My name is Genevieve Prieto, and I'm the Founder of Franchise Reality Check™.

I created this platform because I believe prospective franchisees deserve honesty, not hype. For over a decade, I was a 5-Star multi-unit Domino’s franchisee operating in and around Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. I understand what it's like to invest in a brand, build teams, and put your livelihood on the line.

I also know what it’s like when that trust is broken.

In 2018, I became the first franchisee to open a location with I Heart Mac & Cheese. What I didn’t know at the time was that I was stepping into a system built on misrepresentations. Promised systems didn’t exist. There was no supply chain in place. Financial projections were provided to me before I was ever properly disclosed under federal law. Those financial projections ended up having no basis in reality, despite language stating otherwise. The operations manual I was supposed to receive? I ended up writing it myself. After just 8.5 months, I was forced to shut the doors on a franchise that should have never been offered to franchisee investors. I’ll be offering more of my story as Franchise Reality Check™ progresses.

Since then, I’ve spent seven years in litigation against the franchisor, Mac and Cheese Franchise Operations, LLC, and the individuals I believe are responsible: Stephen Giordanella, Chef Michael Blum, and attorney Marci Adler (formerly Rubin). It’s been a long and painful road, but one I’ve chosen to walk in the hopes others don’t have to.

Franchise Reality Check™ exists to bring sunlight to what’s often kept in the shadows; disclosure documents that don’t disclose, failure rates that go unreported, and systems sold before they’re fully built. I know firsthand how devastating it is to lose everything to a franchise system that didn’t tell you the truth. This project is about making sure you don’t have to have an uncomfortable reality check.