Alicia Miller leads FRANdata’s advisory practice, applying franchise data intelligence to help private equity investors, PE-backed franchisors, and multi-brand operators make higher-conviction decisions about franchise investment and growth. She also serves as Founder and Managing Director of Emergent Growth Advisors, a boutique firm focused on franchise strategy for founders, management teams, and private capital investors.
Miller brings a dimension most advisors cannot: she operated as a multi-unit franchisee. That experience grounds her analytical work in franchise market research and operational reality, not just financial modeling.
Her work sits at the intersection of franchise data, M&A strategy, and PE portfolio optimization — a combination that is increasingly rare and increasingly in demand as private equity accelerates its expansion into franchising.
Expertise
Miller advises clients on:
- Private equity due diligence — evaluating franchise brands for acquisition, platform build, and add-on strategy using FRANdata’s franchise business intelligence and brand performance research
- Multi-brand platform development — helping PE-backed operators scale across brands without losing unit-level performance
- Franchise investment strategy — applying franchise market research to assess brand health, franchisee performance, and system-level risk
Publications & Media
Miller is the author of Big Money in Franchising: Scaling Your Enterprise in the Era of Private Equity, one of the most cited practitioner texts on PE’s role in franchising. She writes a monthly column for Franchise Times and has been published in Entrepreneur and Forbes. Across those outlets she has published more than 100 articles on franchising and private equity — a body of work that positions her among the most prolific research-grounded voices in the franchise industry.
She currently serves as an independent director for Elevated Ventures Group, a PE-backed multi-unit franchisee of Urban Air Adventure Parks, and advises the International Franchise Association’s CFE certification program.
Credentials
Wharton MBA · MS, University of Maryland · BA, Smith College · Graduate Certificate in Franchise Management, Georgetown · Graduate Certificate in Administration & Management, Harvard · CM&AA · CFE · NACD.CD
Work with Alicia Miller through FRANdata’s Private Equity Research and Playbooks — or contact FRANdata to discuss advisory engagements.