Registration is open for this Founders-only event.
Recognizing the often-isolated journey of building a restaurant empire, Kathleen Wood Partners and Networld Media Group have joined forces to relaunch the Founderology Growth Summit, Feb. 2-4, 2026, in Austin.
Designed specifically for founders navigating the complexities of scaling and sustaining their businesses, the summit differentiates itself from traditional industry events by offering a peer-to-peer environment tailored to the unique challenges faced by founders.
“Founder life comes with unique pressures that only other Founders truly understand,” said Kathleen Wood, founder of Kathleen Wood Partners and author of “Founderology: The Ultimate Employee Guide to Succeed with Any Boss in Any Workplace.”
“This Summit creates a space where Founders can speak honestly about challenges and find people who’ve already solved them. Most industry events miss the Founder’s perspective. We’ve built a place where visionary Founders can strengthen their ‘how’ while reconnecting with their ‘why.'”
Behind the rebrand
Although Wood founded the Summit two years ago as the Founders Growth Summit, it’s getting a refresh, thanks to the partnership with Networld Media Group, the publisher of FastCasual.com, QSRWeb.com and PizzaMarketplace.com, and producers behind several industry-specific events, including theFast Casual Executive Summit, the Restaurant Franchising and Innovation Summit and theRestaurant Marketing Workshop.
“We wanted to partner with Networld Media Group because of their depth of industry expertise, journalistic integrity and focus to providing real-world solutions,” Wood said. “It made so much sense to partner with them to amplify our commitment to Founder-focused solutions and to jointly create an experience where visionaries can access real solutions to real challenges to really grow.”
“There’s a reason ‘It’s lonely at the top’ is a saying, and it’s even truer for founders,” said Kathy Doyle, CEO of Networld Media Group. “Many of our readers are restaurant founders, and we are honored to work with Kathleen to deliver an event unique to them. This is a high-impact, Founder-exclusive experience created by Founders, for Founders.”
For Founders only
The summit offers founders the opportunity to reconnect with their core purposes, recharge their visions and reimagine possibilities within their businesses. Participants will be surrounded by fellow multi-unit founders who understand the specific pressures and opportunities inherent in their roles.
“Founders leave our Summit with the inside track for scaling their business from those who’ve done it, a concrete 90-day growth plan, and a powerful network of like-minded Founders who will become your most valuable resource long after the event ends,” Wood said. “This isn’t about inspiration that fades. It’s about transformation that shows up in your bottom line within weeks of implementation.”
To ensure that the summit is a safe place for Founders to learn from one another, non-Founders will not be allowed to attend the event, said Cherryh Cansler, NMG’s Vice President of Events and publisher of FastCasual.com
“This focused environment will allow for truly candid conversations and the development of deep, lasting connections among those who understand the unique pressures of scaling a business.”
Click here to request an invitation to the Founderology Growth Summit
On the agenda
The agenda will include a variety of sessions and discussions to help Founders create strategic blueprints to propel breakthrough success. Some sessions include:
- Blueprint for Breakthrough: A Founder’s Journey to Scalable Success.
- The Inner Circle: Hiring the Right Leaders to Drive Your Vision Forward.
- Behind the Success: Award-Winners’ Lessons Learned.
- Founders Advisors – Are You Investor Grade Ready?
- From Plate to Profit: Driving Sales in Every Channel.
- Founders Inside Track: Secrets, Strategies and Hacks No One Ever Talks About – Until NOW!
- Founder’s 90-Day Action Plan.
More sessions and speakers will be announced soon.
About Networld Media Group
Founded in 2000, Networld Media Group is a leading media communications company specializing in digital media, events and associations in the technology, restaurant, banking, and retail industries. It’s media brands include ATMmarketplace.com, DigitalSignageToday.com, FastCasual.com, KioskMarketplace.com, QSRweb.com, RetailCustomerExperience.com and RewardsThatMatter.com. Events under the Networld umbrella include the Fast Casual Executive Summit, Restaurant Franchising & Innovation Summit and Restaurant Catering Workshop.
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