Copyright Fast Company
In volatile markets, entrepreneurs and investors are often faced with a tough decision: pursue the relative security of a franchise model or take a chance on a promising startup. Each option comes with distinct advantages and risks: While franchises offer brand recognition, tested systems, and predictable returns, startups bring agility, innovation, and the potential for exponential growth. Below, 16 Fast Company Executive Board members explain which path they would choose in today’s environment and why. Their insights can help others decide where to place their bets. 1. STARTUP FOR THE PASSION AND DRIVE FOR SUCCESS Regardless of the market, I’m betting on a startup. A well-researched startup is fueled by passion, determination, and grit. There is an unspoken energy and drive for success in the business. In many ways, my company is like a 40-year-old startup, and I love the way we are innovating every day for our partners and clients. – Stan Gregor, Summit Financial 2. STARTUP FOR THE INNOVATION AND ROI POTENTIAL I make this choice every day. I am investing short-term in the big innovation startups (only signing one-year deals) and defining solid criteria for success and further investment (and willing to invest earlier if the ROI exceeds expectations). For solutions that require known long-term sustainability, that would be a high cost to switch from, assuming I don’t have to make too many compromises. – Sabrina Farmer, GitLab Subscribe to the Daily newsletter.Fast Company's trending stories delivered to you every day Privacy Policy | Fast Company Newsletters 3. STARTUP TO TRANSFORM UNCERTAINTY INTO OPPORTUNITY In times of upheaval, a franchise defends yesterday. A startup defines tomorrow. Today, every industry is being rewritten—AI, money, markets. Safety looks smart until disruption makes it obsolete. So I’d back the startup: researched, prepared, and built to transform uncertainty into opportunity. – Aron Alexander, Runa 4. FRANCHISE FOR PREDICTABILITY AND STEADY CASH FLOW I would, without question, invest in a franchise. I am less interested in making a “big win” and much more interested in predictability. Startups are unpredictable, highly chaotic, and stressful. A franchise would give a much higher degree of certainty of steady cash flow and an eventual exit. – Leon Sylvester, Soberclear 5. STARTUP BECAUSE SUPPORT CAN BE A DETERMINING FACTOR Many great startups have a meaningful mission, but few get the support needed to take off, whether that’s due to a lack of visibility, a lack of funding, or other circumstances. I think market uncertainty is a crucial time to invest in these well-researched startups, because the support they receive can be a key determining factor in their success—or their failure. – John Hall, Calendar 6. STARTUP FOR ORIGINALITY AND CREATIVE SCALING I’d choose a well-researched startup over a franchise because I value originality and the chance to build something that is mine. With the right frameworks, data, and clear positioning, startups can adapt faster and scale more creatively than franchises bound by rules. For me, the long-term upside of innovation outweighs the short-term security. – Kristin Marquet, Marquet Media, LLC 7. STARTUP FOR SCALABILITY AND ADAPTABILITY I’d choose a well-researched startup. While franchises offer stability, startups provide scalability, innovation, and higher long-term upside. With strong data, market validation, and the right team, a startup can adapt faster to uncertainty and capture new opportunities that established models may miss. – Boris Dzhingarov, ESBO ltd 8. FRANCHISE FOR SYSTEMS, BRAND RECOGNITION, AND STABILITY I would choose a successful franchise. Startups have a great deal of innovation, whereas franchises provide you with systems that have already been proven, carry established brand recognition, and have less operational risk. In a challenging economy, I would prefer to have a dependable, repeatable model that will absorb shocks in the market and provide predictable returns over high risk. – Gianluca Ferruggia, DesignRush advertisement 9. STARTUP FOR FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE Well-researched startups enable harnessing chaos to create new value. While franchises can offer a safety net through proven success, they often stifle innovation with rigid structures as you replicate existing ideas. In market uncertainty, the most resilient businesses are those that adapt quickly. A startup has the flexibility to pivot, seize emerging trends, and challenge conventional thinking. – Shawn Galloway, ProAct Safety, Inc. 10. STARTUP BECAUSE ENTREPRENEURSHIP DRIVES ME I would bet on the potential of a well-researched business startup all day long. Being an entrepreneur at heart, I would not be able to take on a business that is all laid out for you, no matter how successful it is. – Martin Pedersen, Stellar Agency 11. STARTUP FOR EXPONENTIAL GROWTH POTENTIAL Startups have no ceiling beyond the strength of their model, execution, and adaptability. While franchises generally offer predictable returns, they are also constrained by corporate systems, geographic saturation, and brand dependence. A startup, if successful, can scale exponentially and capture entirely new markets, offering a much greater upside. – Britton Bloch, Navy Federal Credit Union 12. FRANCHISE BECAUSE PEOPLE GRAVITATE TO THE FAMILIAR Typically, I favor a startup that fills a gap in the market. However, I would lean toward a proven franchise because people tend to gravitate toward things that are familiar during uncertain times instead of taking a chance on a newcomer. Also, markets can change rapidly, and even the best market-fit today can evaporate overnight. – John William Patton, ProVention Health Foundation 13. STARTUP TO INVEST IN HUMAN RESILIENCE AND CURIOSITY I’d choose a startup because uncertainty doesn’t just test ideas; it will also test people. When founders rise through volatility with imagination, they’re not only backing a business—they’re investing in human resilience. That’s a story no franchise can script. Franchises tell us what worked before. Startups define the future. In an uncertain market, curiosity becomes the most valuable currency. – Volen Vulkov, Enhancv 14. STARTUP FOR FIRST-MOVER ADVANTAGE Opportunities exist even in uncertain times. As a startup founder and an advisor to emerging tech, I back startups that solve real problems, execute with precision, and scale. In fast-moving markets, first movers define the rules. – Dr. Katrina (Katya) Rosseini, KRR Ventures 15. STARTUP FOR RISK, LEARNING, AND MEANINGFUL IMPACT These are two completely different paths. A startup exposes you to total uncertainty. It fits an entrepreneur driven more by the journey than the destination. A franchise is more like a job, already structured. You’re following someone else’s playbook. I’d lean toward a startup—more risk, more learning, and the freedom to build something meaningful for my team and those we serve. – Goran Paun, ArtVersion 16. FRANCHISE FOR BRAND RECOGNITION AND REDUCED RISK I’d choose a proven franchise in today’s uncertain market. It offers brand recognition, established systems, and a tested model that reduces risk. While startups can deliver higher returns, the stability and scalability of a franchise make it the smarter play when protecting capital is a top priority. – Stephen Nalley, Black Briar Advisors
