ABOUT THIS EPISODE
What's a franchise actually worth when you sell it? Boris Katsnelson breaks down the real multiples — from 3x SDE for multi-unit franchisees to 15x EBITDA for scaled franchisors.In this episode of Walking with Wolf, we walk the Las Vegas strip with Boris Katz Nelson, investment banker at Black Iron and former franchise CEO. Boris started on Wall Street doing M&A, then bought and ran Speedpro — a sign and graphics franchise — taking it from 100 to 135+ units before selling his equity. He then bought two more franchise businesses in 90 days: a College Hunks Hauling Junk and Moving location and a Primrose preschool.Now he helps franchise owners and franchisors sell their businesses, and in this conversation he opens up the numbers most people never hear — what drives valuation, where the inflection points sit, and why interest rates are compressing multiples right now.We cover:0:00 Introduction1:10 What Boris does — investment banking for franchises1:33 Origin story — buying Speedpro and running it as CEO2:34 Buying two businesses in 90 days3:02 Why operating experience changes everything4:33 "It's more cleaning toilets than smoking cigars"5:00 How to evaluate a franchise if you're starting from zero6:25 Passion vs economics — what matters more7:31 Why resales beat startups — buying existing cash flow8:10 Exit multiples for multi-unit franchisees — the 3x to 4x SDE band8:59 Why you can't push much above 4x on the franchisee side10:35 Franchisor multiples — 6x to 15x EBITDA explained11:16 The $2M EBITDA inflection point12:34 Why recurring royalty revenue gets valued higher than franchise fees13:05 Where the market sits in 2026 — interest rates and private equity demand14:15 The book recommendation — Big Money by Alicia Miller16:09 How interest rates are compressing franchise multiples17:47 The franchise M&A market is still hot19:08 Boris's advice — the three questions to ask before buying19:45 What's next — equity ownership and advisory board work🔗 Learn more about Walfinch: https://walfinch.com#franchise #franchisevaluation #franchiseresale #exitmultiples #franchiseM&A #WalkingWithWalfinch #franchisebusiness #EBITDABoris Katsnelson is a registered representative of Independent Investment Bankers Corp.("IIB"), a FINRA member broker-dealer. Investment banking services and securities are offered exclusively through IIB. Boris also serves as Managing Director at Black Iron Advisers. Black Iron Advisers is not affiliated with Independent Investment Bankers Corp.
