Entrepreneur Of The Year® US National Award winner

The power of invention

By pursuing the simple yet inspiring mission of “bringing family and friends together over a box of the best cookies in the world,” Jason McGowan, founder and CEO of Crumbl Cookies, has built one of the fastest growing franchise operations in the US.

Ironically, when McGowan and his cousin started Crumbl, their first batch of cookies fell far short of expectations. In their quest to design the world’s best cookie, they turned to their future customers, gathering feedback and testing different recipes until they arrived on the winning formula. The end result: a tasty treat that’s large enough for four people to share, helping to achieve their goal of bringing people together.

McGowan followed an uncommon path on his way to launching and leading Crumbl. After dropping out of school in the 8th grade, the Canadian immigrant eventually started working for a technology company and taught himself software programming. McGowan later leveraged his technical background to help Crumbl accelerate its growth, leading some observers to call it a technology company that happens to sell cookies. Since opening the company’s first store in Utah, Crumbl has combined its technical prowess with a strategy that aims to help franchise partners succeed by giving them more autonomy, flexibility and room for creativity.

Crumbl nearly doubled its number of stores last year, opening 365 new locations. There are now more than 750 locations in the US and Canada, and plans call for expansion to Mexico, Europe, the UK and Asia. With a weekly rotating cookie menu that entices customers to return to sample new recipes, Crumbl sold over 1 million cookies a day last year. McGowan returns the favor to his customers with an unwavering commitment to community engagement.