Emergent Growth Advisors

Strategic Advisory Focus

Private Capital Successful franchise investing requires deep sector knowledge and the right approach.

Include our perspective in your origination, due diligence, value creation planning, and performance improvement efforts. Learn More
Emergent Brands Thousands of emerging franchises never emerge!

Work with us to avoid expensive mistakes and build your business for maximum exit value, long-term sustainability, and franchisee satisfaction. Learn More
Re-Emergent Brands 42% of active franchises are stalled out or shrinking. And 45% of all brands stop franchising altogether.

Work with us to re-energize your franchise with targeted intervention focused on rebuilding enterprise value and franchisee satisfaction. Get growing again. Learn More

Private Capital in Franchising is Dynamic

Maximum Value Creation Requires the Right Strategy

brands have had private equity investment at the franchisor, franchisee level, or both.*

This represents only 18.75% of active brands. The majority of franchises will never attract private capital interest or command an attractive valuation without a change in approach.
* Source: Emergent Growth Advisors proprietary research

private capital firms have already invested in franchising.*

While impressive, this also means 93% of PE firms have yet to discover franchising. There will be more entrants, but existing investors with franchise knowledge have a significant advantage.
* Source: Emergent Growth Advisors proprietary research

PE (US) dry powder still available to invest.**

We've barely scratched the surface of total available funds. But PE dealmakers are also selective. According to a recent survey, only 4% of initial PE discussions lead to an LOI.
** Source: EY

Meet the founder

Alicia Miller is the Founder and Managing Director of Emergent Growth Advisors, a boutique strategic advisory firm working at the intersection of franchising and private equity. She supports founders and franchise management teams facing growth, disruption, or transformation challenges, and helps them accelerate their businesses. She also advises private capital firms pre- and post-transaction on strategy and value creation initiatives and co-invests alongside her partners. As a former multi-unit franchisee, she brings a franchisee’s perspective and operating experience into every engagement.

Ms. Miller is a recognized thought-leader in franchising. She is a monthly columnist for Franchise Times and has also been published in Entrepreneur and Forbes. Together she has published more than 100 articles about franchising and private equity. Her book Big Money in Franchising: Scaling Your Enterprise in the Era of Private Equity (Figure 1 Publishing, 2024) is the first detailed examination of PE's impact on franchise stakeholders.

She currently serves as an independent director for Elevated Ventures Group, a private equity backed multi-unit franchisee of Urban Air Adventure Parks. She also serves as an advisor to the International Franchise Association’s certification program (CFE), promoting franchising best practices and regulatory compliance.

Ms. Miller earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Science (MS) from the University of Maryland, and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from Smith College. She holds a Graduate Certificate in Franchise Management from Georgetown University as well as a Graduate Certificate in Administration & Management from Harvard University. She is a Certified Merger & Acquisition Advisor™ (CM&AA), a Certified Franchise Executive™ (CFE), and is Directorship Certified™ by the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD.CD).

Recently Published

05 Jun 2025 Modrn Business Podcast: 2025 FRANdata

The franchise ownership model is evolving. On a recent episode of the Modrn Business podcast, hosted by Zack Fishman, CFE joined by guests Edith Wiseman and Alicia Miller, NACD.DC, CMAA, CFE dives into the trends that are redefining franchise growth, funding, and private equity interest—with expert insights on: - Why today’s franchisees are entering with a 5–10 year exit mindset How franchisors must rethink support and scalability to stay investable - The growing impact of credit risk scores like FUND on brand performance - What private equity and lenders are now both demanding from franchisors - Why resale activity is rising—and what it signals about system health

28 May 2025 Market Uncertainty Increases Focus on Growing with Experienced Franchisees

Current market headwinds are prompting more franchise systems to proactively reach out to existing franchisees in other concepts to keep the growth flywheel spinning.

23 May 2025 Gen Z, Skilled Trades, And Franchise Entrepreneurship

Gen Z is more and more aware of AI risk/opportunities to various jobs and it's driving more Gen Z to seek different careers compared to their parents. What does this mean to franchising? - We can expect continued, robust interest in entrepreneurship from Gen Z; some may be taking over their parents' businesses, others want to strike out on their own. - Gen Z entrepreneurs expect a tech-forward approach to running the business. It's a hard pass if your system is using antiquated tech. This includes unsophisticated marketing and highly manual training / support / documentation. Allow your franchisees and their employees to ask questions via AI to find faster solutions. Don't make them hunt and peck through a clunky operating platform to find things that turn out to be dated anyway. - Continued sale premium and demand (both PE buyers and franchisees) in categories perceived to have resilient customer demand & sustainable labor/profitability models. - Increased urgency to find viable consolidators in scale concepts. This is especially true in categories that are under extreme labor cost pressure and less likely to attract the next generation of entrepreneurs who are hypersensitive to various category risks. This means more PE-backed consolidation in some scale systems, working with strong operators. Some franchisors have been reluctant to accept this reality and even are putting in guardrails to try to keep the PE tail from wagging the franchisor dog in the relationship. If restrictions are taken too far, PE simply moves to greener pastures. Think carefully about long term ownership trends, franchisee tenure, and potential turnover before implementing overly restrictive PE-only covenants.

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