GOLF + COFFEE + BUSINESS = RAVING FANS
Entrepreneur Magazine, Dec. 2023
Our Founders have been featured in:
With a track record of having built 187 coffee bars, Founders launch “possibly the most advanced start-up in franchise history” – Entrepreneur Magazine, Dec. 2023
Our Founders have been featured in:
Meet Our Team
Meet our Founders, Senior Team and our expanded Board of Advisors. Super proud of these amazing people and their brilliant backgrounds to help us.
Meet Our Founders
TOM MATZEN
FOUNDER & CEOTom is a serial entrepreneur, started 93 businesses, and built some 187 coffee bars. He also wrote the #1 best selling book on the topic with some 187,000 copies sold in 21 languages.
Authority entrepreneurs hire Tom to build seven and eight figure enterprises by helping them package their wisdom and knowledge and build a global movement in the process. Tom has made and lost millions, multiple times.
Today, along with Simon, their launching the world’s first golf cafe franchise, Links Golf Cafe and they co-founded the Raving Fans For Life Academy.
SIMON HEDLEY
FOUNDER & CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICERSimon qualified as a Chartered Accountant in the UK and spent over ten years working in financial services, from audit and assurance consultancy at Price WaterhouseCoopers, through to Investment Banking encompassing Product Development, Structuring and Investment Management at Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Scotland and ABN Amro.
Today, as a Strategic Alchemist to individuals, businesses and corporations, Simon helps them create and optimise systems that provide increased sales and profit growth through proven implementable models.
Founders Have Been Featured In
Testimonials About Our Founders
RICH SCHEFREN
OWNER STRATEGIC PROFITSTom is someone I’ve known for quite a long time. He’s been in the game of entrepreneurship for 37 years; he’s had 80 plus businesses. He’s made millions, he’s lost millions, and he’s made them again. So he really comes from the school of hard knocks, he’s the real deal. He’s with Jay Abraham and I on different activities that we had in the past.
Widely recognized as an Internet marketing pioneer and one of the world’s top experts on online business strategy
LYNN ROSE
FOUNDER/CEO OF WOWMAKERSimon blew me away with the degree to which he followed through on what he said he’d do.
He had brilliant ideas on how to extend the concept of our project we’d been working on (which excited and impressed me) AND, he came to the rescue while we were having horrendous troubles with our web guys and looking like we might miss a crucial deadline, Simon calmly stepped in and made it happen effortlessly. There’s no doubt that Simon is filled with brilliance, clear ideas and brimming with passion. Best part is, when he says he will get something done, he does. And THAT is a rare commodity in this world.
I have much thanks in my heart for what he’s done for us.
DEB LEWIS, COL. RET.
FOUNDER MENTALLY TOUGH WOMENI’m a combat veteran and Harvard MBA. I’m also very grateful I met Tom. He’s an open book with tons of experience and talent. Tom and his group of dedicated entrepreneurs made it clear that service and impact are at the top of their priorities, plus they guarantee results and income every step of the way.
When I first transitioned out of the military, I wish I’d met Tom and his team. I’d have saved tons of time, aggravation, and $1000s down the drain, stuck on tactics that missed the strategies to achieve desired results. If you want to build a business that helps more people with your expertise, Tom’s team is an amazing investment with a triple guarantee.
DR. PAUL THIND
AUTHOR AND CONSULTANTI have known Simon for over a decade. We met when he joined ABN AMRO Bank when I worked there as Head of New Product Development. Simon joined the front office team of Retail Trading and Structuring. I left ABN AMRO in September 2007 and we have remained as friends since.
Simon has many skills encompassing technology, communications and innovation. Simon drives honest advice and is helpful with out-of-the-box thinking.
Simon can give valuable inputs on many different projects across the technology spectrum.
Our Senior Team
RAY PEL
MOUNTAIN REGIONAL FRANCHISOR & PHOENIX AREA DEVELOPERWe are excited to have Ray Pel on our Senior Team and Partner in the Franchisor, as Mountain Region Regional Franchisor and lead on the Phoenix Area Development Agreement at Links Golf Cafe.
Ray is an accomplished professional who recently held the position of National Director of Growth at Real Broke. With a remarkable tenure spanning over 30 years in management and ownership, Ray possesses an extensive skill set encompassing growth strategies, leadership, management, training, sales, and service excellence. His career includes Allstate Financial, Keller Williams, National Fitness Corporation, and eXp Realty, as well as smaller to mid-sized companies such as Hart’s Athletic Clubs, NRU, and regional fitness chains.
Ray has purchased the Mountain Region, and Phoenix Area Development Agreement at Links Golf Cafes.
MORE TEAM COMING SOON
LINKS GOLF CAFE THQMore Team coming soon!!
Meet Our Board of Advisors
DAVID FAULKNER
ADVISOR TO THE BOARDWe are excited to have David Faulkner on our Board of Advisors at Links Golf Cafe.
Recognized for delivering innovative customer experiences in ambitious retail, hospitality, and retail banking programs; David’s work, developing memorable retail concepts for Fortune 50 retailers and financial institutions on four continents, has generated tens of millions of dollars in sales and cost savings. He is able to streamline process to be more effective, while at the same time delivering creative designs that deliver on business objectives. David has also been recognized by his employers receiving Gap Inc.’s President’s Award, Gap International Store Award, and Capital One’s Circle of Excellence award.
David has agreed to help us coordinate strategic construction planning and buildout at our Links Golf Cafes.
HOWARD LIM
ADVISOR TO THE BOARDWe are excited to have Howard Lim on our Board of Advisors at Links Golf Cafe.
Howard’s pioneering contributions to digital media design and advertising for Fortune 100 companies, such as Apple, Disney, and HP, catapulted him to the vanguard of contemporary branding. Leveraging his creativity and business acumen, Lim pioneered his exclusive SIM™ system, catalyzing heightened profitability, dynamic organizational cultures, and the establishment of industry-leading brands. The SIM™ system empowers enterprises to unleash untapped potential & amplify profitability. Rooted in the conviction that every business harbors a distinctive story, Howard facilitates profound connections between companies and their clientele, yielding substantial results.
Howard has agreed to help us coordinate the creation of our strategic brand design at Links Golf Cafes.
CLINTON WASYLISHEN
ADVISOR TO THE BOARDWe are excited to have Clinton Wasylishen on our Board of Advisors at Links Golf Cafe.
Clinton is the recipient of Franchisee Of The Tear awards in multiple franchise systems, and has built multiple seven figure businesses within franchises, including owning a master franchise that grew to represent over 80% of the national system sales!
Clinton has lived with his family year round in Costa Rica for over seven years – creating an absentee franchise bricks and mortar business that was able to function without him present in Canada.
Clinton has agreed to help us build out the most franchise focused system imaginable.
TED PRODROMOU
ADVISOR TO THE BOARDWe are excited to have Ted Prodromou on our Board of Advisors at Links Golf Cafe.
Ted Prodromou, America’s Leading LinkedIn Coach, is the award- winning, best-selling author of Ultimate Guide to LinkedIn for Business and Ultimate Guide to Twitter for Business (Entrepreneur Press). Ted is a social selling and online advertising expert and the founder of Search Marketing Simplified, LLC, a full service social media marketing firm. Ted has been featured on CNBC Entrepreneur.com, the New York Times and Forbes. The SMS team creates advanced LinkedIn and social media lead-generation strategies for small to medium-sized businesses with over $100 million in revenue generated for his clients.
Ted has agreed to help us leverage the power of LinkedIn for Franchise Recruitment and Member Sales at our Links Golf Cafes.
VANCE MORRIS
ADVISOR TO THE BOARDWe are excited to have Vance Morris on our Board of Advisors at Links Golf Cafe.
Vance Morris is a Walt Disney World Resort Management Alumni, having spent 10 years as an leader in the Resorts. He runs the only Disney Service & Direct Response Marketing business on the planet.
Here he coaches companies to create Disney Style Service Systems and then monetize them through direct response marketing. He is also the Longest Reigning Marketer of the Year.
Vance has agreed to help us create a WOW Experience for customers and clients of our Links Golf Cafes.
JEFF GIAGNOCAVO
ADVISOR TO TADVISOR TO THE BOARDHE BOARDWe are excited to have Jeff Giagnocavo on our Board of Advisors at Links Golf Cafe.
Jeff does business in your bedroom. He co-owns Gardner’s Mattress & More, the region’s premier better sleep store. For 13 years in a row they have been named a Reader’s Choice Winner – favorite place to buy a mattress. He is fanatical about the 5-star experience and has gathered thousands of online and in store 5- star reviews. Jeff’s passion is to unlock the potential of every business owner. Shift them into the investor seat in their business and unlock the true joy and reward of business ownership so they can truly do life and business on their terms and live what Jeff calls their very own Big Ticket Life.
Jeff has agreed to help us leverage the power of Retail and Member Buying Groups at our Links Golf Cafes.
MICHAEL GRIFFITHS
ADVISOR TO THE BOARDWe are excited to have Michael Griffiths on our Board of Advisors at Links Golf Cafe.
Michael is the #1 authority helping service professionals to fast track their business growth by transforming their referral systems, their client retention strategies and skyrocketing their client loyalty. His unique Limbic Advantage model uses the power of neuroscience, brain chemicals, human hardwiring, and lots of other fun things, to Activate Extraordinary Moments throughout a business and create a stream of new clients, keep their current clients for longer and stand out above all their competitors. Michael has created 7 businesses, selling 6 of them along the way, over the past 10 years.
Michael has agreed to help us accelerate our Referral Systems, our Client Retention Strategies & Sky Rocketing our Client Loyalty.
MILAD HEDGE
ADVISOR TO THE BOARDWe are excited to have Milad Hedge on our Board of Advisors at Links Golf Cafe.
As a Red Seal Certified Chef with years of experience leading The Snug Cafe in Bowen Island, Milad’s expertise in menu innovation, kitchen operations, quality standards, food safety, sanitation, and team leadership. Specializing in breakfast foods, international cuisines, and comfort food I bring creativity and joy to creating unforgettable culinary experiences to all of my clients. His passion for food is rooted in honoring his Canadian and Persian cultural backgrounds, exploring flavors from around the world, while combining culinary tradition with the cutting edge of technology.
Milad has agreed to help us coordinate the creation of our gourmet fast food menu at Links Golf Cafes.
