Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue I, 2015 | Page 18

BY HELEN BOND W Top Domino “To be the best, you’ve gotta beat the best” hen Domino’s veteran Michael “Mike” Orcutt made the switch from corporate executive to franchisee he was, he admits, a “little nervous” about how the managers of the nine Atlanta pizza stores he purchased in 1990 would welcome their new boss. Orcutt gathered the group in a small hotel meeting room and gave them their first assignment: name his new company. “I said, ‘You are the ones who are going to have to make it work. So let’s come up with something that we can be proud of and have fun with,’” recalls Orcutt, a self-described quick decisionmaker. The managers brainstormed some 200 monikers before selecting Cowabunga, Inc. Orcutt, who previously led U.S. store operations for the country’s secondlargest pizza chain, tacked on “Team” to the front of the name and never looked back. With 101 stores, Orcutt operates the largest singly-owned Domino’s franchise in the U.S. His passion for business starts with people. “We want the word ‘team’ in everything we say,” he says. “Not because we talk about team, but because to us, Team Cowabunga is about everyone having the commitment to do well.” The Team Cowabunga mantra, “To be the best, you’ve gotta beat the best,” is paying off. The company has 1,700 employees and locations in three states (Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina) and reached a milestone with the opening of its 100th store in late 2014. With 40 years invested in the brand, NAME: Michael “Mike” Orcutt TITLE: CEO COMPANY: Cowabunga, Inc. NO. OF UNITS: 101 Domino’s Pizza AGE: 58 FAMILY: Single, 3 children: Stacy, 29, Michael 27, Cami, 25 YEARS IN FRANCHISING: 40 years with Domino’s Pizza; franchisee since 1990 YEARS IN CURRENT POSITION: 24 16 MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISEE IS S UE I, 2015 MUF15-1_orcutt(16,18,20).indd 16 1/15/15 3:23 PM