Changemaker Series: Lauren Fernandez

Welcome to Changemaker Stories from LOCAL - an ongoing series of personal interviews with leaders driving change across every industry and discipline. Because change shouldn’t mean going it alone.

This week, we had the pleasure of speaking with Lauren Fernandez, an Atlanta-based investor and leader. With over two decades of experience as an attorney and entrepreneur, she has deep expertise in restaurant and franchise operations, development, and brand licensing. Lauren founded Full Course in 2019 to help early-stage restaurant brands grow. We discussed the Three E’s, navigating negativity, and the power of self-promotion. Here are some key takeaways from our conversation.

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My parents taught me early on that everyone is gifted with a unique mix of raw talent, opportunity, and education. It’s up to me to make the most of these tools and use them to the best of my ability.

My guiding principle in both my career and life is serving others. This is deeply embedded in Full Course’s mission, where we help early-stage food and restaurant brands grow. At our core, we’re dedicated to making the restaurant industry a better place. 

I’ve worked in many environments undergoing rapid change. The more experience you have with mergers, acquisitions, leadership transitions, and organizational shifts, the more familiar—and manageable—change becomes.

For change to last long-term, it has to be bigger than a cult of personality around the leader. To make a new habit, purpose, or mission stick, it has to be deeply woven into the company’s culture and reflected in everything your people do.

Think about culture from an employee’s first day to their exit interview. When do key conversations happen? Who leads them? How do you value your employees? How do you celebrate milestones like birthdays? All these small moments contribute to shaping your culture.

“Growing companies must have leaders with a people-first mindset.”

Great change leaders are transparent and consistently communicate. While it’s true that people often fear change, and leaders can’t always share every detail, the best leaders are still remarkably transparent—both in their actions and their words.

At the start of change, you sometimes have to channel your inner MacGyver. You gather your resources, assess what you have, get organized, and then figure out how to make it work.

After a project, we measure its success with our Three E's. Could it have been more elegant? Could it have been more efficient? Could it have been more effective?

I am a big fan of simplicity. You can always look for ways to defragment, make processes more finite, remove unnecessary steps, or automate tasks. It all goes back to those E’s. Elegant. Efficient. Effective.

‍When the right kind of change is happening and moving in the right direction, you can feel it in the energy in the room. People are excited to show up to meetings, eager to discuss what’s happening. There's positivity around the movement’s direction and momentum. 

On the flip side, it’s crucial to read the room for signs of discontent and disruption. When driving change in an organization, it only takes a few naysayers who aren’t invested in finding solutions to undermine the efforts of the positive change agents.

At our company we don't tolerate complaining without offering a solution. It’s the same way at home with my kids and on every team that I've ever run. Before coming to me with a complaint, think of a solution to the problem first. 

I'm ruthlessly pragmatic, but I'm an optimist. I always welcome well-articulated, logical viewpoints—even those that challenge mine, but I don't have a high level of tolerance for negativity.

This doesn’t mean avoiding tough discussions. Confrontation is essential, especially when it comes to defending our position and standing up for what we believe is right.

I would tell my younger self not to be ashamed of ruthlessly self-promoting. I wish I had realized at 25 that my brand is my responsibility, even beyond my specific area of expertise. Don’t be embarrassed to raise your hand, volunteer, or be the person on stage—be visible and present, no matter what your role is in the company.

My favorite place to go in Atlanta is the Chattahoochee River. I live nearby and love walking and hiking there. It’s a place that truly energizes me. 

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