Our Team
The people behind your franchise growth
Hudson Franchise Ventures is led by franchise professionals who have built, scaled, and operated franchise systems across industries and continents.
Steven Gardner
Founder, Managing Partner
Steven Gardner is the Founder of Hudson Franchise Ventures and a nationally recognized franchise development executive with more than 30 years of experience in franchising, restaurant development, strategic growth, and multi-unit expansion. A third-generation New Yorker, he has built his career helping emerging and established brands scale through franchise sales, real estate strategy, operational guidance, and investor relationships across the United States and internationally. His experience spans franchise development, site selection, deal structuring, lead generation, franchise marketing, and international expansion across restaurant, health, wellness, fitness, beauty, and lifestyle sectors.
Brady Sheldon
Strategic Partner
Brady Sheldon is a Strategic Partner with Hudson Franchise Ventures, supporting franchise brands, operators, and investors through growth strategy, business development, and real estate advisory. His focus includes market planning, site selection, strategic partnerships, and expansion execution across the franchise ecosystem.
Justin Leve
International Development Advisor
Justin Leve is an operational executive with over 20 years of experience in hospitality and food based CPG clients. He has a broad record of success, including operations, consumer brand management, and business development. Justin's strengths lie in strategic revenue growth through licensing and franchise operations, and turn around strategies. He started his career in restaurants and worked as a chef in Colorado and Alaska before moving to New York. After over a decade of leading international growth retail operations in the Middle East and Asia, he has returned to culinary consumer products, restaurants and hospitality. Justin has worked with Martha Stewart, Brooks Brothers, Lululemon, Reef Technology, Fuku, and Joe Fresh, amongst others.
Lauren Farnoosh
International Partner
Lauren Farnoosh brings over a decade of experience at the intersection of brand strategy, operations, and market expansion across New York City, San Francisco, and Dubai. She specializes in connecting U.S. brands with GCC markets and guiding retailers through international franchise opportunities. Her approach combines on-the-ground market knowledge, cross-cultural insight, and a focus on building sustainable, long-term expansion partnerships.
Alexis Nakis
Franchise Development Associate
Alexis is an outgoing, high-energy professional who works in franchise development, partnerships, and brand expansion. Starting with a background in medicine as a pediatric occupational therapist, she brings a strong instinct for people and the relationships that move things forward. She supports brands as they grow, helping align the right operators, opportunities, and strategy behind the scenes. She also has experience in luxury concierge services and event production, managing high-level logistics and creating elevated, well-executed experiences. Her background across medicine and hospitality has overlapped naturally into the franchise world. At her core, she knows how to bring the right people together and move things forward in a way that actually works.
Advisory Board
Strategic counsel from proven leaders
Our advisory board brings decades of operating, investing, and brand-building experience to Hudson Franchise Ventures, guiding strategy and opening doors across markets.
Mitch Cohen
Multi-Brand Franchisee & IFA Board Member
A four-decade franchise operator, Mitch built one of the original Dunkin'/Baskin-Robbins multi-unit groups and today develops Jersey Mike's Subs and Sola Salon Studios across New York, all outperforming system averages. He chairs the 2026 Multi-Unit Franchise Conference and serves on the International Franchise Association Board of Directors. As longtime co-chair of the Joy in Childhood Foundation, he led efforts raising millions annually for children in need.
Unnat Bak
Founder, Revscale AI
A 4x SaaS founder and investor/advisor, "UB" is the Founder at Revscale AI, a franchise intelligence platform that deploys AI agents across franchise networks to drive growth. He authored the book "The AI-Driven Operator" for SMB and franchise leaders, and has spent the last several years building autonomous agent teams that handle franchise development, local lead management, and revenue operations for brands that want done-for-you AI without in-house data science. UB also advises franchise systems and executives.
Evan Goldman
Founding Partner, The Franchise Firm LLP
Evan is a founding partner of The Franchise Firm LLP, a law firm dedicated to helping franchisors and franchisees in various stages of their franchise growth. From working with start-up franchisors to helping franchisors defend against claims by franchisees, Evan is fully dedicated to representing franchisors in the United States. Internationally, Evan leads the firm's international practice, helping U.S. franchisors expand globally and international franchisors expand into the United States. Using a wide range of contacts throughout the globe, Evan seamlessly assists franchisors in their international growth strategies.
Let's Scale Your Franchise
Talk with a team that has built and expanded franchise brands across markets.