Webinar Archive – February 2021

Dr. Edith B. Steiner is Growentas GmbH Chief Executive Officer. Prior to Growentas she was for over a decade fully involved in over 70 full-scale franchising business consulting projects for small to large sized companies in the Adriatic region and Austria, for FranAdria, leading franchising consultancy company in the Adriatic area.

Steiner also worked for strong global franchise brands, in Austria, as franchise development and change manager, in the role of FranAdria outsourced consultant. Her focus was on reinventing and improving the franchise systems, building solid franchisor-franchisee relationships, improving business unit results, and helping in internationalization of the companies through franchising.

Her extensive experience in development and management of franchise business models initiated her studies into PhD research on a global level about Risk and Incentives in Franchising Contracting. Her work showed how franchise companies change their determinants of incentives as industries and markets evolve, and for that reason long-term strategies in franchising demand constant in-depth examining and development due to its multifaceted aspects. Through her academic work she has embraced the importance to continually focus on helping create profitable, sustainable, and valuable franchise brands.

Mr. Grega Mrgole is APOD Founder and Chief Executive Officer. He has a strong and successful history with various startups in the manufacturing, food, leisure, and fitness industries.

In 2004 Grega opened his first company, specialized in the EU distribution and sales of sports nutrition, fitness, and wellness products. After selling the company in 2010, he started a new company, Aioli Pharma Ltd, in 2011, which specialized in producing its own brand functional chewing gums. The products were successfully launched in the Adriatic region and Austrian markets. The brand achieved great success – his company covered more than 5% of the domestic gum market. Grega established APOD company in 2016, where he set a new standard in the industry with the AIRPOD product. He now has a strong vision of presenting a global concept of rest-work pods and a new way of spending time in public privately and safely.

Bastiaan M. Hofte is the owner and CEO of Used Products Franchise (a formula known for shops that buy and sell new and second hand products, both on- and offline). He started working for the company when he was just 17 years old, combining it with his bachelor in economics. In 2011 Hofte got the chance to become the CEO and owner of the franchise formula. Used Products grew over the last decade with 45 shops to nearly 60 shops in four different countries.

Hofte uses his experience in the industry and franchise in general to help further expand the Used Products formula in the Netherlands and globally through Master-franchise licences. He and his team are responsible for the entire process of helping a new franchisee fulfil his dream. That goes from the initial contact to giving the extensive trainings program to guiding the franchisees once they are opened.