone from the C-Suite to the marketing team to make better, data-driven decisions across the guest experience. Bikky powers data-based decisions for brands like Krystal, Eggs Up Grill, Razzoo's, Protein Bar + Kitchen, and hundreds of other locations across the U.S.
Tori Lasiter | Director, Client Engagement | Paradox
Tori Lasiter leads the Franchise client engagement team at Paradox. With a background in Sales and Recruiting, Tori has combined those passions to help organizations solve challenges when it comes to attracting talent and building winning teams, driving better business outcomes. Tori is trusted by clients like McDonald’s, Flynn, Focus Brands, Hardees, and other franchise groups to tailor hiring solutions that optimize their recruiting strategies.
View Full Agenda


session sponsors