SM Franchise

The vendor opportunity at SM Franchise

SM Franchise operates as a quick-service restaurant brand headquartered in California. According to the 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document, the system consists of just 9 total units—5 company-owned and 4 franchised—making it one of the smallest addressable markets a software vendor could target. The brand shows no year-over-year unit growth disclosed in the FDD, and the only mapped operator footprint is a single operator in Wisconsin, covering approximately one located unit. There is no parent company on file, indicating the brand appears independently owned.

For a software vendor, the opportunity here is narrow. With no multi-unit operators captured in the data and a unit-band split showing only one location in the 1-unit bracket, the total number of buying centers is effectively one: the corporate headquarters. The absence of any disclosed average unit volume or royalty rate further limits the ability to model potential deal size or franchisee-level purchasing power.

Who controls software purchasing

The 2024 FDD lists a single executive in Item 1: Jerahm Orozco, who holds the titles of President, CEO, and Director of Operations. In a system of this size, that concentration of roles means Orozco is almost certainly the sole decision-maker for any software procurement, whether for the company-owned locations or for setting standards that franchised units might follow. There are no other named officers, no CIO, CTO, or VP of IT on file. Vendors should direct all outreach to this individual, understanding that the purchasing process will be direct and likely informal given the scale.

Mandated and current tech stack

The FDD does not capture any mandated or recommended technology systems. No POS provider, no back-office platform, no online ordering vendor, and no loyalty or payroll system is named. This absence could mean the brand has no formal technology requirements for franchisees, or it could simply reflect a lack of disclosure in the document. Either way, a vendor approaching SM Franchise should assume a greenfield environment: the existing tech stack is unknown, and any solution would need to be positioned as a first-of-its-kind adoption rather than a replacement.

Procurement, renewals, and timing

Item 8 of the FDD, which typically outlines procurement restrictions and designated suppliers, contains no extract in the available data. Without this, it is impossible to say whether franchisees are required to buy from corporate-approved vendors or have open choice. Similarly, Item 17—covering renewal, termination, and transfer—offers no extract, so the initial franchise term, renewal windows, and any contractual triggers for technology updates remain undisclosed. Vendors should not attempt to time outreach around contract cycles; instead, any engagement will likely be relationship-driven and initiated by the CEO.

How to read the SM Franchise FDD

The 2024 SM Franchise FDD is embedded below for direct review. This document was filed with state franchise regulators and contains the legal and operational disclosures that govern the franchise system. For software vendors, the most relevant sections are Item 1 (the business and its executives), Item 8 (procurement obligations), Item 11 (franchisor assistance, where tech mandates often appear), and Item 17 (renewal and termination terms). Given the sparse data captured in this system, reading the full FDD directly is the best way to uncover any additional detail not surfaced here.

For a ranked target list of franchise systems with stronger technology mandates and larger addressable unit counts, FranCloud can help you prioritize the right opportunities.