How I Franchised This

Inside an $80M Franchise Operation with Multi-Brand Operator Jon Toy

Do you want to know what it really takes to scale a franchise from a single location to an 87-million-dollar empire?
I’m your host, Alex Smereczniak, and today I’m sitting down with Jon Toy, a former CPA turned turned franchise operator who used strategic mergers to 10X his business. Jon is what we call a MUMBO - a multi-brand operator—overseeing a massive portfolio including FastSigns and Rolling Suds. Today we are going to walk through how Jon scaled his operation from $2 million in annual revenue just 7 years ago, to over $80 million in revenue in 2024 alone.
Today we’re breaking down the truth about partnerships, how being "young and dumb" can actually be a superpower, and the roadmap to building a hundred-million-dollar portfolio.
So excited for this one. Let's get into it

How Eric Martin Went from 9–5 Jobs to Owning a Golf Simulator Business

Eric Martin shares his journey from working sales jobs to becoming a franchise owner in the golf simulator industry. In this episode, he breaks down how he searched for business opportunities, why franchising made sense for him, and how working with Franzy helped him find and evaluate the right business. He also shares how he convinced his dad to invest and what it was really like signing a franchise agreement.
If you’re thinking about business ownership, franchising, or leaving your 9–5, this episode offers a real, honest look at the process.
 
Check out Franzy at franzy.com 

Franchise Swiss Army Knife: Peter Kourounis Has Done It All

Peter Kourounis has seen franchising from almost every angle: business owner, franchisor, franchise development leader, and now founder of Patch It Up Drywall Repair and Chief Growth Officer at Elevate Franchise Brands.
In this episode, Peter walks through his unlikely start in the sign and graphics world, the lessons he learned franchising his first business (including what went wrong with partnerships), and how a bold move, showing up in person to apply for a job, led him into the 1-800-Plumber plus Air ecosystem and eventually the creation of Patch It Up.
We unpack how Patch It Up was built using proven home service fundamentals, why Peter obsessed over making onboarding simpler (including a startup bundle approach), and what he believes separates franchisees who win from franchisees who stall. Peter also shares his “3 year runway” framework for home services, why semi-absentee ownership is usually a trap, and how Elevate is investing in automation and follow up to help franchisees capture more of the leads they already pay for.
If you are exploring business ownership and want a real, no fluff take on what it actually takes to succeed in franchising, this one is for you.

Burn the Boats: Turning Down $1M OTE to Build Rolling Suds

In this episode, Aaron Harper, founder of Rolling Suds, shares his journey from Hollywood and telecom sales into franchising, explains why power washing became the ideal service-category to scale, and breaks down how he raised capital, structured deals, and grew the brand rapidly.Listeners will hear practical criteria for choosing a franchise category, the realities of franchising costs and infrastructure, and traits of successful franchisees—plus lessons on content, hiring, and building national accounts.

The Franchise Lawyer’s Playbook: How to Spot Red Flags in an FDD Before You Sign

What should you actually look for in a Franchise Disclosure Document before you wire a franchise fee and sign a 10 year agreement?
In this episode of How I Franchise This, Alex sits down with Adam Wasch, founding partner of The Franchise Firm, to break down how franchise attorneys help buyers reduce risk, negotiate smarter, and avoid the most common “I wish I knew this before I signed” mistakes.
Adam walks through how he reviews an FDD like a home inspector, why he checks Item 20 first (and what it signals about negotiation leverage), the sections buyers consistently underweight (and overweight), and why “it has an FDD” does not automatically mean it is a proven system. They also dig into industries where legal review gets more complex due to extra regulation, how incentives in franchising can get misaligned, and what “responsible franchising” should actually look like.
If you are buying your first franchise or evaluating emerging brands, this is a practical roadmap for doing diligence with your eyes wide open.

How Buddies Built a Franchise System Where Nearly All Owners Scale Up

Most people think franchising means restaurants and retail. But Buddies Home Furnishings is proving there’s massive opportunity well beyond food — especially in the fast-growing rent-to-own category.
In this episode of How I Franchise This, Alex sits down with Mitchell Lee, Head of Franchise Development at Buddies, to break down how the brand built one of the highest multi-unit ownership rates in franchising — with over 85% of franchisees operating multiple stores.
They dive into:
How the rent-to-own model works (recurring revenue, high AUVs, and 24-hour delivery)
Why this category is truly recession-resistant and how it flexes with economic cycles
What top operators do from day one that separates them from the bottom quartile
Buddies’ approach to territories, conversions, and sustainable system growth
How Mitchell evaluates candidates — and the traits shared by great operators
If you’re exploring franchises beyond food or want to understand what makes a scalable, multi-unit model actually work, this conversation delivers a rare look from the brand’s side of the table.

Franchising Wellness: The Founder Story Behind Hydrate IV Bar’s 25+ Locations

At 26 years old, Katie Gillberg left a toxic job in medical sales, took a massive risk, and opened the first Hydrate IV Bar in Denver. Ten years later, she’s the founder and CEO of one of the fastest-growing IV therapy franchises in the country — with 25 locations open, 25 more on the way, and a plan to hit 100 units.
In this episode, Katie shares how she built Hydrate IV Bar from a grassroots wellness concept into a scalable franchise system, why franchising wasn’t the plan early on, and what finally convinced her to make the leap. She opens up about partner breakups, surviving COVID, the real cost of launching a franchise brand, and why her top franchisees outperform even her corporate stores.
If you're thinking about buying or building a franchise — especially in wellness — this episode is a masterclass in founder transparency and real-world scaling.

How Matt Jeffries Left Corporate America and Jumped Into Franchising

In this episode, Alex sits down with Matt Jeffries, a former supply chain leader who spent more than a decade running large teams across Target, Nordstrom, and other major corporations before making the leap into business ownership. Originally from Ecuador and now based in Chicago, Matt shares the full story of how he went from climbing the corporate ladder to becoming a first time franchisee with 1 800 STRIPER.
Matt gives an honest look at what the transition really feels like. The excitement of starting something new. The fear of giving up a stable path. The challenge of wearing every hat. The moments where the business feels like it is taking off. The moments where you question everything. He also breaks down how he chose his brand, what surprised him most in the first few months, the importance of following the franchise playbook, and why sales ends up on the owner’s shoulders more than most people expect.
If you are exploring franchising or already in the early stages of ownership, Matt’s candor and perspective will give you a realistic and encouraging look at what this journey actually looks like.

Why Caleb Chose Franzy: A Franchise Leader on the Future of Buying a Business

Caleb Clayton has lived just about every role you can have in franchising — from working the counter at a Pelican’s Snoballs to becoming a franchisee at 25, to helping scale the brand from 10 units to more than 200 locations nationwide. He’s led franchise development across multiple national systems, trained new owners, worked with area developers, and seen firsthand what separates great operators and great franchisors from the rest.
Now he’s bringing that experience to Franzy.
In this episode, Caleb shares why he believes the franchise industry is overdue for real innovation, what buyers still get wrong about the discovery process, and why he joined Franzy to help build a more transparent, data-driven, and democratized path to business ownership.
We get into:
• Caleb’s unexpected entry into franchising and how it shaped his career• The biggest misconceptions first-time buyers have when researching brands• What top franchise operators consistently do differently• Why home services and senior care are becoming the most resilient categories• The gaps in today’s franchise discovery process — and how Franzy is fixing them• Why he’s excited about building tools that level the playing field for everyday buyers
If you want a real, on-the-ground look at franchising from someone who’s been an operator, a developer, and now an advisor at Franzy, this episode is packed with insight.

The Mindset Shift That Took Him From 6 to 30+ Units - Brian Beers

Alex sits down with operator and investor Brian Beers to unpack how he scaled a family Midas business to 35 locations and roughly 50 million in annual revenue. Brian walks through buying vs building, the seller financed deal that changed everything, and his simple ladder from I do it to we do it to they do it. You will hear how local economies of scale create real leverage, why saying yes more often lifts revenue, and the one hire that freed him to build beyond automotive. We also cover the categories he likes for the next decade, what he treats with caution, and his best advice for anyone in the first year of ownership.
Rapid fire: favorite brand Wingstop, go to resources The Science of Scaling and 10X Is Easier Than 2X, one word for franchising is scale.
Connect with Brian on YouTube, LinkedIn, and X by searching “Brian Beers.”Learn more about Franzy and get coaching to start your franchise search at franzy.com