Ditch the Storefront: Michael Russo on Going Where Customers Are, Failing with Discipline, and Building a Franchise That Scales episode artwork

EPISODE · May 19, 2026 · 33 MIN

Ditch the Storefront: Michael Russo on Going Where Customers Are, Failing with Discipline, and Building a Franchise That Scales

from FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry Revolution · host Josh Kopel

What if the biggest mistake in your business model is having a fixed address?Most operators spend their careers fighting for foot traffic. Michael Russo went the other direction. As the Chief Growth Officer of Wild Bill’s, he bought a veteran-founded craft soda brand and scaled it into a 60-wagon franchise popping up at over 500 events a year nationwide.In this conversation, we get into why going where your customers already are is more scalable than trying to attract them, how to fail with discipline instead of just failing fast, and why direct customer conversations will teach you more than any analytics dashboard.If you're rethinking your revenue model or looking for a smarter path to scale, this one is worth your time.To learn more about Wild Bill’s and their franchise opportunities, visit drinkwildbills.com._________________________________________________________Today's episode was brought to you by Square. If you want restaurant tech that actually supports how you run your restaurant, find out how Square can help at square.com/goodstuff.Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

What if the biggest mistake in your business model is having a fixed address?Most operators spend their careers fighting for foot traffic. Michael Russo went the other direction. As the Chief Growth Officer of Wild Bill’s, he bought a veteran-founded craft soda brand and scaled it into a 60-wagon franchise popping up at over 500 events a year nationwide.In this conversation, we get into why going where your customers already are is more scalable than trying to attract them, how to fail with discipline instead of just failing fast, and why direct customer conversations will teach you more than any analytics dashboard.If you're rethinking your revenue model or looking for a smarter path to scale, this one is worth your time.To learn more about Wild Bill’s and their franchise opportunities, visit drinkwildbills.com._________________________________________________________Today's episode was brought to you by Square. If you want restaurant tech that actually supports how you run your restaurant, find out how Square can help at square.com/goodstuff.Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.com

NOW PLAYING

Ditch the Storefront: Michael Russo on Going Where Customers Are, Failing with Discipline, and Building a Franchise That Scales

0:00 33:41

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry Revolution?

This episode is 33 minutes long.

When was this FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry Revolution episode published?

This episode was published on May 19, 2026.

What is this episode about?

What if the biggest mistake in your business model is having a fixed address?Most operators spend their careers fighting for foot traffic. Michael Russo went the other direction. As the Chief Growth Officer of Wild Bill’s, he bought a...

Can I download this FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry Revolution episode?

Yes, you can download this episode by clicking the download button on the episode player, or subscribe to the podcast in your preferred podcast app for automatic downloads.
URL copied to clipboard!