Idaho teen saved popular fast-food chain $35M

It was his first job at a well-known fast-food chain in Ammon, Idaho. Like most teens, James Finlinson started his career with enthusiasm.

His tenacity and innovative thinking led that corporate employer to save more than $35 million for nearly 300 franchise operators over the next few years.

Finlinson started his first job in 2017 at Chik-Fil-A in Ammon at 16 years old. During his time there, he witnessed the boss committing several hours inputting schedules written on paper and transcribing them to her computer.

The teen had an idea and offered to help his boss “fix the problem,” and he began to learn software programming after school and on the weekends. Finlinson’s boss paid him $75 a month to come up with a solution.

Finlinson’s father, Jan, who supported and encouraged his son’s endeavor, took the teen on a trip to the restaurant’s corporate headquarters in Atlanta. During a tour, they met software engineers at the company who encouraged the teenager to keep at it as he struggled to come up with a way forward.

Around that time, Finlinson was introduced to an entrepreneur and mobile app developer named Michael Alvarez, who created a national app called Munch that lets users search for restaurants across the country.

The two collaborated and OneClickApp was developed. Alvarez became the CEO of the company, while Jan Finlinson took on the role of CTO. The younger Finlinson went on his church mission, returning a thriving business, which served more than 80 Chik-Fil-A locations.

The company estimates the workforce management app has saved its users more than “$35 million by increasing employee retention, communication and efficiencies.” It serves more than 40,000 employees and leaders of the chain and is being used by around one in five Chik-Fil-A franchise owners.

“I feel blessed to be able to serve so many of the great team members and leaders for the company that I owe my success to,” Finlinson said in a statement.

OneClickApp provides users with shift management, training, breaks, checklists, accountability infraction points, positive reward points, messaging and more.