QA Bringing smash, sizzle to tax prep

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David Prokupek went from food to finance — or from finance to food then back again, more accurately.

But the Wall Street expert-turned-Smashburger CEO-turned-Jackson Hewitt leader suggests there’s more commonalities between managing an investment firm, a restaurant chain and a tax giant than one would think.

Prokupek was hired last year as CEO of Parsippany-based Jackson Hewitt, where he has helped it re-emerge after bankruptcy as the nation’s second-largest tax preparation company — behind only H&R Block.

Before that, he led Smashburger’s six-year emergence from a humble Denver restaurant to the nation’s second-largest better burger franchise — behind only Five Guys.

“We started from scratch and ended up in 250 to 300 stores and five countries by the time I left,” Prokupek said. “It had pretty much never happened before in the restaurant industry. We’re taking a lot of those same principles — how to pick real estate wisely, train people, build brand buzz and your social network — and applying them to Jackson Hewitt.”

But there are also big differences that he’s excited about.

“The nice thing is, because you’re starting with a half-a-billion-dollar business, a little bit of growth goes a long way,” he said, later adding: “Like for retailers, getting to your first 300 stores is really hard, but getting to your next 300 after that is a heck of a lot easier. So the same principles apply.”

Prokupek spoke with NJBIZ about all that and the ways in which his professional endeavors have aligned over the years.

NJBIZ: What did your early career consist of?

David Prokupek: For 20 years, I was a Wall Street guy. Among other things, I ran a large Boston brokerage firm called Tucker Anthony Sutro Capital Markets. … Prior to Smashburger, I spent a lot of time in consumer and retail brands as a banker, adviser and investor.

NJBIZ: How’d you go from the big-picture financial apparatus of Wall Street to Smashburger, which only had two stores at the time of your joining?