What if the leaders who seem most confident are fighting the same self-doubt as everyone else?

Kelly MacPherson has led technology and transformation at some of hospitality's most recognizable companies, including Restaurant Brands International and Union Square Hospitality Group. But behind the commanding presence was a very different internal conversation.

In this deeply personal episode of The ChatGTM Podcast, Michael Beck and Chad Horn reconnect with Kelly to explore her new book, Becoming Anyway, and the experiences that shaped the leader, mother, and person she's become.

Kelly shares what it was like to build a technology career without a traditional technology background, take opportunities before she felt qualified, and discover that professional success doesn't eliminate personal insecurity.

We explore the difficult decisions, mistakes, and sacrifices that rarely make it into executive biographies. From balancing motherhood with an ambitious career to learning when perseverance becomes staying too long, Kelly offers a refreshingly human perspective on leadership.

We also get into the future of restaurant technology, why Kelly believes dashboards are failing operators, and how AI could finally deliver personalized, actionable insights instead of more reports.

In this conversation:

• Why confidence and self-doubt can exist at the same time
• Taking career opportunities before you feel ready
• The personal cost of professional ambition
• Knowing when to persevere and when to walk away
• Why trust and team chemistry matter more than individual brilliance
• The leadership lessons Kelly learned from motherhood
• Why restaurant technology needs to rethink business processes
• The meaning behind Becoming Anyway

CONNECT WITH KELLY

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-ann-macpherson-2aa8037/

Book: Becoming Anyway
https://becominganywaybook.com

Podcast: Becoming Anyway, with Kelly and Lauren

EPISODE CHAPTERS

00:00 Welcome to ChatGTM and reconnecting with Kelly
03:04 Why Kelly wrote Becoming Anyway
05:18 The confidence people see versus the doubt inside
08:52 The hardest stories to share publicly
11:37 Taking opportunities before feeling ready
14:44 The decisions that changed Kelly's career
17:24 Earning respect and establishing leadership presence
19:12 Why trust matters more than technical brilliance
21:03 Knowing when to walk away
23:01 Perseverance versus staying too long
26:23 The stories Kelly nearly left out
28:13 Motherhood and seeing life through Lauren's eyes
29:32 How writing the book changed family conversations
33:53 What restaurant technology leaders are getting wrong
35:04 Why dashboards aren't solving the real problem
38:35 Giving restaurant managers their time back
40:36 Learning to forgive your younger self
42:06 What Becoming Anyway really means
43:19 Seven rapid-fire questions
45:01 Where to find Kelly and her book
46:19 Final reflections and random acts of kindness

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Have you ever taken a professional leap before you felt ready, or stayed somewhere longer than you should have?

Tell us in the comments.

Subscribe to The ChatGTM Podcast for candid conversations with the leaders, builders, and thinkers shaping hospitality, restaurant technology, and the future of business.

Website: https://www.chatgtmpodcast.com

The ChatGTM Podcast | The Industry, Unscripted.

#KellyMacPherson #BecomingAnyway #Leadership #SelfDoubt #WomenInLeadership #HospitalityLeadership #ChatGTM

What if your restaurant's back office could practically run itself?

For decades, restaurant technology has been great at telling operators what happened yesterday. But what if it could anticipate tomorrow, recommend the right actions today, and give operators back their most valuable resource?

Time.

Live from FSTEC 2026, ChatGTM host Michael Beck sits down with David Cantu, CEO of Craftable, and Matt Sunberg, Head of Product, to explore their vision for the fully autonomous restaurant back office.

And we're not talking about another AI chatbot bolted onto legacy software.

Craftable is reimagining how restaurants manage inventory, purchasing, forecasting, prep production, labor, and profitability by embedding AI directly into everyday operational workflows.

IN THIS EPISODE:

🔹 The Autonomous Restaurant: Moving beyond dashboards and reactive reporting toward intelligent, proactive operations.
🔹 AI With Purpose: Why technology should simplify work instead of creating more of it.
🔹 Finding Hidden Margins: Identifying operational waste beyond traditional food and labor costs.
🔹 Solving the Adoption Problem: Why intuitive design matters as much as functionality.
🔹 The Vibe-Coding Debate: Just because AI can build software doesn't mean it should run your restaurant.
🔹 Protecting Your Data: The importance of security and responsible AI architecture.
🔹 Giving Time Back: Helping operators spend less time managing systems and more time leading people.

Matt shares a powerful story about a customer who told him:

"You saved my nights and weekends."

That's what great technology should accomplish.

Not more dashboards. Not more reports. Not more complexity.

More time for the things that matter.

MEET OUR GUESTS

David Cantu | CEO, Craftable
Matt Sunberg | Head of Product, Craftable

🌐 https://www.craftable.com

CHAPTERS

00:00 Welcome to FSTEC
01:53 Meet David Cantu & Matt Sunberg
03:53 Their Journeys into Restaurant Tech
06:19 Reinventing the Back Office
08:45 The Autonomous Restaurant Vision
11:11 Building AI Around Operators
13:27 Solving Technology Adoption
15:43 Designing for Simplicity
17:37 Where Does the ROI Come From?
19:55 Finding Hidden Margin Leakage
22:22 Restaurant Industry Pressures
24:38 The Vibe-Coding Debate
27:00 AI Security & Data Protection
29:22 Integrations & Restaurant-Specific AI
31:28 Connecting Operations & Guest Experience
33:54 Giving Operators Their Time Back
36:00 Closing Thoughts

ABOUT CHATGTM

Hosted by Michael Beck and Chad Horn, ChatGTM brings you unscripted conversations with the people shaping the future of hospitality, restaurant technology, and business.

The Industry, Unscripted.

🌐 https://chatgtmpodcast.com

Subscribe and join the conversation.

#ChatGTMPodcast #Craftable #RestaurantTechnology #RestaurantAI #FSTEC #HospitalityTechnology #RestaurantOperations

What if your digital menu board is doing little more than displaying a prettier version of your printed menu?

Jackie Walker, Chief Experience Officer at Creative Realities, joins Michael Beck on ChatGTM to explain why digital signage is about much more than screens. It's about understanding customers, influencing decisions, and creating experiences that people genuinely crave.

Drawing on her work with major QSR brands, Jackie explores the science of craveability, contextual merchandising, customer empathy, and the untapped potential of digital menu boards.

We dig into why the initial excitement around digital signage can fade, how brands can use motion, color, dayparting, and data to improve their merchandising, and why testing and learning should be part of an ongoing performance marketing strategy.

Jackie also introduces Experience Intelligence, the consulting and creative capabilities within Creative Realities, and previews her Prosper Accelerate think tank session on reimagining the menu experience.

And as AI takes on more of the creative process, what remains uniquely human? Jackie has some strong opinions about judgment, restraint, and why technology should never come before the customer.

CONNECT WITH JACKIE

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackieohare/

CHAPTERS

00:00 Welcome and the power of craveability
02:38 Jackie's journey into digital experiences
06:26 Where Creative Realities operates
08:04 What makes an experience craveable?
09:42 Why contextual content matters
13:00 Personalization versus creepy
15:15 Designing for the customer's moment
16:21 Why restaurants need more than a digital menu
19:45 Motion, merchandising, and dayparting
21:24 Why digital menus need continuous testing
23:55 Adoption and franchisee challenges
24:46 Why the initial sales lift can disappear
26:15 Inside CRI's Experience Intelligence team
29:57 Jackie's Prosper Accelerate preview
32:37 The entire customer journey matters
33:48 AI, creativity, and human judgment
35:08 Jackie's legacy and making magic
36:14 Rapid fire: experience and surprise
37:19 Why the food in the bag matters most
38:33 Taco Bell and cultural relevance
40:41 Human connection versus technology
41:22 The surprising power of color
42:45 Prosper Accelerate and final takeaways
45:32 Jackie's colorful sign-off

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Are your digital menu boards simply displaying products, or are they actively helping customers make better decisions?

Subscribe for more conversations with the people shaping hospitality, restaurant technology, and the customer experience.

ChatGTM: The Industry, Unscripted.

#JackieWalker #CreativeRealities #DigitalMenuBoards #DigitalSignage #Craveability #RestaurantTechnology #ChatGTM

We've all been told to think outside the box. What if that's exactly what's holding our creativity back?

Andrew Davis, bestselling author, former NBC producer, Muppets alumnus, and one of the most entertaining keynote speakers we've encountered, joins Beck and Chad on the ChatGTM Podcast to challenge everything we think we know about creativity.

Fresh from his appearance at Prosper Forum, Andrew breaks down his Cube of Creativity, a practical framework for turning limitations into better ideas, sharper execution, and meaningful business results.

We explore why successful companies can become less creative as resources grow, why killing two projects might be the smartest way to start one, and whether AI is helping us think better or simply produce more stuff.

Then we get into the attention economy. Andrew explains why curiosity creates tension, why the payoff matters more than the click, and the two questions every content creator should ask before hitting publish.

Along the way, there are Muppets, MacGyver, childhood puppet theaters, a spy novel in progress, and one marketing word Andrew would happily banish forever.

Meet Andrew Davis

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewdavishere

Website and speaking events: https://www.akadrewdavis.com

Books: https://www.akadrewdavis.com/books

Chapters

00:00 Meet Andrew Davis: Creativity, Keynotes and the Muppets
04:44 How Andrew Accidentally Started Speaking
07:47 Authenticity and Finding Your Stage Presence
10:07 Why Thinking Outside the Box Gets It Wrong
12:53 The Four Constraints of the Cube of Creativity
15:22 Why You Must Eliminate the Unnecessary
17:14 Constraints vs. Excuses
21:15 Does AI Make Us Less Creative?
23:30 Why Successful Companies Lose Creativity
26:16 Boredom, Childhood and Imagination
30:20 How Committees Kill Creative Ideas
32:35 Applying Constraints to Restaurants
35:08 What Actually Earns Attention?
37:50 Will Human Experiences Become More Valuable?
40:31 Curiosity Gaps, Tension and the Payoff
43:02 When Clickbait Damages Trust
45:17 How a Keynote Evolves After 100 Performances
46:57 Rapid Fire with Andrew Davis
49:21 Where to Find Andrew and Final Thoughts

Your turn: What's one thing you could eliminate today that would make room for something remarkable?

Subscribe to ChatGTM for conversations with the people challenging conventional thinking across business, hospitality, technology, and leadership.

https://chatgtmpodcast.com

The Industry, Unscripted.

#AndrewDavis #CubeOfCreativity #CreativeConstraints #CreativeThinking #ContentMarketing #AICreativity #ChatGTM

Relationships first. Business second.

What if the biggest competitive advantage in foodservice distribution isn't technology, but the relationships behind it?

Hans Schatz, Executive Vice President of Cut+Dry, joins Michael Beck and Chad Horn on The ChatGTM Podcast to explore how one company is transforming foodservice distribution while investing in the people who make the industry work.

From unified digital commerce and Yes Chef AI to helping independent distributors compete, Hans explains how Cut+Dry is reducing friction, improving operations, and connecting manufacturers, distributors, and restaurant operators.

We also explore RESERVE, Cut+Dry's gathering in Napa Valley, and why building a meaningful community is every bit as important as building great technology.

Because the future of foodservice isn't just about better software. It's about what we can accomplish together.

IN THIS EPISODE
• Why relationships come before business
• Helping independent distributors compete
• Yes Chef AI and distributor intelligence
• Simplifying manufacturer programs and billbacks
• Reducing friction across foodservice distribution
• The vision behind RESERVE Napa
• Why showing up matters

MEET OUR GUEST
Hans Schatz | Executive Vice President, Cut+Dry
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hans-schatz/
Cut+Dry: https://cutanddry.com/

CHAPTERS
00:00 Opening banter and introduction
01:45 Why relationships still drive foodservice
04:01 Introducing Cut+Dry
04:35 What Cut+Dry does and the problem it solves
11:52 Helping independent distributors compete
12:59 Yes Chef AI and distributor intelligence
19:27 Simplifying manufacturer programs and billbacks
20:23 AI, automation, and operational efficiency
27:54 Building technology with distributor partners
28:17 Going beyond software to support the community
29:10 Why Cut+Dry invests in relationships
30:18 Relationships first, business second
32:10 Why showing up matters
39:16 Creating meaningful community experiences
40:15 The ChatGTM Rapid Fire
42:07 Final thoughts and closing

WATCH. LISTEN. FOLLOW.
ChatGTM Podcast: https://chatgtmpodcast.com
Subscribe to Substack: https://inckey.substack.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/chatgtm-podcast/

ABOUT CHATGTM
Hosted by Michael Beck and Chad Horn, The ChatGTM Podcast brings candid conversations with the leaders shaping restaurants, hospitality, technology, and business.

Produced by Inc Tank GTM: https://inctankgtm.com

JOIN THE CONVERSATION
What matters more when choosing a technology partner: the capabilities of the platform or the relationships behind it?

Tell us in the comments, subscribe, and share this episode.

The ChatGTM Podcast | The Industry, Unscripted.
Know What's Next.

#CutAndDry #HansSchatz #FoodserviceDistribution #RestaurantTechnology #ChatGTM

What if the key to better restaurant performance isn’t asking hourly employees to “think like owners,” but actually paying them like owners?

In this episode of the ChatGTM Podcast, Michael Beck and Chad Horn sit down with Peter Riggs, Founder of WaveWage, to explore what happens when frontline restaurant employees share in the upside they help create.

Peter’s idea started with a moment almost every operator will recognize. About 30 minutes before closing, he watched a restaurant employee turn away customers who were ready to spend money. For the employee, another table meant more work. For the operator, it meant lost revenue and potentially a lost customer.

Peter’s question was simple: What if the employee actually benefited from that sale?

That became the foundation for WaveWage, a performance-pay platform designed to connect hourly employees with measurable sales performance.

Peter shares how incentives can change frontline behavior, how restaurants can reward incremental revenue without destroying margins, and why the last hour of business could potentially become one of the most profitable hours of the day.

We also get into restaurant technology itself, including why great software still fails inside restaurants, how WaveWage approaches integrations and gamification, and what technology founders consistently misunderstand about operators.

One of Peter’s best observations:

“Just because your tech works doesn’t mean we can put it to work.”

CHAPTERS

00:00 Welcome to ChatGTM
03:09 Meet Peter Riggs
04:28 From restaurant operator to technology founder
07:42 The truth about restaurant employee engagement
10:16 What is WaveWage?
11:01 The restaurant moment that sparked the idea
14:34 The dreaded last-minute customer
15:11 Incentivizing the entire restaurant team
17:03 Finding hidden performance gaps
19:07 Why nobody built WaveWage before
21:10 Making incentives visible and engaging
22:45 Employee badges, recognition and portable reputation
25:11 Avoiding unintended consequences
25:44 AI-generated incentive rules and confidence scores
28:36 Can employees change restaurant operating hours?
29:27 How do you prove an incentive actually works?
32:01 Can employees make more while restaurants make more?
35:13 POS, payroll and restaurant-tech integrations
36:58 What restaurant-tech companies misunderstand
40:06 What Peter now understands about tech founders
41:29 Selling WaveWage to his toughest critic: himself
42:27 Rapid Fire
43:20 Customers walking in two minutes before closing
44:08 The restaurant metric operators aren't measuring
44:33 What restaurant work needs to fix
45:31 Closing thoughts and what comes next

Learn more about WaveWage:
https://wavewage.com

Peter Riggs on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-riggs-495b274/

If conversations like this get your gears turning, subscribe to the ChatGTM Podcast on YouTube and follow us wherever you get your podcasts.

What do you think: Should hourly restaurant employees share directly in the upside when they help generate incremental revenue?

#PayThemLikeOwners #PeterRiggs #WaveWage #RestaurantEmployees #RestaurantPerformance #RestaurantTechnology #ChatGTM

What if high performance isn’t about working harder, but learning to work deeper?

Bestselling author, entrepreneur and leadership speaker Ty Bennett joins Michael Beck and Chad Horn on ChatGTM S2 E46 to unpack what actually drives sustainable high performance.

We first met Ty at Prosper Accelerate, where he turned his keynote into an experience by bringing his sons on stage to tackle a Ninja Warrior obstacle course. It became a live lesson in preparation, resilience, adaptability, trust and helping people accomplish things they didn’t think were possible. chad-ty-beck

Now Ty takes us inside the research behind his new book, Redefining High Performance. His research identified five key drivers: preparation, consistency, adaptability, motivation and connection.

One of the biggest takeaways challenges hustle culture: sustainable high performance has more to do with working deeper than simply working harder. chad-ty-beck

We also get into fear of failure, comparison, feedback, burnout, trust, parenting, hospitality leadership and why consistency beats occasional intensity.

Then we turn to AI. Ty believes that as AI makes information and good copy easier to create, human story, empathy and genuine connection become even more valuable. chad-ty-beck

And if you’re heading to Prosper Accelerate, this conversation gives you a taste of the energy and thinking Ty brings to the stage.

CONNECT WITH TY
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tybennett
Redefining High Performance: https://tybennett.com/product/redefining-high-performance/
Website: https://tybennett.com/

CHAPTERS
00:00 Welcome to ChatGTM
00:38 Meeting Ty at Prosper Accelerate
01:13 The Ninja Warrior Keynote
02:34 Welcome Ty Bennett
03:42 How Ninja Warrior Took Over the Bennett Family
05:05 Turning a Speech Into an Experience
05:49 Performing Under Pressure
06:25 Relaxed Intensity
07:44 Competing Without Comparison
08:25 When One Brother Gets the Opportunity
10:23 Leadership Lessons From Family
11:33 Redefining High Performance
15:38 What Creates a High Performer?
16:12 The Research Behind High Performance
17:00 The 5 Drivers of High Performance
18:44 Preparation Changes Everything
20:23 Where Real Confidence Comes From
20:48 High Performance Without Burnout
21:32 Work Deeper, Not Harder
22:42 Health, Recovery & Performance
24:48 Why Hospitality Produces Great Leaders
25:16 We’re All in the People Business
26:30 Empathic Drive
27:37 Why High Performers Plateau
28:16 The 3 Barriers to High Performance
29:42 How We Get in Our Own Way
30:17 Trust Is the Currency of Leadership
31:19 How Leaders Earn Trust
32:10 Leadership Through Example
33:35 Rebuilding Lost Trust
34:34 Escaping the Failure Factory
34:55 Failure Is Part of Your Best Work
35:51 Consistency Beats Intensity
37:43 Success Begets Success
38:16 Does Work-Life Balance Exist?
41:21 AI & High Performance
41:33 Why AI Makes Human Stories More Valuable
43:20 Empathy in an AI-Driven World
43:43 Confident Curiosity
44:42 Rapid Fire
46:18 One Word for Great Leadership
46:26 Great Leaders Make People Feel Important
46:34 The Best Stories Begin With Connection
46:36 Closing Thoughts & Prosper Accelerate
48:19 Wrap

Are you working harder, or have you learned how to work deeper?

▶️ Subscribe to ChatGTM for conversations with the people building what’s next in leadership, hospitality, technology, AI and GTM.

#ChatGTM #TyBennett #ProsperAccelerate #HighPerformance #Leadership #AI

Restaurant technology doesn't fail in isolation. When one part of the ecosystem breaks, the operator feels all of it.

Toby Malbec, one of the restaurant industry's most respected technology leaders, joins Michael Beck and Chad Horn on the ChatGTM Podcast to talk about partnerships, trust, restaurant technology ecosystems and why vendors need to stop making operators referee their problems.

After decades advising and leading technology strategy for brands including Subway and Church's Texas Chicken, Toby now serves as VP of Partnerships at Qu, where he's bringing an operator-first perspective to the vendor side of the table.

His philosophy is simple: restaurant managers aren't IT integrators. When POS, payments, loyalty, inventory, digital ordering or another system fails, operators shouldn't have to figure out whose fault it is.

The partners should.

Toby calls it removing the F-word: friction.

The conversation explores what separates an integration from a true partnership, why relationships still matter in technology buying, what startups get wrong when approaching enterprise partners, and why best-of-breed technology only works when vendors take shared responsibility for the operator experience.

And when asked who wins the future of restaurant technology, Toby's answer cuts through the AI noise:

“Embrace humanity and leverage AI where applicable.”

CHAPTERS

00:00 Welcome to ChatGTM
01:24 Meet Toby Malbec
02:45 Toby's Move From Church's to Qu
04:49 Seeing Restaurant Tech From Both Sides
06:44 Who Owns the Problem When Tech Breaks?
07:07 Stop Making Operators Referee Vendors
08:12 Removing the F-Word: Friction
08:55 Why Qu Invested in Partnerships
11:29 Partnerships Are Built Between People
14:40 Getting Vendors to Play Together
17:12 When the Operator Pays for Bad Partnerships
18:39 Prioritizing the Restaurant Tech Ecosystem
20:11 Consulting Without Having a Dog in the Hunt
20:57 What Startups Get Wrong Approaching Qu
21:56 Finding the Right Integration Partners
22:26 Could Qu Become a Restaurant Tech Incubator?
23:43 Building a Partnership Mindset Across Qu
24:06 Balancing Profit With the Long Game
26:05 Best-of-Breed Without the Headaches
26:19 Are RFPs Still Working?
27:00 Capabilities Get You In. Relationships Matter.
27:58 Why Buying Restaurant Tech Isn't Just About Price
29:28 How Do You Measure Partnership Success?
31:00 When the Market Says a Partnership Isn't Working
31:12 Bringing Consulting Into Partnerships
32:19 Why Toby Chose Qu
32:45 Why Qu Is at an Inflection Point
34:22 A-Players Still Have to Fit Together
34:39 Rapid Fire With Toby
34:53 One Quality Every Great Partner Needs
34:54 Handshake or Contract?
34:59 What Instantly Earns or Loses Trust?
35:15 A Restaurant Brand Toby Admires
35:29 Why Toby Has a “Crush” on P. Terry's
36:11 The Future of Restaurant Technology
36:32 Why ChatGTM Wanted This Conversation
37:02 Giving Back to the Restaurant Industry
37:29 Closing Thoughts
38:49 Operators Rule

Where should responsibility fall when multiple technology vendors are involved and something breaks? Tell us in the comments.

▶️ Subscribe to ChatGTM for conversations with the operators, founders and technologists building what's next in restaurants, hospitality, technology, AI and GTM.

Know What's Next.

#ChatGTM #RestaurantTechnology #RestaurantTech #HospitalityTechnology #RestaurantIndustry #StrategicPartnerships #RestaurantOperations #AI #IncTankGTM