Hogan Franchise Leadership Program
For decades, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln has provided students with education, inspiration, and hands-on opportunities in franchising. Since the 1980s, the program has helped shape the careers of Husker founders, leaders, and franchisees, including Paul Hogan, co-founder of Home Instead, who credits his UNL franchise course and involvement in the Husker Franchise Club as important influences on his career in franchising.
Thanks to the generosity of Paul and Lori Hogan, franchise education at UNL will continue to inspire and prepare future generations of Huskers. Their gift expands opportunities for students to take a franchise leadership course, participate in an advanced experiential franchise course, join the Husker Franchise Club, and gain the knowledge, connections, and experiences to build their own paths in franchising.
Nebraska has Been Ranked in the Top 10 for Franchise Growth
Nebraska ranks in the top 10 states for franchise growth according to Economic Outlook from International Franchise Association. Nebraska is home to over 20 franchisor headquarters, many of whom are University of Nebraska-Lincoln alumni. There are also over 5,800 franchisees in Nebraska with room to grow in every industry.
Franchising is a successful business format that has been around since the 1800s. Currently, there are more than 4,000 franchise brands with 300 new brands being launched every year. Franchising contributes to $787 billion of economic output for the U.S. economy and supports nearly 8.6 million direct jobs, according to the International Franchise Association.
The Center for Entrepreneurship has been a leader in franchise education at the university level since the mid 1980s. Our early program contributed to some incredibly successful leaders in franchising like Paul Hogan, Founder of Home Instead.
We relaunched and rebooted our franchising effort using innovative curriculum, speaker workshops, experiential events and a student-led club.
Dr. Lindsay Thomsen, ‘01, brings her personal experience to franchising, which includes being a franchisee with Curves and franchise business coach with Home Instead. She also cofounded a business, FPPG, that provides training and programming to franchisors all over the world. Combining her experience with an experiential curriculum and nationally ranked line-up of speakers, students learn franchising from a multitude of perspectives.
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When you buy a franchise, it’s like having the best of both worlds. You get to be on your own boss, but not by yourself. You get to have your own business, make your own decisions and follow a formula that’s been proven over and over again. You also have a peer group of others who are doing the same thing you are and learning becomes exponential.”
- Paul Hogan, ’85, Founder of Home Instead
Franchising (ENTR 323)
- Learn directly from franchise leaders. Open to students of all majors, this course brings in founders, executives, franchisees, and leaders to share their real-world experiences using stories, challenges, and successes. You’ll reflect on what you learn while developing critical thinking, communication, and collaboration skills through class discussions, activities and formal debates.
- Go behind the scenes. Visit a local franchise headquarters to see firsthand how a franchise organization operates and what it takes to support a successful franchise system.
- Explore a franchise opportunity. Throughout the semester, you’ll select an industry and franchise brand you could see yourself pursuing as a career or investment. You’ll research its history, competitive differentiators, financial performance and trends, rankings, industry landscape and potential future challenges. You’ll also interview someone within the brand to gain an insider perspective and answer the most important question: Why this franchise?
Experiences in Franchising (ENTR 304)
- Experience franchising beyond the classroom. Every year brings new opportunities, which may include attending a national brand conference, franchise summit, International Franchise Association conference and other industry events.
- Learn alongside industry leaders. Hear from nationally and internationally recognized speakers, participate in workshops and engage directly with franchise founders, executives and leaders from across the industry.
- Build experiences—and your network. Add meaningful, real-world experiences to your resume while developing relationships and expanding your professional network. The connections you make in this course can become relationships that help shape your next internship, job, or career opportunity.
Husker Franchise Club
Launched in Fall 2026, the Husker Franchise Club brings students together to explore the world of franchising, build connections and discover opportunities beyond the classroom.
- Explore franchising together. Participate in local experiences, hear from franchise leaders and entrepreneurs, attend workshops and connect with the broader franchise community.
- Build on what you know or discover something new. Whether you’ve already taken a franchise course or are simply curious about franchising, the club is a place to expand your knowledge and explore whether franchising is something you want to pursue.
- Build your network. Connect with fellow students, franchise professionals, founders and leaders while developing relationships that can lead to internships, careers and future opportunities.
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If you're built for it, owning your own business is one of the greatest ways to spend your working life. However, going into business is like walking into a dark jungle, it's exciting and frightening at the same time. Partnering with a quality franchisor is like having a lighted path and a guide to help you avoid the danger.”
- Don Eckles, Co-Founder of Scooter's Coffee
Internships in Franchising
Explore franchise opportunities with students engaged in entrepreneurship at the Nebraska Center for Entrepreneurship. Learn more in the video and reach out with your questions to Lindsay Thomsen or the Business Career Center
Past Alumni Speakers and Mentors
Paul Hogan, '85
Founder, Home Instead
Kris Brown, '99
Multi-unit Franchisee, Dunkin’
Ashley Kloxin, '13
Franchisee, Perspire Sauna Studios
Lindsay Thomsen, '01
Franchisee, Curves
Todd Graeve, '92
CEO, Scooter’s Coffee
Laura Frantz, '10
Franchisee, House of Colour
Jisella Dolan, '98 & '01
Chief Advocacy Officer, Home Instead
Jason Metcalf, '04
Multi-unit Franchisee, Scooter’s Coffee
Carey Gille, '99
Co-Founder, Franchise Fastlane
Thomas Welter, '88
Group President, Empower Brands
Charlie Colón, '90 & '05
Owner/Operator, Chick-fil-A
Reed Nyffeler, '98
Founder, Signal 88
