The Business of Hospitality: How Smart Bets Actually Get Made
Recorded live at Crave Con 2025, this special episode of Room for Seconds flips the script. Guest host Josh Halpern sits down with his longtime collaborator and fellow podcast host, Jimmy Frischling, co-founder of Branded Hospitality.
Jimmy pulls back the curtain on what it actually takes to build the business of hospitality in today’s environment. From investing in restaurant brands and operator-first technology to navigating failure, risk, and rapid change, this conversation is a masterclass in long-term thinking and people-driven leadership.
The episode dives deep into:
- Why betting on the right people matters more than betting on ideas
- How to evaluate restaurant tech through an operator-first lens
- The role of healthy tension and honest conversations in building durable companies
- Why not every investment is supposed to win—and why that’s okay
- How hospitality brands can scale smarter by leveraging shared knowledge, systems, and community
Jimmy also reflects on Branded Hospitality’s evolution into a true crossroads of the industry—where emerging brands meet incumbents, new tech meets real operators, and collaboration drives innovation. Throughout the conversation, one idea remains constant: hospitality is still, and always will be, a people business, even in a tech-enabled world.
Episode Links
- Connect with Josh Halpern on LinkedIn
- Connect with Jimmy Frischling on LinkedIn
- Connect with Branded Hospitality on LinkedIn
- Visit Branded Hospitality Online
- Listen to the Hospitality Hangout
- Watch the Hospitality Hangout on YouTube
- Follow the Hospitality Hangout on Instagram
Connect with Gregg / Craveworthy Brands
- Gregg Majewski Instagram
- Craveworthy Brands Instagram
- Visit Craveworthy Online
- Gregg Majewski LinkedIn
- CRAVEWORTHY FRANCHISING
- CRAVEWORTHY BRANDS
- INVEST IN CRAVEWORTHY
Connect with Room for Seconds