Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy?s, learned the franchise restaurant business under Colonel Harlan Sanders of KFC while working at locations in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Thomas would later earn the money to open up Wendy?s by way of profits from an ownership stake given to him by Sanders for turning around underperforming KFC locations in Columbus, Ohio.
Albert Singer is widely considered the father of modern-day franchise model, particularly in the United States. Singer is credited with being the first to develop a franchise contract in the mid-1800s in order to help him distribute his sewing machines across the country.