By leveraging his WSB operations expertise, and drawing on his lifelong soft spot for the restaurant business, Andrew Foster (MBA ’18) is charting new waters at fast-growing restaurant brand FreshFin.
While earning his MBA, the former engineer met his current business partner—the other co-founder of FreshFin—who shared the ins and outs of the business. After joining the FreshFin team, the pair opened three new Wisconsin locations in just over a year, four more locations in subsequent years, and a location in the Chicago suburbs in 2025.
Now, the Montana native wears many hats for the business. He handles daily responsibilities, like working with team members, customers, and vendors. “We’re very hands-on, and prioritize being present in the shops to support and be a resource for our management teams.”
Additionally, Andrew also focuses on big-picture strategies like marketing, system improvements, and business growth, where he draws on key principles of business development that he learned from WSB’s Weinert Applied Ventures in Entrepreneurship (WAVE) course. “The MBA program really launched me into being able to open and run multiple businesses.”
While running the business, Andrew also strives to create opportunities for his team and cultivate a satisfying work environment by continuously developing new systems and resources—like an enhanced internal training platform. “Any time we open up a shop or are able to scale and provide more opportunities for our team, that always feels like a big reward.”
Andrew continues to make an impact in the restaurant industry, even beyond FreshFin shops. He and his business partner are also launching a brand-new brunch restaurant near Milwaukee called Waking Daisy.
Read Andrew’s profile in Update magazine.
Learn about WSB’s MBA programs.