Scaling New Heights: CEO quickly ramps up his growing portfolio

Name: Yousuf Nabi
Title: Owner & CEO of Gotham IP Inc.
Company: Gotham Cookies Inc., DBA Mrs. Fields Cookies
No. of units: 10 Mrs. Fields, 10 Sbarro, 4 TCBY
Age: 43
Family: Wife and two sons, ages 14 and 7
Years in franchising: 5
Years in current position: 5

Yousuf Nabi thinks big and grows fast. The 43-year-old entrepreneur took over his father's Mrs. Fields location in 2019 and has grown to 10 locations with the cookie brand along with four TCBY and 10 Sbarro locations--all in five years. Now, that's scaling.

Nabi had established a successful entrepreneurial career with ownership in several bonding companies when he felt the pull of franchising in 2019. After nearly 15 years of being a franchisee with Mrs. Fields, Nabi's father decided to retire and pass the business on to his son. Unlike his father, who owned a single location, Nabi planned to scale the business from the start.

With his operating company generating $100 million in annual revenue, Nabi didn't need the franchise to be his primary source of income. But he wanted to scale the business to maintain profitability. He grew to 10 Mrs. Fields franchise locations within two years, co-branded three of those stores with TCBY, and opened 10 Sbarro restaurants, co-branding one of them with TCBY.

"It was a huge jump at the time going into a completely different industry," Nabi says. "Being a franchised business helped a lot with the transition. They help you identify a good location and take care of training and marketing. It is almost turnkey in a lot of ways. On the other hand, with independent companies, it is really starting a business from scratch."

Between his father's connection to Mrs. Fields and the nostalgic feel many people have for the brand, Nabi has a strong affection for the franchise. He has fond memories of the cookies he enjoyed as a child, and although Nabi's father is retired, he remains an active part of the business. The former owner visits the stores daily, paying close attention to the taste and smell of the treats to best appeal to customers.

"He is very influential in our operations," Nabi says of his father. "He knows what he is doing from all his years of experience with the franchise. He looks at everything from the customer's perspective and wants to maximize our profits in every way possible. We have some 25-year-old employees who struggle to keep up with the energy he continues to bring to the business as a 74-year-old."

Nabi envisions a long career in franchising with the possibility of someday passing the business along to his two sons. In the meantime, he is a passionate advocate for each of his restaurant brands. He believes in Mrs. Fields and Sbarro so strongly that he has brought five friends and family members into the systems as new franchisees.

PERSONAL

First job: My first official job was with the U.S. Army. I joined when I was 17 and served for four years before becoming a disabled veteran.

Formative influences/events: My father's business journey with Mrs. Fields was my introduction to the franchise world. He immigrated from the Kashmir region of India to Los Angeles and became one of the brand's original franchisees, managing a single store from 2005 until his retirement in 2019. Taking over from him allowed me to honor his legacy while driving new growth. It's been a privilege to build on his hard work and expand our presence from one location to 10 across multiple cities all with his continued guidance. I consider him a key influence on my career and an ongoing partner in shaping our franchising path forward.

Key accomplishments: As Famous Brands' largest Mrs. Fields multi-unit owner, I'm proud to have expanded our stores across Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Honolulu, opening nine in just two years. This accomplishment is especially meaningful given the brand's nostalgic resonance with customers. Some of my shops are Mrs. Fields and TCBY co-brands as well.

Biggest current challenge: The rising cost of goods and soaring rent have been the most challenging. Navigating these financial pressures while maintaining profitability requires continuous strategy adjustments and often tough decisions. We're doing our best to embrace it as part of our overall growth journey.

Next big goal: Growth never stops for me. My focus is to increase profitability across my current stores and to strategically add one to two new businesses each year to my portfolio.

First turning point in your career: When my entrepreneurial journey began in 2014, my turning point was driven by a desire to be self-employed and build my own team. During the transition over the next year, I focused on creating and developing a dedicated team, infusing my vision into my bail bond, immigration bond, and surety bonding businesses. I wanted the freedom to make changes without red tape. I wanted to feel empowered to lead independently and needed the opportunity to mentor my team.

Best business decision: Taking calculated risks led my business to grow as quickly as it did. Understanding industry demands and looking for unique opportunities, such as second-generation spaces rather than taking on complete build-outs, positioned me to take calculated risks that I hoped would pay off. Expanding during the Covid lockdowns was a risk within itself, but I had faith that things would eventually normalize, and I'm thankful they did.

Hardest lesson learned: Location is everything. Early on, I realized how essential it was to choose spots with strong visibility and foot traffic. I find bustling areas, like malls or shopping centers, significantly impact walk-ins and repeat customers. Gaining this understanding has sharpened our site selection strategy, so we are setting up each store with the best possible foundation.

Work week: My typical work week runs from Monday to Friday, but each day is different. I manage three different franchises across four states, spanning multiple time zones all while continuing to oversee my bonding business.

Exercise/workout: I work out daily. I currently hold a professional motorsport racing license and am active in motorsports. I focus mostly on strength training and swimming for cardio.

Best advice you ever got: One of the best pieces of advice I've received is "You will one day look back and laugh about what you're going through today." It reminds me that challenges are temporary, and each hurdle is a stepping stone that builds resilience. What may seem challenging today can become a lesson, story, or memory that can be beneficial in hindsight.

What's your passion in business? I'm passionate about building a lasting, impactful business model that resonates with customers. Mrs. Fields and TCBY have a nostalgic pull, and I've seen how much that quality draws our customers in. My father and I both believe that to truly succeed, you must love and believe in what you're selling. I want our customers to feel that commitment.

How do you balance life and work? I remind myself that the work will be there tomorrow, so it is important not to put life on hold even when it gets demanding. In my free time, I race cars and support my two sons--ages 14 and 7--as they train in motorsports. Building an efficient and trustworthy leadership team has also been essential in helping me achieve a healthy work-life balance.

Guilty pleasure: I enjoy desserts like anyone else, but I don't think I have many other guilty pleasures.

Favorite book: I read a lot of mechanical engineering books.

Favorite movie: "Moneyball."

What do most people not know about you? I own and operate several other businesses outside of my franchises under Famous Brands.

Pet peeve: People not being on time.

What did you want to be when you grew up? Police officer.

Last vacation: I traveled to Aspen, Colorado, in October.

Person you'd most like to have lunch with: Elon Musk.

MANAGEMENT

Business philosophy: Treat it as business and don't take it personally.

Management method or style: Empowering staff to make decisions.

Greatest challenge: My greatest business challenge is cash flow. When you are constantly growing, you are consistently reinvesting funds. While that is a great thing to be able to do, it limits the growth of your reserves.

How do others describe you? My business colleagues and family both would consider me down-to-earth and trustworthy.

Have you ever been in a mentor-mentee relationship? What did you learn? Not necessarily, but I have a great business relationship with my father. The insight, wisdom, and experiences he has shared with me are priceless. He is the reason I was able to scale my companies to what they are today.

One thing you're looking to do better: Across all my businesses, I continuously strive to increase my profits while maintaining the brand image. I believe one way to do that is by elevating the customer experience. I want every customer to leave my locations highly satisfied and with a desire to return.

How you give your team room to innovate and experiment: I let my management team learn from trial and error. I believe it's important to learn from your mistakes and to take those lessons with you as you continue to develop professionally.

How close are you to operations? Very close. I receive updates three times a week.

What are the two most important things you rely on from your franchisor? The two most important things I rely on from my franchisor are marketing and supplies. National marketing helps the brand resonate with customers from all over, which can position franchise owners for success by helping build brand recognition. Without reliable access to supplies and products, we would not be able to run efficient daily operations.

What you need from vendors: Many of the partnerships are handled by the franchisor, but lowering the costs of goods would certainly help. Prices have continued to go up in recent years.

Have you changed your marketing strategy in response to the economy? How? Yes, I've placed a greater emphasis on our marketing efforts and increased our budget allocated toward them. I did this so that we could take advantage of every possible customer interaction.

How is social media affecting your business? Greatly. Monitoring social media chatter and online review feedback have been priorities for us. We take every comment into account and use it to make our locations better.

In what ways are you using technology (like AI) to manage your business? My teams are using AI in numerous ways to streamline our operations. For scheduling specifically, we've used it to coordinate our baking and product placements along with creating staff schedules.

How do you hire and fire? I predominately use online resources and forums to attract talent. We also use Famous Brands' training materials when onboarding our employees.

How do you train and retain? Employee recruitment and retention have been a bit of a struggle for us. This especially rings true for our California shops because the minimum wage is so high. That's why we offer our team members flexible schedules.

How do you deal with problem employees? If employees are written up three times, they will be placed in a weekly coaching program. If they do not improve their performance following this program, this leads to termination.

Fastest way into your doghouse: By providing horrible customer service.

BOTTOM LINE

Annual revenue: $9 million (Mrs. Fields, Sbarro, TCBY).

2025 goals: Ideally, I'd like to open two more new stores, particularly in airports and military bases. Across the board, I'd also like to lower costs on my existing locations.

Growth meter: How do you measure your growth? Revenue and profit margins.

Vision meter: Where do you want to be in five years? 10 years? I want to own and operate more than 50 Mrs. Fields and TCBY shops across different nontraditional locations.

Do you have brands in different segments? Why/why not? Yes, I have franchise concepts in the dessert and pizza sectors. I also have my own bonding company throughout California. That's because I believe it's important to diversify your business portfolio.

How is the economy in your region(s) affecting you, your employees, your customers? It's been difficult for us, especially because of the minimum wage increase in California specifically.

Are you experiencing economic growth in your market? No.

How do changes in the economy affect the way you do business? The economy requires us to stay adaptable. Remaining static isn't an option. We have to pivot and find creative solutions to navigate economic shifts. I believe monitoring costs is essential, especially during unpredictable times, to maintain stability and resilience. It's about preparing for tomorrow, not just surviving today.

How do you forecast for your business? I believe we'll see economic improvement over the next year, but what excites me is the transformation of malls into community hubs. I see more and more people being drawn to physical spaces to disconnect from the online world. Malls are evolving with more dining and social options and even residential spaces nearby. I think they are on track to be destinations where people gather and connect, which will position our locations for future growth.

What are the best sources for capital expansion? I've found being given a business line of credit to be incredibly helpful as it offers the flexibility to draw as little or as much as needed. Unlike a traditional business loan, a line of credit allows you to withdraw funds when necessary.

Experience with private equity, local banks, national banks, other institutions? Why/why not? I don't have experience with banks or lenders. We have never taken out a loan against another company.

What are you doing to take care of your employees? I offer my employees flexible schedules and 401(k) enrollment/contributions. This also helps me stay competitive in the market.

How are you handling rising employee costs (payroll, minimum wage, healthcare, etc.)? This is a constant challenge my locations face. That's why I do my best to create a positive work environment, foster a fun company culture, and offer competitive pay at each of my shops in hopes of retaining our team members.

What laws and regulations are affecting your business, and how are you dealing with them? The minimum wage rate in California. Over the past four years, the economy has taken a toll on us. The margins are getting thinner and thinner.

How do you reward/recognize top-performing employees? I offer bonuses based on profitability to our management team.

What kind of exit strategy do you have in place? I expect to stay in business for many more years and don't have an exit plan at this point. Many of my stores are located in shopping malls, and they operate with 10-year contracts. I would love to eventually pass the business on to my sons at some point.