1851

What about Raintree makes it unique within its industry?Our full-service approach sets us apart from others in the industry. When we partner with a franchise brand, overnight that brand gets a proven development team of six or seven individuals, including a graphic designer, lead generation managers, a broker liaison, lead qualifiers and proven franchise sales experts. This allows our brands to focus entirely on their business models and in servicing their franchise owners properly. We take the burden of franchise unit level growth off their plates almost entirely.We’ve also rejected the ways of old. Historically, we noticed that franchise brands relied very heavily on portals and brokers to get deals done. We have dozens of lead generation channels that, in combination with an obsession to create effective, authentic and value-driven content, results in some very forward-thinking and intelligent lead generation campaigns that attract only the right types of buyers for each one of our 25 partner brands.Finally, our mantra is to do what we say we’re going to do. As franchisors ourselves, we noticed that there were a lot of companies and individuals who were clearly overpromising brands on franchise growth expectations, and ultimately disappointing those brands. We felt that it was starting to give franchise development firms a bad name, and so we wanted to come in with a fresh approach and help fix that. We tend to tell it exactly like it is (and sometimes that gets us in trouble or means we lose potential partners or potential franchise sales), but we all sleep very well at night, and more than that, we get to really enjoy each and every relationship we have with the brands we work with here.What have been some of <a href="http://raintreesales.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=executive-qa-with-raintree-founder-brent-dowling-2708248" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Raintree's</a> most important milestones over the past five years?We recently closed our 1000th deal, which was a really cool milestone and seems to have further reinforced our reputation for being elite performers.We started with just two brands in our first year (Screenmobile and Teriyaki Madness), both of which are still with us five years later. We had five partners at the end of our second year. This year we just welcomed our 25th partner in Famous Dave&#x2019;s* - so that was also a nice milestone.What plans does the brand have in the coming years?We are hyper focused on building a team of elite performers in the franchise development industry. This is a long process and involves countless hours of training and collaboration each week. Some of our brands are eyeing between 50 - 100 deals a year, so we need to make sure we have the right folks in place to continue to handle the level of demand we’ve created in a lot of our brands.We are also attracting some of the biggest brand names in franchising to handle their development for them (like Jamba Juice and Famous Dave’s) and it will be nice to continue to help large brands who need to learn how to successfully navigate the new world of franchise recruitment. But we’ve always really loved working with the smaller players and helping them take on the big guys. I can’t tell you how gratifying (and fun!) it is to take a brand with only a couple of locations, and in just a few short years, see it grow to 50 or 100 locations. That’s the type of partnership that you tend to find yourself high-fiving everyone involved a lot.What types of franchise brands do you typically work with?For our first few years we just worked with small franchise brands, and honestly, that’s because we didn’t have the track record to attract bigger brands. But now we work with emerging and mature franchises. Last month we partnered with a concept that has two open locations, and one that has 150. We also work in all sectors, from food to service to retail. It’s more about the strength of the business model and the cultural alignment between the companies. If those are both in place, then we can work with them.

RainTree CEO Brent Dowling and Stacked Pickle owner Gary Brackett

Executive Q&A with Raintree Founder Brent Dowling

1851 Franchise

Dowling gives insight into the brand's history, biggest milestones and plans for growth in the franchise industry.

This brand page has been paid for by 1851. Content within this page that is paid will showcase a Sponsored icon. This means the brand has engaged 1851 FRANCHISE to write the content. Content without the Sponsored Icon is aggregated media placements the brand earned. Questions can be sent to editorial@1851franchise.com

executive-qa-with-raintree-founder-brent-dowling

Sola Salons

Sola Salons Targets Chicago for Strategic Franchise Growth

sola-salons-targets-chicago-for-strategic-franchise-growth

Melting Pot

Photo of Melting Pot white chocolate fondue

How Melting Pot Franchisees Drive Year-Round Success Through Strategic Promotions and Local Marketing

melting-pot-franchise-year-round-success

Crust Pizza Co.

Crust Pizza Co. - Technology Piece - CTO Nick Fontenot - May 2025 - 1851 Franchise

Crust Pizza Co. Builds the Future of Franchising With Tech-First Strategy

crust-pizza-co-technology-nick-fontenot-cto

Paris Baguette

Paris Baguette’s Recipe for Expansion: Leadership, Community and A Vision for 1,000 Cafés by 2030

paris-baguettes-recipe-for-expansion-leadership-community-and-a-vision-for-1000-cafes-by-2030

Seniors Helping Seniors®

Franchisee Spotlight with Billy and Anita Clark and Seniors Helping Seniors

Heart and Purpose: Couple Launch Seniors Helping Seniors® Franchise in Northern Arizona

heart-and-purpose-couple-launch-seniors-helping-seniors-franchise-in-northern-arizona

Buying a Franchise Masterclass

 Franchise Opportunities

Get Support Buying a Franchise

How to Buy a Franchise White Paper

How to Buy a Franchise

How to Sell Franchises

How to Grow a Franchise

Find a Franchise Supplier

1851 Franchise Opportunities

Franchisor News

Franchisor Power Rankings

FranCamp Mastermind Summit

Franchise Resources

What ALEC-Laffer's Report Means for Franchising

Website Awards

Power Rankings

About 1851

Advertise on 1851

Contact 1851 Editorial

Terms of Use

1851 Login

GROWTH CLUB LOGIN

facebook

instagram

twitter

linkedin

youtube

DoorDash Expansion Could Reshape Delivery and Operations for Franchise Brands - 1851 Franchise

DoorDash Expansion Could Reshape Delivery and Operations for Franchise Brands

doordash-acquistions-deliveroo-sevenrooms

Crumbl Franchise Investment - TSG Consumer Partners -  1851 Franchise

TSG Consumer Partners Takes Minority Stake in Crumbl, Signaling Franchise Growth Potential

crumbl-franchise-investment-tsg-consumer

Yum Brands Reports Strong Q1 Results with Big Boost from Taco Bell

yum-brands-reports-strong-q1-results-with-big-boost-from-taco-bell

QSR: McDonald’s Gains Momentum With Chicken Innovation, Value Deals and Franchisee Support

mcdonalds-franchise-recovery-chicken-strategy-value-deals-2025

The Future of Franchising: Trends and Predictions for 2025 and Beyond

the-future-of-franchising-trends-and-predictions-for-2025-and-beyond

The Ultimate Guide to Selling Franchises: Building Your Brand’s Growth Machine

ultimate-guide-to-selling-franchises

franchise supplier award design with Locate AI logo and 1851 Franchise badge

Franchise Real Estate Services | Locate AI — Emerging Leaders in Franchise Support

locate-ai-emerging-leaders-in-franchise-support

Franchise Financial Reporting, Analytics and Business Intelligence | Qvinci

Franchise Financial Reporting, Analytics and Business Intelligence | Qvinci — Emerging Leaders in Franchise Support

franchise-financial-reporting-analytics-and-business-intelligence-qvinci-emerging-leaders-in-franchise-support

The Ultimate Guide to Selling Franchises: How to Clarify Your Positioning – The “Why You/Why Now”

the-ultimate-guide-to-selling-franchises-how-to-clarify-your-positioning-the-why-youwhy-now

Franchisee spotlight image with Randy and Sandy Craft, Children's Lighthouse logo on blue background

The Crafts’ Successful Journey from New Parents to Children’s Lighthouse Franchisees

the-crafts-successful-journey-from-new-parents-to-childrens-lighthouse-franchisees

Layoffs Surge to Pandemic-Era Highs, Opening Doors for Franchise Growth

layoffs-surge-to-pandemic-era-highs-opening-doors-for-franchise-growth

Franchisee spotlight image with photo of Robert Trujillo and UWRG logo on blue background

How Robert Trujillo Expanded His Construction Business With UWRG

how-robert-trujillo-expanded-his-construction-business-with-uwrg

District Taco Franchise Costs, Fees, Profit and Data for 2025

franchise-deep-dive-district-tacos-franchise-costs-fees-profit-and-data

Executive Q&A with Raintree Founder Brent Dowling

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS