Young Ones: Mindy Golde

Name: Mindy Golde Rank: 6 Age: 34 Position: Vice President of Sales Company: Listen360  If the franchise community were a movie, Mindy Golde may call it “Old School” – and probably wouldn’t watch it. That “Old School” mentality does not work for Golde—in fact, she completely ignores being told she has to wait her turn. The go-getter has helped Systino grow into a well-respected platform, and then while on top of the community, through a name change to Listen360. That’s called fearlessness. President Golde? Maybe someday. In the meantime, she is focused on the client and passionately making a difference for them. She is creating the next stage of service standards – qualities sure to be embraced by the followers. I GOT INTO FRANCHISING BY: I was brought into franchising through Listen360, formerly Systino. The franchise market was the first area that we started selling into, and when I began in April 2010, we had 24 brands as clients. I always like to immerse myself into communities that I sell into, so I just started asking a lot of questions and trying to meet as many people as possible. I was very lucky to build an eco-system of very knowledgeable people around me and they helped me learn what it takes to be successful in this industry. I LOVE FRANCHISING: We built our solution in franchising. We have built a tremendous network around our clients and often reach out to them to see what would help them be successful. As far as personally, I focus in franchising because my clients and prospects "get it". They understand the need for what I sell and they embrace the idea of listening to their customers and going beyond the transaction. IN THE FUTURE: Aside from being the first supplier as President of IFA? In all seriousness, I see myself continuing to champion the idea of organizational transparency when it pertains to how franchisees interact with customers. I also hope to continue down the path of leadership within the franchise world, whether that is through committees, boards or speaking. I want to be an advocate for the brands! DO YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE OPPORTUNITY: I feel like young people are trying to be more visible, but I think the industry is still deeply rooted in an "old school" mentality. Social media and technology has almost made franchising accept the newer generation, but I hope that we start getting tapped for more than our opinions on Facebook or Pinterest. On the flip side, I don't think franchising is really positioned well in college as an opportunity for new grads. When I heard the word "franchise" in college, I immediately thought, McDonald's. I never knew that there were opportunities like franchise development and business consultants. I would have loved to have cut my teeth in the industry in one of those roles! I think that franchising needs to do a better job of positioning the opportunity that we have within this vast industry. CHANGE: I wish there was a bigger pool of experts that were looked to as thought leaders. I think there are some tremendous brains out there in our industry and I often hear and see the same people on panels and in articles. If I can do one thing over the next two years, that will be to mobilize the forces and start bridging the gap between old school and new school and show how ideas that are newly shaped can often enhance an existing idea or thought leader.