Entrepreneur USA - May-June 2024

May-June 2024 / Entrepreneur.
com
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FEATURES
P.44
The Path
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What does it take to make a million?
What happens once you do?
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Here’s our special report on
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Illustration / N I C O L Á S O R T E G A May-June 2024 / E N T R E P R E N E U R . C O M / 1

May-June 2024
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF BIRDY GREY

→ SPREADING WINGS
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20 Which Branding by MARIO ARMSTRONG
08 How to Make 11 The Whole Foods Drives More Sales?
a Hard Decision Guide to Leadership A food startup’s old branding 30 Open Secrets in SEO
You might be afraid of taking During his 44 years as CEO of was dragging it down. Are you We asked SEO experts: What
a big risk. But there’s another Whole Foods, John Mackey making the same mistake? does everyone in your industry
risk you’re not considering. learned to lead with his heart. by KIM KAVIN know, but rarely talk about?
by JASON FEIFER by JASON FEIFER by FRANCES DODDS
24 Find Your Dimension X
It’s what will drive your success.
Everyone has it, but not everyone
finds it. Google’s former chief
innovation evangelist explains.
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2 / E N T R E P R E N E U R . C O M / May-June 2024
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FRANCHISE → ROUND TWO

Ben Witte thought
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70 The 150 Top New & When the market
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by TRACY STAPP HEROLD
86 Old Skills, New Use

This engineer wanted a new
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by JOHN FRANCIS
88 From 40 Stores to
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Estrella Insurance rethought
its franchise strategy.
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90 There’s a Better Way

to Sell Franchises
A few bad actors are hurting
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These 100 companies offer
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CLOSER
112 What Inspires Me
A terrible loss taught me
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ENTM.AG/EEPAPPLY
The One Change Auto
Services Giant Monro Made
to Save Time and Gain Insight
into Procurement
It impacted the entire business and allowed them
to better serve their customers across the U.S.
In today’s fast-paced retail landscape, having a great product customers. The implementation of Amazon Business involved
is essential, of course. But smart business owners know at a structured approach: Monro began by collecting data
áÚÖèééìääéÝÚçéÝÞãÜèÖçÚØçêØÞÖáÛäçèêØØÚèèÖèìÚááÚğ
ØÞÚãé and understanding their procurement patterns. Through
inventory management and streamlined distribution processes. ØäááÖ×äçÖéÞëÚÚĜäçéèìÞéÝ¼âÖïäã½êèÞãÚèè¾êèéäâÚç
With smart business buying plans in place, these processes can Advisors, Monro optimized their purchasing strategies and
enable companies of all sizes to minimize costs, improve cash established guidelines for preferred products and suppliers.
ĞäìÚãÝÖãØÚØêèéäâÚçèÖéÞèÛÖØéÞäãâÖàÚ×ÚééÚçÙÚØÞèÞäãèÖãÙ
even gain a competitive edge. ¼ééÝÚèéÖçéäÛÖåÞáäéåçäÜçÖâËÚçÚÞçÖÞãéÚãÙÚÙÛäç¼âÖïäã
Business to act as a secondary option for when their
That’s why when Monro, Inc. — an automotive service and tire ÙÞèéçÞ×êéÞäãèÚçëÞØÚèØäêáÙãĆéÙÚáÞëÚçÞéÚâèäãéÞâÚ½êéËÚçÚÞçÖ
dealer with more than 1,250 locations nationwide — needed soon realized that there may be more potential for Amazon
éäçÚØäãĝÜêçÚéÝÚÞçÙÞèéçÞ×êéÞäãèÚçëÞØÚèâäÙÚáÇêÞèËÚçÚÞçÖ ½êèÞãÚèèÖéåáÖîĈ¼ÛéÚçÖãÞã ÙÚåéÝØäèéÖãÖáîèÞèìÚëÖáÞÙÖéÚÙ
ÎÚãÞäçÈÖãÖÜÚçäÛÄãÙÞçÚØéËçäØêçÚâÚãé×ÚÜÖãéäçÚèÚÖçØÝ that Amazon Business was the best option for us,” he says.
options.
ÎÖëÞãÜéÞâÚÖãÙâäãÚî×î×êîÞãÜèâÖçéÚç
¼èËÚçÚÞçÖåêéèÞéĈÞãÙÞçÚØéÞéÚâèÖçÚÖãîéÝÞãÜéÝÖééÝÚ ¼âÖïäãĆèĞÚíÞ×ÞáÞéîÖãÙèØÖáÖ×ÞáÞéîèéääÙäêéÛäçËÚçÚÞçÖĈÉäé
business needs that doesn’t show up on a customer’s invoice only was it easy for us to implement when we had our own
that are important for operations.” For example, these items distribution services, but it was also very adaptable for
ÞãØáêÙÚäğØÚÚæêÞåâÚãéåÖåÚçåçäÙêØéèÖãÙØáÚÖãÞãÜ ìÝÚãìÚØÝÖãÜÚÙäêçâäÙÚá¼ãÙéÝÖéìÖèèÞÜãÞĝØÖãéÛäçäêç
products. While these items do not directly contribute to the business,” he says.
company’s core products or services, they’re necessary for the
smooth functioning of the workplace environment and the ÄãÖÙÙÞéÞäãÈäãçä×ÚãÚĝéÚÙÛçäâèÖëÞãÜéÞâÚÞãéÚçâèäÛ
opportunity to better serve customers. éçÖÞãÞãÜÖãÙäã×äÖçÙÞãÜÛäçéÝÚÞçÚâåáäîÚÚèĈÒÚêèÚÙäêçäìã
internal training module, Monro University, which explained
Monro previously operated with a traditional distribution how to use Amazon Business. This ensured that everyone took
system, which sometimes resulted in long lead times and this step to complete the program and activate their account.”
áÞâÞéÚÙëÞèÞ×ÞáÞéîÞãéäåçäØêçÚâÚãéÇäØÖéÞäãèäÛéÚãÝÖÙéä
resort to local purchases for those indirect items, and that led ÇääàÞãÜÖÝÚÖÙÈäãçäåáÖãèéäØäãéÞãêÚáÚëÚçÖÜÞãÜ¼âÖïäã
to untracked spending and inventory discrepancies. Business for purchasing and explore opportunities for
expansion into other departments within the organization.
ĈÒÚìäêáÙäçÙÚç×êáàèêååáÞÚèÖãÙÙÞèéçÞ×êéÚéÝÚâÞãéÝÚ ĈÒÞéÝ¼âÖïäã½êèÞãÚèèéÝÚÙÚáÞëÚçÞÚèÝÖëÚ×ÚÚãÞãØçÚÙÞ×áÚ
same manner that we would with our tires or parts, but there our locations are able to get what they need in just a day or
was a lot of tail spend from the stores when they couldn’t get two, and ultimately, this has had a core impact on our business
what they needed because they would only receive deliveries and allowed us to better serve our customers,” he says.
ÚëÚçîéìäéäÛäêçìÚÚàèĉËÚçÚÞçÖÚíåáÖÞãèĈÒÝÚãèéäçÚèìäêáÙ
purchase supplies, I could see that they made an expense,
but I had no idea of what the category or item was.”
ÏäĝãÙäêéìÝîîäêØÖãçÚáîäã
From pilot program to realizing company-wide ¼âÖïäã½êèÞãÚèèÛäçèâÖçé×êèÞãÚèè×êîÞãÜëÞèÞé
×ÚãÚĝéè
×êèÞãÚèèÖâÖïäãØäâ
With the impending divestment of their distribution arm,
ÈäãçäãÚÚÙÚÙÖèìÞÛééçÖãèÞéÞäãéäÖâäçÚÚğØÞÚãé
procurement model.
ËÚçÚÞçÖáääàÚÙéä¼âÖïäã½êèÞãÚèèéäâÖãÖÜÚéÝÖééÖÞáèåÚãÙ
ÜÖÞãëÞèÞ×ÞáÞéîÖãÙ×ÚééÚçÚæêÞåéÝÚÞçÚâåáäîÚÚèéäÝÚáå
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Explore pathways.
From every side.
Dare to innovate. Prepare through career immersion.
At Syracuse University, every learning experience
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Every Action
Has 2 Risks
Are you facing a difficult decision? Here’s the
most important risk you’re not considering.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP is an end- decision, we usually think

less series of hard decisions. I’m about the consequences of
sure you’re facing one right now. doing it. What’s the upside?
Sadly, I can’t give you the right What’s the downside? But that’s
answer—but I can offer you some- only half the equation.
thing new to consider. There are risks of action, but
To really appreciate this, I first there are also risks of inaction.
want to tell you about someone Every decision has a cost—either
who faced a gut-wrenching because of what we do, or what
choice of his own. we don’t do. You cannot truly
I’ll call him Steve. He’d sto- know the wisdom of doing some-
len things, served time in thing, and decide whether it’s
prison, and wanted to turn his worth the risk, until you explore
life around. Finding a job was the costs of not doing it.
hard, but he eventually landed This applies to every major
some freelance work for a big decision you’ll make. Are you
company. He threw himself in a relationship, unhappy with avoid it. But he could decide how that he appreciated Steve’s hon-
into it, outworking everyone something, but afraid to tell his manager found out. esty, and that Steve would still
and getting noticed. your partner? Ask yourself: If Steve took action and get the job.
After a few months, a senior What are the risks of prompting revealed his criminal back- Because Steve took action,
leader called Steve into his office. some hard conversations, versus ground, Steve had a chance to he now has the opportunity
They talked for 20 minutes. Then the risks of staying quiet as the own the story. He could explain he’s always wanted. He can
the leader offered Steve a full- situation gets worse? himself and humanize the situa- restart his life.
time job. “So just fill these forms Or let’s say you’re considering tion. If Steve took no action, and We can move, or we can stand
out,” the senior leader told him. a career change. If you act, you waited until the background still. We can act, or we can stand
“We’ll do a background check, might be gambling with your check came in, questions would by. But no matter what we do, we
and then let’s get to work.” finances or career path. But if inevitably be raised. Trust would cannot escape risk. Every deci-
That’s when Steve panicked. you don’t act, you might feel stag- diminish. People might wonder: sion contains consequences.
He was desperate for this job and nant and regretful. Both are risks. Was Steve trying to hide this? Did Every moment defines the next.
was so close to his dream—but it Both are consequences. Only you he think we wouldn’t find out? And sometimes, the greatest risk
could all fall apart once his man- can decide which is worse. The manager’s reaction was comes from not doing the hard,
ager learned his background. This is a version of what I unpredictable. But the risk of scary thing…
Steve happens to read my maga- told Steve, the former inmate. inaction seemed greater than the Because sometimes, doing
zine column, so he emailed me Do the risks of action outweigh risk of action. nothing gets you nothing.
to ask for advice. “What should I the risks of inaction? And here’s So Steve decided to be forth-
do?” he wrote. “Should I tell him what Steve did. coming about his past. He
about my conviction?” Steve realized that, in some emailed me the night before he’d
“I can’t tell you what to do,” I ways, the future was already set. planned to talk with the man-
replied. “But I’ll give you another He could tell his manager about ager. “Pray for me,” he wrote.
question to ask: What’s the cost of his past, or he could wait for his The next day, he sent me an Jason Feifer
not taking action?” manager to discover it himself— update: The talk went very well. [email protected]
Because here’s the thing: but either way, his manager The manager said Steve was @heyfeifer
When we weigh the risks of a would find out. Steve could not brave for being upfront about it, S U B S C R I B E : entm.ag/subscribe
8 / E N T R E P R E N E U R . C O M / May-June 2024 Photograph / N I G E L P A R R Y

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PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF JOHN MACKEY
‘You Don’t Have to Shut

Your Heart Down’
What does it take to be a good leader? During his 44 years as CEO of Whole Foods, John Mackey
learned his answer: Serve the business, serve its people, and never abandon yourself.
by JASON FEIFER
May-June 2024 / E N T R E P R E N E U R . C O M / 11
Q&A
→ OUT OF OFFICE
John Mackey hiking the
McAfee Knob on the
Appalachian Trail.
In the early days of Whole

Foods, you seemed like a great
ohn Mackey is cofounder and the longtime CEO of Whole Foods. But in the early days of his business,
contradiction: You were grow-
he was called something else. And it wasn’t meant as a compliment: Wacky Mackey.
ing into the role of a leader,
One of his cofounders came up with the name, as a way of mocking Mackey’s lifestyle. To
and the company was suc-
his doubters, Mackey seemed like an unserious leader for an increasingly serious business. He
ceeding, but your refusal to
started the company when he was 24, having never attended a business class. He meditated,
conform to people’s expecta-
took psychedelics, and had many spiritual pursuits. He looked like a long-haired hippie. And
tions put some people off.
while Mackey liked who he was, the skeptics ate at him. He wondered if he could grow into a
Yes. Here’s a story that’s not
fully respected leader, while still being himself.
in the book. A woman was
Ultimately, of course, he prevailed—building and running Whole Foods for 44 years, until his retirement
leaving Whole Foods Market. I
in 2022. His rude cofounder had left the business decades earlier. Mackey chronicles all this and more in his
didn’t know her, but she really
new book, The Whole Story. “I wanted to convey to other entrepreneurs that this is a journey,” he says. “You
wanted to speak with me on
have to grow, both personally and as a leader, as fast as the business. If you don’t, they’ll throw you out.”
her way out. So she came into
Here, he explains how to become the leader your company needs—without compromising your values.
my office and basically told
me, “You’re not like a CEO
is supposed to be.” ing, How do I get that stock price now? The answer will change through purpose and love—
I said, “Well, how’s the CEO up so I can make a lot of money? as time passes. But one of the those are the two most import-
supposed to be?” And she says, That’s not how a leader would reasons I was able to grow as a ant things. And not having a
“More serious, more business- behave, but that is how a CEO leader is because I kept asking massive ego that takes all the
like. You dress like a hippie, might behave. that question, and I had the air out of the room.
you don’t dress like a business- courage to go into unfamiliar,
person. You’re wearing shorts, Now I see why you didn’t uncomfortable situations. “Love” isn’t a word you hear
you have long hair. You’re just care about being a CEO. often in business. In fact,
not a good CEO.” And I said, But how did you learn how How did you prepare yourself many people say you need to
“Well, the company is doing to be a good leader? for those new situations leave your emotions at the
really well, so why do you say I asked myself a question all or responsibilities? Did you door. Can you make the argu-
I’m not a good CEO?” She says, the time, that I think other have a strategy? ment for talking more about
“Well, you just don’t act like a entrepreneurs should ask: I had a great executive team, love in business?
CEO.” And I said, “I don’t know What does the company most and I trusted the wisdom I understand what you just
how a CEO is supposed to need me to do now? of that intimate team. We said, and [unbridled emotion-
act. I just act like I am. I’m an If there’s something you’re would argue, we’d debate, ality] is a misunderstanding of
authentic person. I’m not try- good at, you want to keep and we’d make better deci- what love is. Love means you
ing to be a CEO. And I’m sorry doing it, because you enjoy it. sions as a group. You need a care about people, you care
you couldn’t reconcile that, But I found that I had to let go team with a high degree of about what happens to them,
but if you look at our results, of those things, because the trust, because people need and you care how they feel.
they’re really good.” And she company no longer needed to be able to speak their own You still have to make hard
really had no answer for that. me to do them. I’ll give you minds without fear that it’s decisions. Your first responsi-
an example. In the early days, going to harm them. bility is to the collective good
What did you mean, you the most important decisions I think the media often por- of the whole business. That
weren’t trying to be a CEO? we could ever make—besides trays people like Steve Jobs may mean somebody’s out-
I’m making a distinction hiring good people—were the and Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos grown the business and they
between CEO and leader. A locations. So I headed up the as sort of like Superman or need to move on. You can still
CEO is a position of authority. real estate team for several Superwoman. And I promise love them. You can still do that
It’s a role. You’re the person years. I was good at it, and I you, no matter how brilliant in a way that’s caring and do
in charge of the company if
you’re CEO, but you may not
be a good leader. You may
have just played a good game I’M MAKING A DISTINCTION BETWEEN CEO AND LEADER.
and gotten promoted. But A CEO IS A POSITION OF AUTHORITY. IT’S A ROLE.
leaders are those who others YOU’RE THE PERSON IN CHARGE OF THE COMPANY
want to follow. A good leader
inspires people and has integ-
IF YOU’RE CEO, BUT YOU MAY NOT BE A GOOD LEADER.”
rity. We trust people we know
that are in service to the busi-
ness, and that aren’t in it just liked it. But eventually, that somebody is, they’re backed all you can to help them land
for themselves. wasn’t the most important by a brilliant team, and they’re in a good spot.
In large corporations, you thing the company needed me making a lot of these decisions You will not inspire people,
have people playing the game to do. So I stopped. Instead, collectively. I don’t think that’s and you will not create loyalty
to get higher positions with the I was forced into new situa- well-understood. and commitment, if people do
ultimate goal to become CEO. tions. The company needed not feel that you care about
And the problem is, most don’t me to be more involved in PR What’s the key to building them. So that’s the answer to
get there until they’re in their as the face of the company, for a brilliant team like that? your riddle. You have to be a
50s or even 60s. So their stint example. And I made a lot of It’s a word I use a lot in my servant leader, for the good of
as a CEO of a large public com- mistakes in PR! But it’s what book: It’s love. People on my the whole. But you don’t have
pany may not be that long. It the company needed. team knew I cared about them, to shut your heart down.
may be five to 10 years. And That’s why the question is knew I loved them, and that
oftentimes they’re not thinking important. It’s not, What do I we were trying to get to the To hear this entire interview,
long term. They’re not think- like to do? It’s not, What am I same goals together. They find Jason Feifer’s podcast
ing about, How do I serve the really good at? It’s, What does knew I didn’t care who got the Problem Solvers wherever
company best? They’re think- the company most need me to do credit. You build that team you get podcasts.
3 ways Startups Find
Unexpected opportunities
in WISCONSIN
When starting a business, having a great idea is just the is Titletown Tech, a venture studio and innovation center
beginning of the process. To bring that idea to life, you need located in Green Bay.
to find market fit, consider funding or financing, and perhaps
most importantly, to decide where you’ll set up operations to When Tyink began to explore options for funding, he
ensure that your business can thrive. turned to the team at Titletown Tech. “Any time we look at
a company, we look for smart and talented owners that are
Take it from Alex Tyink, who moved back home to solving a meaningful problem with their business, and Alex
Wisconsin to start Fork Farms, a Green Bay-based and his team covered that,” says Cordero Barkley, a partner
business that reated indoor, hydroponic technology at Titletown Tech. “We figured out what their needs were,
allowing people and communities to participate in the from offering them the opportunity to work out of our office
fresh, local food movement. space to working out the details of what a funding round
may look like.”
The idea for Fork Farms was hatched in New York City, where
Tyink started volunteering at a rooftop farm and learning Entrepreneurs can also apply for loans or grants directly
how to grow vegetables. Then he began experimenting. He through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., which
eventually found that using the right combination of grow offers a variety of grant programs that can be used to finance
lights and reflective surfaces, he was able to reduce the startup costs, expand operations, or purchase equipment.
amount of total energy required to produce a pound of food
by almost a quarter from the industry average, he says. Tyink 3. A Wealth Of Private And Public resources.
applied for patents and soon realized he was onto something. Business owners who start up or relocate to Wisconsin also
have access to a growing list of resources through the WEDC
So why start his budding agriculture tech business — everything from skills training to grants to local economic
1,000 miles west in Wisconsin? Here’s why Tyink’s business development projects.
and so many others find opportunities for success in the
Badger State. “We have a suite of resources that are designed specifically
for startups and entrepreneurs, and we understand what
1. The supportive, tight-knit community. their challenges are and what their opportunities are,” Hagar
Tyink says there’s something about Green Bay, and Wisconsin explains. “So, our resources are tailored to their realities. All
in general, that people won’t find in other parts of the these things fit together in a way that an entrepreneur can
country: A community that supports its entrepreneurs from find their own path through those resources. We also have an
starting up to growing and scaling. “In Wisconsin, there’s amazing network of partners that can provide a larger set of
a tight-knit ethos, and people have been so supportive of resources for ideally any entrepreneur to tap into.”
innovation and creativity,” he explains.
“Wisconsin is a place where the people are the biggest asset,”
Complimenting this strong sense of community, Tyink says. “We have gotten so much free advice and so many
entrepreneurs and their employees here enjoy a superb people have helped us without the need to compensate
quality of life coupled with low business and living expenses themselves. If you have a great idea and pure intentions,
(the cost of living in Wisconsin is 6.5 percent lower than the you’re going to find an amazingly receptive community of
national average). Plus, Wisconsin is home to some of the people and other businesses who are willing to help. My
best colleges and universities, which provides entrepreneurs greatest advice is to be open to accepting that help.”
with a qualified talent pool.
To learn more about how businesses
2. Access to capital. thrive in Wisconsin, SCAN THE QR CODE
Another important part of Wisconsin’s entrepreneurial
ecosystem is its line-up of investment firms. Among them
Wisconsin is brimming with potential because of innovators and entrepreneurs, just like you.
Take your vision from concept to commercialization with the funding resources, networks
of support, and specialized programs offered through Wisconsin Economic Development
Corporation’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Division. Let’s change the world, together.
LOOK FORWARD
Fuel your success at wedc.org/entrepreneurs
Six Ways
1/ Spotting the red flags in dream clients

“I underestimated the importance of discernment. Early on, we had
what seemed like a dream client—but red flags started to emerge.
They were going through some internal strife, and their executives
were contradicting each other, which bled onto our team. Winning
the business took precedence over my intuition, and ultimately, the
politics of our client pushed our work to the side. It taught me that
winning can feel like losing if you aren’t careful who you help.”
—LILLIAN MARSH, cofounder and managing principal, TinyWins
2/ Actively listening to customers

“I never imagined how important active listening would be. It means
being attuned to additional context, what’s not being said, and
refraining from attachments to what you want to be true. For exam-
ple, I shared my cell phone number with our first 250,000 custom-
ers. It was daunting, but listening to them was how I discovered the
trend of using social media for search and discovery purposes. This
led us to base the entire company on social commerce.”
—KONRAD WALISZEWSKI, cofounder and CEO, @hotel
3/ Stamina for the slog of leadership

“I’d worked in the trenches at other startups—doing everything
from taking out the trash to managing marketing budgets. But
the total accountability of owning your own business is different:
making sure trademarks get filed and contractors are paid on time,
answering every investor question, sending invoices, being the
go-to customer service person. You have to ‘eat your vegetables’
before you can build a team that takes care of it for you.”
—ANGELINE VUONG, cofounder and chief product officer, Cherub
4/ Having a sense of humor

“I severely underestimated the importance of finding lightness in
all situations. Starting and scaling a business is a bumpy ride, so
cultivating a sense of humor has been a powerful coping mecha-
nism. It not only alleviated tension, but allowed me to truly enjoy the
journey. Whether overcoming a logistical nightmare or navigating
a difficult conversation, finding moments of lightness helped me
maintain perspective and keep morale high on my team.”
—MARINA MIDDLETON, CEO and co-owner, Create & Cultivate
5/ Seeing the details that matter to your customer

“In the pre-owned fashion business, I quickly realized the value of
getting details like color names and styles exactly right. For exam-
ple, posting a light blue Birkin as ‘Hermès Birkin bag - light blue’
The Skills might result in an $8,000 sale. But posting a “Hermès Togo Verso
Birkin 35 Bleu Zanzibar Malachite” will help you find the right buyer
who knows that the bag is actually worth $15,000, due to the lim-
You Never Knew

ited release of that color and leather combination.”
—BEN HEMMINGER, cofounder and CEO, Fashionphile
You Needed 6/ Asking for help

“As a practicing physician, asking for help was not seen as a
strength. Competent physicians are trained to handle issues within
their specialty without much collaboration. But as an entrepreneur,
Do you know what it takes to succeed?
asking for help is a good thing, so I had to retrain my brain. There
Here, six leaders share the skill are so many knowledgeable people. It’s my job to identify those
they underestimated—and needed to develop. people, build relationships with them, and ask for their help.”
—DR. LYNDSEY HARPER, founder and CEO, Rosy
16 / E N T R E P R E N E U R . C O M / May-June 2024 Illustration / P E T E R YA N

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Brand Glow-Ups
Which Fridge Would You Eat From?

A great company mission doesn’t always inspire great sales. That’s why this discount grocery company rebranded,
and is now reaching more customers. by K I M K AV I N
ill people buy

cheap food to
→ NEW BRANDING help save the
planet? The
answer is
yes—and no.
This was the
idea behind Flashfood, an
app-based marketplace that
aims to divert food away
from landfills, and to families
in need. It collects food near-
ing its best-by date, places it
in refrigerators at more than
2,000 grocery stores, then
sells the food to users at a
discount. Since launching in
2016, it’s diverted more than
90 million pounds of fresh
food and saved shoppers
more than $200 million.
But when chief customer
officer Jordan Schenck
began listening closely to
customers a while back,
she heard a disconnect.
Flashfood’s marketing and
branding were all mis-
sion-oriented—with a leaf
logo to signal sustainability,
and phrases like “Help us
reduce food waste” splashed
across their fridges. “But
when we got into the why of
people buying the product,
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF FL ASHFOOD
it was actually—‘Hey, I saved

$2,000 on groceries, and I
was able to fix my roof or get
my kid school supplies as a
single mom,’” Schenck says.
“It wasn’t, ‘I took 900 miles
of carbon dioxide out of the
atmosphere.’”
Flashfood had fallen into a
classic trap: Consumers may
love a brand’s mission, but
that’s not why they buy. So
this past January, Flashfood
rebranded. “We wanted to
make the affordable desir-
able,” Schenck says. Now the
branding is all about bargains
and people, and sends a less
lofty message. “We wanted to
keep it real random, like the
fun of what you find in the
fridges,” Schenck says. “And
we wanted our design style to
communicate joy, which led
us to a vintage-inspired illus-
tration style and an extremely
tasty color palette.”
The month they launched
the rebrand, they saw the high-
est number of app downloads
in the company’s history. “We
wanted to create a bright and
energetic space,” Schenck
says, “where you don’t feel like
you’re making tradeoffs to be
part of this club.”
→ OLD BRANDING
Small Packaging Changes Can Have a Big
Impact on Consumer Perception and Help
You Meet Your Sustainability Goals
Swapping plastic for paper can generate positive
results for businesses in numerous ways.
Sometimes even the smallest change VXUIDFHIRUKLJKGHQLWLRQJUDSKLFVΖWLVDOVRHQJLQHHUHGIRU

can go a long way in improving consumer durable and comfortable handling and helps manage costs
perception and brand loyalty. Right now, with minimized or optimized material usage.
one of the most immediately impactful
things a brand can do is to switch plastic packaging materials “Customers appreciate the fully printable surface for crisp,
for paper. And for good reason. vibrant graphics, and consumers appreciate its durability
and ease of handling,” says Sam Shoemaker, President of
A recent study indicated that more than 80% of shoppers are Consumer Packaging at WestRock. He adds that, so far,
concerned about plastic and packaging waste1, preferring wholesale businesses that sell multi-pack food and beverage
options that are easily recyclable and produce less waste. In products are the primary segment using EnduraGrip™. And
another recent survey, 78% of respondents said they think they’re seeing positive results. “Customer and consumer
more highly of companies that package their products in response to EnduraGrip™ has been highly favorable.”
paper-based packaging2.
All in on paper.
Unlike plastic, paper and paper-based packaging are some of With more businesses becoming serious about sustainability,
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rate of 68%3, compared to just 5% for plastics4. More paper completely. One recent innovation
by weight is recovered for recycling from municipal solid replaces plastic-based blister packaging
waste streams than glass, plastic, steel, and aluminum with a paper-based solution. Sonoco, a
combined5. That’s huge. Paper-based packaging is designed global provider of packaging products
from the ground up to be recycled, making it the go-to choice with more than 300 operations
for increasingly eco-conscious consumers. around the world, recently launched
the EnviroSense® PaperBlister™, the
As more consumers opt for paper-based products over company’s sustainable answer to
plastic, many brands are turning to paper manufacturers traditional blister packaging for brands
for solutions that provide packaging integrity while also that want to eliminate plastic packaging.
supporting brand sustainability goals such as material
reduction, recyclability, and sourcing from renewable Sonoco conducted in-person focus groups, developed new
resources. seal tooling, designed new blister cards and cavities, and
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A simple way to eliminate single-use plastics. to existing sealing equipment to make it PaperBlister-ready,”
Plastic forks and knives. Laundry detergent bottles. Beverage says Kim Sanderson, a Senior Marketing and Sales Associate
containers. When you think of single-use plastics, these are at Sonoco Alloyd.
some of the products that likely come to mind. Another is
multipack bundles—the plastic used to bundle food and :LWKRXWWKHSODVWLFZLQGRZIRUYLVXDOSURGXFWLGHQWLFDWLRQ
beverage products together for easy handling. the PaperBlister™ relies on realistic HD-quality graphics as
well as cutouts in the front cards and back cavity card.
That’s where EnduraGrip™ And consumers are immediately aware that the packaging
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that enables brands to transition incorporated into the design. “With so many stores requiring
multipack bundles from plastic reduced or zero plastic, along with legislation pushing for
clips to a recyclable paperboard various plastic laws, PaperBlister™ is a simple, streamlined
alternative. It was launched in early 2023 by Atlanta-based way brands can fully move to eye catching, recyclable
WestRock, a company that creates paper-based packaging for packaging without the need for investing in additional capital
several industries including food, beverage, healthcare, retail, equipment,” Sanderson says.
beauty, and more.
Visit howlifeunfolds.com/innovations
In addition to being highly recyclable, the paperboard-based or Scan the QR Code
EnduraGrip™ provides companies with a fully printable
1 Consumers Brands/Ipsos Poll, 2021 | 2 Brookmark Research, Paper and Packaging Board, May 2023 Attitudes and Usage Tracking | 3 AF&PA | 4 & 5 EPA
By choosing paper products, you’re taking a
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When you use paper products, you’re doing your part to help the planet. Because the paper, packaging and
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Learn more at howlifeunfolds.com
From the Makers of Paper and Packaging © 2024 and ® Paper and Packaging Board. Please recycle your paper and boxes.
The Big Idea
ou may have heard this

question before: “What
advice would you give
your 16-year-old self?”
I know this is a pop-
ular way to package the
“wisdom” of someone
with experience or success, and
as Google’s first chief innova-
tion evangelist, people asked
me this sometimes. But I never
got it. Why would I ask my
older self what my younger self
should have known or done?
The missteps I made or the
odd turns I took back then are
part of who I am now. Offering
someone else a road map of my
own pitfalls and speed bumps
would give them a defensive
strategy, at best. No one’s gain-
ing any yards by looking in my
rearview mirror.
But I do think it’s useful
for people to do a retrospec-
tive on their own lives, not-
ing meaningful milestones,
because those moments tend
to reveal something very
important: a personality trait
that I’ll call your “Dimension
X.” This is your unique super-
power—the lens through which
you see the world—not as it is,
but as you are (to gently para-
phrase Anaïs Nin). Over time,
your Dimension X becomes a
signature reflex that plays an
increasingly important role
in shaping your future. It’s
your through-line response
in events that move you for-
ward. And if you cultivate it, it
can act like a strong, confident
hand on the rudder in your
day-to-day decisions and in
your overarching narrative.
Finding Your Dimension X So how do you know what

your Dimension X is?
Here’s what I suggest. Make
Why do some people thrive, while others fall behind? As Google’s first a map of the milestones in your
chief innovation evangelist, I believe I found the answer: Successful people life, chronologically. Milestones
harness what I call their “Dimension X.” Here’s what it is. can be momentous events—
by FREDERIK G. PFERDT happy or devastating—that
change our lives in an instant.
24 / E N T R E P R E N E U R . C O M / May-June 2024 Illustrator / P E T E R R E Y N O L D S

But they can also take place over about your choice. It made sense
a longer period of time. What because this factor was helping
makes anything a milestone, you express a truth about who
positive or negative, is the extent you are and what you believe.
to which it precipitated your for-
ward motion. A quick sketch of ONCE YOU’VE identified your
my own milestones might look Dimension X, think of three
like the figure to the right. people who play very different
roles in your life—say, a part-
THE FIRST THING I notice when ner or other family member,
I look at these milestones is how a colleague, and a friend. Ask
neutrally I regard them now. As them to tell you a story about
difficult as, say, my grandfather’s → PFERDT’S MILESTONE MAP you, in which they think your
death was for me, when I look Dimension X had an impact. No
at it in combination with other matter how well you think you
milestone events in my life, I can know yourself and your own nar-
appreciate that it prompted me result of my bias toward action. middle from side to side. The rative, you will always be sur-
to let go of any excuse to move I applied for more than 60 vis- left edge of the page represents prised and enlightened by the
tentatively through my own iting researcher positions to the earliest part of your life, way someone else describes you.
life. It also triggered an intense secure a spot at Stanford. I built and the right edge represents You may even discover a mile-
need to see myself in the con- the Google Garage without ask- where you are today. Positive stone or two for your map that
text of the whole world, not ing anyone for permission. experiences will appear above you hadn’t thought of.
just the place where I grew up. Early in my career, this quality the line and negative experi- As you grow more aware of
When I consider the birth of landed me in far-flung parts of ences will appear below the your Dimension X, you’ll find
my first child, I remember great the world, doing jobs I’d never line. Graph five to 10 mile- that its power is increasingly
happiness, of course, but also considered before. Combined stone events across the page accessible to you. It won’t always
as a new and dynamic factor with other dimensions (particu- and include a brief description lead to some dramatic break-
in my approach to my future. larly openness and experimen- under each event. through or giant success, and it
My choices became more com- tation), my bias toward action Now look at the events on may even lead to failures, but it
plicated and interesting, as I has enabled me to move fast your map and consider these will always move you forward.
was now thinking about a fam- and make choices—often risky questions: Do you recall your The question I like a lot bet-
ily instead of just myself. And ones, and not always success- state of mind at the time of ter than “What would I tell my
throughout my milestones ful ones—that have caused me to these events? What actions did younger self?” is, “What can I
map, I can see a particular grow as a person. you take as a result? Did you do today to create a new oppor-
quality in me that has played take action immediately or tunity for myself tomorrow?”
a part in either bringing these SO LET’S create your map. did your behavior change over The answer is simple: Make just
events about or in coloring my Have a look at your highs and time? What beliefs or assump- one brand-new choice. Your
responses to them. This quali- lows. Think about the moments tions informed these actions? Dimension X will ensure that
ty—a strong bias for action—is my that feel like significant junc- Can you identify something your choice is interesting, maybe
Dimension X. tures—individual events that you learned from one event even a little edgy, but it’s right
It’s a default setting to just go caused you to have an emo- that affected your approach there with you all the time, ready
for it, without overthinking or tionally intense response or to the next? What was the fac- to nudge you toward the future
overfocusing on consequences. longer-term developments tor that most influenced your you’re crafting. It’s your signa-
I believe there’s no such thing that marked a turning point or response to these events, or ture, your fingerprint, the singu-
as a perfect decision, and most profound learning or growth. even prompted any to occur? lar thing that’s true about you.
of the time, taking action helps These are often not the “big You will likely spot something Use it to make big, bold moves.
me learn and adapt quickly. This deal” moments you might like a synapse at the point of your Use it to make quiet decisions
bias toward action also allows think they’d be, like a gradua- milestones, a connection with a that have far-reaching impact.
me to identify and take advan- tion or marriage or promotion. bit of energy around it that indi-
tage of opportunities immedi- Instead, they might be subtle cates the presence of this fac- Excerpted from What’s Next
ately as they arise. You know the realizations related to a per- tor, your Dimension X. Maybe Is Now: How to Live Future
phrase “jump at the chance”? sonal relationship or an occur- you remember how you made Ready. Copyright © 2024
I’m the jumper. Almost every rence in your life. a decision at one of these times. by Frederik G. Pferdt.
professional and educational On a blank, horizontal piece Whether it was spontaneous Reprinted by permission of
opportunity I’ve ever had is a of paper, draw a line across the or deliberate, you had clarity HarperCollins Publishers.
When You’re Ready to Go, Here’s
the Best Way to Hit the Road
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1 Business travel trends and behaviors of small to mid-sized companies Booking.com (2023)
2 Discount applies to pay later base rate time and mileage charges. Taxes, fees, and options excluded. Vehicle Protection (“LDW”) is optional at $15/day unless a lower rate is mandated
by law. Applies to all car classes except Collection Fleet (Adrenaline, Prestige, Dream) and Electric/EV car group. Applies on all rates except Tour Rates, Insurance Replacement Rates and
Dealer Service Loaner Rates. Additional terms and exclusions apply.
3 Enrollment Bonus valid on new Hertz Business Rewards (HBR) accounts only. Free Rental Day applies to base rate time and mileage charges. Taxes, fees, and options excluded. During
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Travel
Pack These for Your Next Trip

Want to make your next business trip a pleasure? Gear expert and two-time
Emmy Award winner Mario Armstrong has five items you’ll want to make room for.
2 3
4 5
P H O T O G R A P H S C O U R T E S Y O F C A M E L B A K ; S O N Y; O U T I N ; S O U N D C O R E ; R O L L I N G S Q U A R E
1/ The 2-in-1 thermos. 2/ Slick surround sound. 3/ To-go espresso. 4/ The sound of sleep. 5/ The tiny charger.
Here’s how to travel lightly, Want surround sound to If you’re camping (or heck, From planes to noisy hotels, Most portable chargers are for
stay hydrated, and cut down fill a room with music, or to .just traveling for work in a good snooze isn’t always heavy-duty work, and squeeze
on single-use plastic: Just make your presentation cheap hotels), a decent cup easy. Next time, pop in the into the maximum TSA-allowed
pack the CamelBak MultiBev audible from anywhere? of coffee is hard to find. The Soundcore Sleep A20 size of 100 watt-hours. But the
[$52; camelbak.com]. The full Pack the svelte Sony HT-AX7 solution: Bring the Outin Earbuds [$150; available late Rolling Square TAU 2 [$40;
thermos can keep 22 ounces Portable Theater System Nano [$150; outin.com], a May from soundcore.com]. rollingsquare.com] goes small.
of water chilled for hours— [$500; electronics.sony portable, TSA-friendly brewer A silicone earbud and fin fit Its 2.2-by-1.7-inch battery
but the real genius is the low- .com], which creates an weighing just under 1.5 snugly in the ear, designed is about the size of a car
er portion, which screws off envelope of sound with pounds that uses an internal to stay comfortable even if key fob, with a 2,000-mAh
as a separate 16-ounce cup. three Bluetooth-connected battery to turn cold bottled you sleep on your side (and battery to provide 28%
Use it to carry coffee without speakers. Slightly larger water into a shot of espresso they’re also good for regular to 54% of a phone’s charge,
a paper cup, to brew in your than a tissue box, the main in three minutes. The kit daytime wear). It passively depending on the size—
hotel room, or help keep a wireless speaker’s battery includes a cup, which you’ll blocks sound by itself—but enough to get you out of a
regular-size can cold. The lasts about 30 hours per appreciate when your airport if you prefer white noise, dead battery jam. The battery
MultiBev’s two-part lid holds charge with a pair of 4.8- hotel doesn’t contain one, and you can pick from more than includes a tethered cable
a reusable silicone sipping inch wide satellite speakers. it brews from ground beans 50 in its app or stream your to charge just about any
lid to prevent spills. Unlike The speakers sync together, or espresso pods. Or bring it own. Expect up to 14 hours of small device, and a magnetic
those massive, insulated and you can place them to a meeting for an afternoon runtime when playing sound dock to make recharging
thermoses, this one fits into wherever you need to fill a pick-me-up—the brewing is through the earbuds. easy. It might even stop you
your car’s cupholder. space with robust audio. nearly silent! losing your keys!
Open Secrets
What SEO Insiders Know

Looking to boost your SEO? We asked a bunch of insiders: What do you know
about your industry that most outsiders don’t? b y F R A N C E S D O D D S
y now, everyone knows 2/ SEO hacks are (mostly) over.

search engine optimi- Many agencies used to peddle
zation (SEO) is import- “black hat SEO” tactics—hacker-
ant. If your content style marketing strategies meant
isn’t optimized, then to manipulate Google’s rankings,
your website isn’t being like backlink spamming and fake
found—which can make reviews. In turn, search engines
or break your business. like Google became good at spot-
But many of us are also ting bad actors—and if they catch
keenly aware of what we don’t you doing that stuff they’ll kill
know. SEO is a complicated your traffic, says Lauren Galvez, a
industry full of ever-shifting small business SEO expert.
tactics, and even the experts Patel agrees: “Black hat tactics
sometimes disagree on what’s are actually less common than
best. So we wanted to ask: they used to be, because compa-
What do SEO insiders know nies learned the hard way that it
that we don’t? We gathered doesn’t work most of the time.”
their tips, then bounced them When choosing an agency to
off New York Times bestselling work with, he says, “Look for
author and SEO expert Neil companies with awards, a global
Patel. Here’s what we learned. presence, and a solid portfolio
of case studies from current and
1/ Results will vary. past clients.”
Companies often buy year- 4/ Website accessibility the footer of my website, we
long SEO consulting ser- 3/ Online advice is iffy. really works. noticed a slight increase in over-
vices and expect a return Facebook is full of SEO-focused When people think about SEO, all organic traffic.”
on investment that’s similar groups, where people swap they often think about optimiz-
to an advertising campaign, tips on what works and what ing content. But according to 5/ AI isn’t a shortcut.
says Pavel Buev, an SEO spe- doesn’t. Should you check them Dylan Cleppe, CEO of OneStop Many websites are pumping out
cialist at SoftSwiss. “But I can out? Andriy Shum, head of SEO Northwest, you should also think AI-written content, thinking it’ll
say with confidence that no at SeoProfy, says no. “These about accessibility. “This means help them in search results. Patel
one can guarantee exact suc- threads become echo cham- making websites accessible for peo- says it won’t. “AI content is just
cess in website promotion,” bers of shortcuts and tricks that ple with disabilities such as visual regurgitated information, and
he says. “Each Google update rarely align with sustainable, or hearing impairments,” he says. search engines want stuff that’s
can completely change the effective SEO practices.” “Like providing text alternatives for new and fresh,” he says. “We’ve
situation for a site.” Patel is more forgiving. “There non-text content, making naviga- actually seen that if you just cre-
Patel agrees: “Forecasts are are so many Facebook groups tion possible through keyboard- ate tons of mediocre content
educated guesses at best,” he about SEO that it’s unfair to dis- only commands, and ensuring through AI, it hurts your site’s
says, and you should be ready miss them all,” he says. If you join, websites can be fully accessed overall traffic.”
to adjust along the way. “For he suggests picking ones with very using screen-reader software.” Ultimately, he says, SEO isn’t
example, if certain keywords active communities—because peo- Patel agrees. Google prioritizes about tricks or digital wizardry.
aren’t performing well in the ple will call out bad advice when websites that offer better user It’s just about creating a great
short term, you can balance they see it. “And remember, just experiences, of which accessibil- user experience—and that’s rel-
this by using paid advertising.” because something works for one ity is a part, he says. And he offers atively intuitive. “If your plan
But investing in SEO does pay website doesn’t mean it will work a small case study: “After we intro- puts the user first, you’ll be okay
off in the long run, he says. for another.” duced a ‘high contrast’ option at in the long run.”
30 / E N T R E P R E N E U R . C O M / May-June 2024 Illustration / F E D E R I C O G A S TA L D I

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S P OT L I G H T B R A N D E D C ON T E N T
Kakuichi
NANOTECHNOLOGY AND NEW MECHANISMS FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
ith p o p ul a t i o n irrigation through the provision of hoses.

growth and climate In addition, joint research has been
change looming, initiated in rice cultivation in the Mekong
sustainable Delta for the efficient use of fertilisers and
agricultural pesticides through the introduction of
produc tion has nanobubble technology.
never been more important. Conventional Climate warming is making
agricultural technologies are reaching conventional agricultural cultivation more
their limits and new innovations are difficult. In Japan, the concentration of
required. dissolved oxygen in hydroponic cultivation
Kakuichi is a company that in summer drops significantly, causing
manufactures and sells products that root rot and making the cultivation of
contribute to agriculture in the field of crops extremely difficult. Appropriate
water, a simple but indispensable part of Riu Tanaka control of dissolved oxygen in the water
global agriculture, by introducing effective President and CEO according to crop and water quality has
irrigation with hoses and making changes led to a reduction in crop losses during
to the soil with nanobubble technologies. the summer.
Kakuichi has played a leading role in supporting the Kakuichi’s nanobubble irrigation is also helping farmers
development of Japanese agriculture for nearly 140 years, and recover from flood damage and reduce the risk of disasters
is perfectly placed to help drive ongoing efforts to strengthen caused by extreme rainfall and temperature fluctuations,
technology and sustainability. supporting agriculture in the face of climate change.
One of Kakuichi’s innovative solutions to agriculture is a While flooding is common in Japan, summer droughts are
“nanobubble generator” that generates nanobubbles in water. severe and monsoons and heat waves have become more
Nanobubbles are very small bubbles with diameters ranging frequent in recent years.
from a few nm to 1000 nm (1 μm). These microscopic bubbles Acidification of the soil due to flood damage inhibits
can exist stably in water for long periods of time and promote soil biological activity and delays soil recovery. Kakuichi’s
the penetration and diffusion of substances. Kakuichi’s system nanobubble technology can provide oxygen to the soil for a
allows for the gas to be changed as well as the concentration of longer period of time by sequestering oxygen in nanobubbles,
gas to be adjusted according to the application, making more thereby promoting soil recovery.
effective. Controllable irrigation and controlled oxygen levels can reduce
While the idea is simple - to change the nature of water for damage to crops and fruit trees caused by lack of water, such as
agricultural irrigation into the soil and crops - it is extremely root rot, wilting, deformation and fruit failure, and stabilise yields.
difficult to establish in agriculture. Kakuichi, together with 1200 For environmental issues, joint research with a university
farmers throughout Japan, has continued to verify this technology reported that in black box soil, irrigation with oxygen
and improve the equipment, accumulating data on the effective nanobubbles promotes the ionisation of calcium and iron, while
use of nanobubbles in the agricultural field. inhibiting the ionisation of aluminium.
“Having been involved in the nanotechnology business in the The company’s nanobubble irrigation makes phosphoric acid
agricultural sector since 2016, we now feel that this technology fixed in the soil more soluble than normal water, leading to more
has the potential to make agriculture more resilient to global efficient fertiliser application and reducing environmental impact.
warming, reduce environmental burden and resolving food self- The company is also currently conducting joint research
sufficiency issues under population growth in the future,” Tanaka with a tea manufacturer in a Japanese tea plantation to develop
says. technology to suppress the production of nitrous oxide, which
There are many abandoned fields and orchards in Japan due has a greenhouse effect 300 times greater than carbon dioxide.
to excessive fertiliser use. Many farmers have irrigated fields that Kakuichi was founded in 1886 by Riu Tanaka’s great-
had previously failed to yield and produce superior crops despite grandfather; he is the fifth generation in his family to run the
their efforts with nanobubbles, and have been able to produce business. The company started selling farming hardware in
normal fruit and crops. This not only supports the expansion of Nagano, Japan. At the time, agricultural tools were transitioning
limited agricultural land, but also leads to food security through from wood to steel, and the company’s mission was to produce
the re-use of abandoned land. metal equipment in a cost-efficient way.
Access to water is essential to maintain and restore The catalyst for Kakuichi’s business leap forward was the
agricultural production, and Kakuichi is contributing to rapid spray hose for agricultural use. Kakuichi’s high-pressure durable
hoses helped the company expand overseas, setting up

a manufacturing plant in the US and growing to become
one of the top producers of agricultural irrigation hoses
in the world. Later, Kakuichi began manufacturing
and selling large agricultural warehouses to protect
farmers’ crops and machinery from the damage of
earthquakes and tsunamis, creating Kakuichi’s current
core business.
Tanaka himself became president three years
after the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, a
milestone event which convinced him of the need for
stronger decentralised networks that support a society
in which every individual can achieve their potential.
At the time of the earthquake, Kakuichi was a well-
established company with a long history and a stable
financial base, but was unable to change despite the
changing world. In such a critical situation, Riu Tanaka
Solar-powered nanobubble generator
decided to take the helm as a representative, saying Device that generates electricity from sunlight and irrigates open-air irrigation.
that the company would not survive if it did not change.
Having become acutely aware that it was essential to build a We are constantly creating and acting on new technologies
decentralised, self-reliant energy system, Tanaka made a major and products,” says Tanaka. “Entrepreneurship is in our DNA and
spirit. We are always creating new technologies and
Irrigation using Kakuichi’s agricultural irrigation hose
Portability, ease of operation, terrain adaptability, low cost products and acting quickly. We have a long history. This
Irrigation system design can be tailored to local needs
does not mean that we have kept the same style and
done nothing different. We have been able to survive
because each time we have broken old forms and
created new ones to create value.”
The company wanted to return the profits from
renewable energy business to the farmers and create a
technology that could provide something of value to the
world, which led it to the nanobubble business.
“That is why we want to spread this technology
around the world,” Tanaka says. “We are always looking
to partner with people with an entrepreneurial spirit
that is mutually beneficial, beneficial to everyone and,
most importantly, gives back to society. We have a wide
and diverse range of research and we value sharing our
intelligence. We have technologies and patents that we
shift to the environmental business. can share with the world. We are looking for partners to share
Tanaka continued to ask himself, “What is essential for people our intelligence and technology and to conduct research and
now?” As a result, he came to the conclusion that the most development for technological breakthroughs.
The Japanese are known for their seriousness and
diligence, and boast unique technical skills developed
over many years of research and development. Our
meticulous attention to detail and precision technology
form the basis of Japanese manufacturing. Although
challenges still exist, such as information and language
issues, Kakuichi is a long-established venture company
that has always taken on new challenges. It is a company
that creates new value through human connections.
Nanobubble technology is one of the technologies that
originated in Japan with potential to be utilised in various
fields. We believe that innovation is born from new
cultural exchanges. We invite you to visit Japan. Please
visit our hotels and factories and experience Japanese
food and manufacturing technology. We look forward to
important things are the importance of communities where welcoming you to Japan.”
people help each other, food and trust. This became the driving
force behind the creation of a series of new businesses. Kakuichi
will use nanobubble technology to help solve three key social
issues facing agriculture: food security, climate change and
environmental issues. www.kaku-ichi.co.jp

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HARDLOCK Industry is currently

actively seeking partnerships and
collaborations to propel itself to the
next level. This includes exploring
opportunities in new segments,
including the medical sector. “We
HARDLOCK Industry are actively seeking partnerships

with companies that align with our
values and can effectively utilize
THE WORLD’S TOUGHEST NUTS
our products,” says Wakabayashi.
“With an extensive range of patents,
J
we have the capacity to make
apan’s per capita income is forecast to grow by 3.8% in 2024, according to meaningful contributions to diverse
official estimates, outstripping broader economic growth. industries globally. Whether you
This should boost Japan’s domestic economy, while exports continue to operate in the wind power sector
grow on the back of the country’s world-beating manufacturing sector. and require top-notch products or
Katsuhiko Wakabayashi
HARDLOCK Industry, a leading manufacturer of self-locking nuts and other non- are involved in medical applications Chairman
loosening fasteners, epitomises Japan’s innovative and high-quality manufacturing. such as dental implants, bone
The inspiration for their unique products is derived from a traditional Japanese implants, or spectacles, our products can cater to your needs.”
construction technique that employs wedges rather than nails to join parts. Their The company already has a strong track record in global markets, with partners
globally renowned HARDLOCK Nut guarantees the “complete unification” of the including UK distributor Staytite.
bolt and nut, effectively preventing loosening. This makes it an ideal choice for Looking ahead, HARDLOCK Industry has successfully secured government
applications in safety-critical and high-pressure environments, including Railways, funds to advance the development of a durable plastic HARDLOCK Nut and bolt.
Infrastructure, Steel Mills, Machine Tools, Robots, Mining and Quarrying machinery, Extensive research has been conducted to ensure that this innovative product will
and Wind Power Plants. establish itself as the most high-tensile plastic nut and bolt on the global market.
The HARDLOCK Nut plays a crucial role in the Shinkansen, Japan’s world- This product will be both lighter and more flexible than its metal counterpart,
renowned “bullet train,” where it is utilized to secure the train body and the rail line. making it ideal for use in environments that prioritize anti-rust properties and low-
Additionally, it is employed for high-speed rail systems in locations as far afield weight materials, such as underwater infrastructure and drones.
as the UK, China, and Taiwan. “We deliver safety to protect lives,” says Katsuhiko HARDLOCK Industry remains singularly focused on delivering for its customers
Wakabayashi, HARDLOCK Industry’s chairman. “Our company prioritizes safety in a growing range of markets. In this approach, it reflects Japan’s timeless business
and reliability as our core values. Distinguishing ourselves from others, we excel in culture.
the unique ability to seamlessly unite two parts into a single, cohesive component. “Japanese companies don’t just meet the customer’s needs, but always provide
Our expertise allows us to adapt our innovative mechanisms to diverse fields and additional value,” says Wakabayashi. “We deliver better than requested – and we
shapes, tailored to meet the specific needs of our customers.” always try and improve. We are perfectionists.”
HARDLOCK Nuts are engineered to thrive in the harshest environmental
conditions. Their robust design ensures resilience and longevity, making them
particularly valuable in demanding settings. Although the upfront cost may be
higher, the company’s products stand out for their enduring performance, requiring
minimal maintenance and ultimately offering superior cost-efficiency over time.
& CEO. “Historically, we’ve consistently

led the market, pioneering cutting-
edge solutions unmatched by other
suppliers or competitors.” Amemiya
highlights FICT’s primarily international
FICT
customer base and its support for
leading test equipment manufacturers
in the semiconductor industry, including
FUELING JAPAN’S SEMICONDUCTOR RENAISSANCE among its clientele companies providing
equipment to test the world’s best-
Takahisa Amemiya
selling smartphones.
J
Looking ahead, Amemiya unveils President and CEO
apan is ambitiously aiming to triple domestic semiconductor sales by 2030,
the company’s ambitious goal of
exceeding JPY 15 trillion, while currently leading in semiconductor materials
doubling its revenue from semiconductor-related activities in the next three years.
and manufacturing equipment, commanding 56% and 32% of the global
”The semiconductor market will experience rapid growth over the next decade.
market share, respectively (World Economic Forum).
We have a significant opportunity now to fuel our expansion,” he states. FICT
With over 50 years of industry expertise, FICT has emerged as a prominent
recently invested over USD 100 million to establish a new product line in Nagano,
supplier of high-end PCBs and IC substrates. Initially established as a Printed Circuit
complementing its two existing production sites. This initiative aims to cater to
Board (PCB) business unit within a leading Japanese company in the ICT industry,
overseas data centers and AI server markets, further solidifying FICT’s global
FICT specializes in PCBs crucial for semiconductor test equipment and package
presence and market position.
substrates essential for safeguarding IC chips. Notably, FICT’s products are utilized
FICT is actively pursuing strategic partnership opportunities with potential
in the supercomputer Fugaku, one of the world’s fastest supercomputers, and the
investors, including financial institutions or prominent industry players seeking
company also holds a significant market share in probe card testing (ST Board),
inorganic growth opportunities. With semiconductor chip foundries like TSMC or
ensuring chip integrity.
Japanese government-backed venture Rapidus (in joint development partnerships
FICT has forged its reputation by delivering a continuous flow of innovative
with IBM) opening production facilities in Japan, Amemiya is confident that
products and customized solutions, driving forward the global semiconductor
unprecedented opportunities will arise. Indeed, success stories like FICT’s are
ecosystem. Positioned at the vanguard, the company meets the escalating demand
contributing to Japan’s resurgence in the semiconductor industry. Leveraging their
for thinner and more intricate chips essential in AI, IoT devices, cloud computing,
strengths, Japan is once again being recognized as a global powerhouse in the
and wearables. Noteworthy among its offerings are high-end PCBs with minimal
semiconductor value chain.
conductor surface roughness, heralding breakthroughs in efficiency, and ultra-
In essence, FICT’s commitment to innovation and excellence, coupled with
high-speed data transmission. Additionally, its advanced glass substrates (G-ALCS
Japan’s strategic initiatives, positions the nation at the forefront of the global
: Glass All Layer Z-Connection
semiconductor landscape, poised for
Structure) mark a paradigm shift
continued growth and success.
in the substrate domain, further
enhancing its pioneering stance in
the industry.
“Our technology is highly
advanced,” asser ts Takahisa
Multilayer Glass Substrate Prototype (G-ALCS) Amemiya, the company’s President www.fict-g.com/en/
4 4 / E N T R E P R E N E U R . C O M / May-June 2024
million dollars sounds sexy.
But what is it, really? For some,
a dream. For others, a goal.
A million in profit is a form of
financial security—or at least the freedom
to take some risks. A million in revenue is
a marker point where business models
are proven and investors start calling. For
experienced entrepreneurs, a million dollars
might be a unit they now measure in the
tens or hundreds. But however many millions
you have, it’s always a metric of note.
On the following pages, we’ll chart many
paths to getting there—from founders,
investors, fundraisers, and other experts.
You’ll learn how to build a $1 million business
in a weekend, how to earn your first million
tax-free, how to ask for a million dollars,
and how a number of other entrepreneurs
plotted and problem-solved their way there.
All of it goes to show that if you haven’t
made a million yet, it’s never out of reach.
46 / E N T R E P R E N E U R . C O M / May-June 2024 Illustration / N I C O L Á S O R T E G A
IF
ONE MILLION
DOLLARS
IS
YOUR GOAL…
How do you make it? And what does it actually get you?
The cohosts of the popular podcast
MY FIRST MILLION
( who made many multiples of that themselves )
share what they’ve learned.
by JA S O N F E I F E R
→ SAM PARR give yourself that runway.
The next marker is “never
need to work again” money,
which is, like, $10 million. In
the first part of your career,
you’re trading your time for
money—but after $10 million,
your money works for money,
and you work for you. You can
do whatever you want.
Calculate how much the
things you want cost, and then
set your targets, break that
into chunks, and break those
into the first milestones you
want to achieve—with the most
important one being: “How
much money do I need to be
able to quit my job, go be an
entrepreneur, and give myself
two years of runway?”
How did you make those

calculations?
SAM: I’ve had a spreadsheet
since I was 22 years old,
when I had very little money.
I would track my monthly
expenses against how much
money I had saved. I’d say,
“When I have zero income
coming in, this is how many
months I have.” My goal was to
make that number of months
go up. And I came up with a
number [for how much to save
so I didn’t have to work again,
S
based on expenses]. I did
am Parr and Shaan Puri think in mil- Does a million mean that by speaking to a bunch
anything, really? of wealthy people about
lions. They’ve both had notable exits for
SHAAN: For most of what you their expenses, and decided I
many millions (Parr sold his newsletter want, you either need far less should try to save up around
company The Hustle to HubSpot, and than a million or far more $18 million.
Puri sold his video streaming company Bebo to than a million. A million is I read a bunch of books
Twitch). Together, they cohost the chart-topping almost this dead zone where and noticed a trend amongst
nothing happens. people who I admire—Travis
podcast My First Million, where they kick around PHOTOGR A PHS COURT ESY OF S A M PA RR A ND SH A A N PURI
Because the reality is, Kalanick, Mark Cuban, a
business ideas with successful entrepreneurs. money is a tool. It has no use handful of others. They sold
Both agree: A million dollars sounds sexy, but on its own, except that it can a business at a young age,
it’s not an end goal. “When you have a million give you some amount of between their late 20s and
bucks, you’re not making tons of investments,” freedom. And there are differ- 30s, to get that number. That
ent numbers. Let’s say you made it much easier for them
Puri says. “You can’t just live off it forever,
have $250K in the bank. You to do their big thing. So I said,
unless you’re living a really minimalist life. So might have the freedom to “Instead of trying to build a
you should ask the question, ‘At what thresh- take a shot—like, “I can work business that I’d raise tens or
olds do things actually change, versus what are on something and not make a hundreds of millions for in VC,
the arbitrary numbers that just sound good?’” dollar for the next 24 months, I bet that in five years, I could
or 36 months.” That’s great. start a business that nets me
Here, they discuss the true value of a million
It’s not forever money, but it the number that I need.” And
dollars, and the strategic path to your first is two-plus years of not hav- I used to track it all religiously
million (and many more). ing to answer to anybody. You on Google Sheets.
That is remarkably strategic. → SHAAN PURI
SAM: Here’s why: When you cre-
ate rules to play, and when you
figure out the rules of the game,
it’s far less stressful and more
exciting to play the game.
Shaan, did you have a similar

approach?
SHAAN: When I was young, I
was like, “By the time I’m 30,
what do I want? I want to have
a million bucks in my bank
account. I want to make Forbes
30 Under 30. I want to do this,
I want to do that.” Then, fast-
forward—I’m 29, and I have
an existential crisis. I think,
Damn, I’m behind schedule. I
do not have a million dollars. I
am not Forbes 30. It didn’t feel
good. And I was like, “Alright, I
have two choices. Either I can
keep telling myself I’m behind,
or I could be like, ‘Are you jok-
ing? I got my whole life ahead
of me. Everything I’ve done
so far is preparing me to do
the things I want. And some
of these goals were stupid. I
should rewrite these goals to
be what I actually believe now,
not what my 20-year-old self
thought was cool.’”
That was a psychological
turning point in my life. As
soon as I did that, the flood-
gates opened. All of a sud-
den, I came up with different and then worry about every- unless I’m feeling a high con- like doing? But what if you still
ideas. I ended up selling thing in the middle. viction about something, it’s suck at it, and no one wants
my company. By 31, I was a a no. That doesn’t necessar- to pay for it?
multimillionaire. How do you think people ily mean something is going You want to fall right in
should evaluate whether well. Sometimes things feel the middle. And if you do, I
There was an intentionality they’ve built the right path very right to me, even though don’t think it’s that challeng-
to both of your answers. The to millions? they haven’t taken off yet. But ing to make your first million.
choices that you made were SHAAN: I’ve found that, in I will bias toward change more I think it’ll take five years.
different, but there was a rea- my life, most people are than the average person. Sam, The challenging part is being
son you took the steps you did. trapped by inertia. An object you’re kind of different, right? willing to dedicate 40 hours a
SAM: Shaan and I came up in motion stays in motion. My week for five years.
with this idea called ABZ. mentor told me, “You have SAM: The way I think of it
When you’re starting some- to be really careful, because is—have you ever heard the In both your answers,
thing, you think about Z, you’ll just wake up tomorrow Japanese term ikigai? It’s basi- you’re describing a kind
which is the end of the jour- and do the same thing you’ve cally a Venn diagram of: What of useful interrogation—
ney. It’s exciting and awesome been doing—not because does the world want, what looking deeply at why
inspiration and motivation it’s the best thing to do, but does the world want to pay you’re doing something.
to get up each morning. But because it’s the thing you’ve for, what am I skilled at, and SAM: Well, yeah, it’s just
besides that, you should only been doing.” what am I passionate about? being honest and only being
focus on the letter A and the To guard against that, I I think far too often, people the right type of crazy. You
letter B—because you get decided to err on the other try to fall into one or two of definitely need a little crazi-
your first customer and then side of it—which is to say the buckets—like, what does ness in you, but the correct
get your second customer, that unless it’s a hell yes, and the world want, and what do I flavor of crazy.
MILLION-DOLLAR
UNLOCKS
New companies rarely get off the ground without some roadblocks,
setbacks, and unforeseen decisions. Here, 10 founders describe
the pivots that unlocked their growth and catapulted their profitability.
by R AC H E L DAV I E S
UNLOCK / When you hit a wall, UNLOCK / Give customers what

revisit your bigger idea. they want, no matter the cost.
When Ben Witte launched his brand Recess in Soon after founding their company
2018, his mission was simple: He wanted to make Pair Eyewear in 2017, Sophia
nonalcoholic relaxation beverages. CBD was Edelstein and Nathan Kondamuri
hot at the time, thanks to the recent passage of started a private Facebook group for
the Hemp Farming Act, so he launched a line of their customers. Pair sells glasses
CBD-infused sparkling waters—and then hit a problem. Consum- that magnetically connect with “top frames” in a variety of different
ers liked the drinks, but many retailers wouldn’t stock CBD, be- patterns and colors, so customers can personalize their glasses
cause the FDA hadn’t offered guidance on it. Witte faced a choice: like any other accessory. The Facebook group was a space where
Double down on CBD, or expand elsewhere? customers could share feedback and show off the fun ways they
To make that decision, he reflected on his mission. His goal was were styling the frames.
to make nonalcoholic relaxation beverages—and CBD wasn’t the But pretty quickly, Edelstein says, they started hearing one
PHOTOGR A PHS COURT ESY OF RECES S; PA IR E YE W E A R
only way to do that! He looked for other ingredients and discov- thing over and over: “‘I need more styles,’” Edelstein says. “That’s
ered magnesium L-threonate. “In 2020, no one was talking about what we kept hearing from our customers.” Back then, Pair only
magnesium, so it kind of felt like a secret hidden in plain sight,” Witte offered 10 styles of top frames, and their offshore manufactur-
says. It’s believed to have a mood-lifting effect. A year later, he used ers’ long lead times and large minimum order quantities made
it in a new line called Recess Mood, a line of relaxation drinks that it impossible to launch more than one collection a season. With
landed in national retailers. Nowadays, CBD accounts for less than their current manufacturing process, what their customers
10% of sales. “Would I have wanted was impossible.
thought CBD would be a Instead of giving up, they researched what it would take to
much bigger part of our make this request a reality. The answer was daunting: They’d need
business now? Yes,” Witte to build their own proprietary manufacturing process in Califor-
says. “But it’s important to nia, which would allow them to produce any top-frame style on
know what details you can demand. It took years to do, but they’re now able to satisfy their
adjust and what you should customers’ desire for more with a new collection almost every
stay true to.” week, resulting in 24x revenue growth between 2020 and 2023.
UNLOCK / Find your ideal
customer (and it might not be you!).
Loren Castle loves sweets but
wanted to avoid processed foods,
and she assumed many others
felt the same. That’s why she
created Sweet Loren’s, a cookie
dough brand formulated with whole grains and
no dairy. But on shelves, her brand was compet-
ing against big players like Pillsbury or Nestlé Toll
House—and to survive, she had to lower her pric-
es even though her ingredient costs were much
higher. “It wasn’t a healthy business,” Castle says.
She needed a way to distinguish her brand—
and the solution came from customers she never
expected to serve. People saw her dairy-free
dough, and then emailed to ask if she’d make a
version that excluded whatever they needed to
avoid—typically allergens like gluten, peanuts, tree
nuts, and eggs. She reformulated her product to
accommodate all of those, and it was a hit. Nine
months later, Sweet Loren’s became an exclusively
allergen-free product. No longer competing with
traditional brands, she was able to raise her price.
“All of a sudden, we had a healthy business, a
healthy margin,” she says. “We really built a moat
around us.” In the years since, the brand has ex-
panded into over 25,000 stores nationwide.
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF SWEET LOREN’S; BOOKSMARTS ACCOUNTING & BOOKKEEPING; OOGIEBEAR

UNLOCK / Don’t try to do everything yourself. UNLOCK / Launch variations on your hero product.
BookSmarts Accounting & Bookkeeping found- In 2016, Nina Farzin quit her job as a clinical pharmacist to
er Jenny Groberg had been slowly growing her spend more time growing a company she’d started on the
business for 10 years—and then, one day at home, side, Oogiebear. The business sold a proprietary tool she’d
she fell and sustained a brain injury. If she wanted developed that removed boogers from babies’ tiny nostrils,
to recover, a doctor told her, she’d need to give up allowing them to breathe better. The original product had
working and focus on her health. been a hit, getting picked up by major retailers. Now she wanted to expand
Groberg had long kept her company’s financial affairs close to the company, but she wasn’t sure of her next move.
the chest, but that was no longer an option. She promoted one of “I noticed that many companies with great products become one-hit
her employees, Emily VanBrocklin, to COO, and shared everything. wonders,” Farzin says. “I didn’t want that for myself.” She wanted to launch
“It was kind of awful, actually, because that was something I kept additional products—but as a self-funded founder, she needed to be
private,” Groberg says. “But that was one of the switch points. I careful. Ultimately, she decided to build upon what she already knew:
offered her profit-sharing—which was the best thing I ever did. She started with a case and multipack of her booger remover, to make
Then she had skin in the game.” it simpler for parents to travel with the booger tool. Then she launched
VanBrocklin ran the company for a few years while Groberg a nose-to-toe balm, inspired by her own struggle to find a chemical-free
was hands-off, healing. And when Groberg returned to work balm to soothe her kids’ sensitive skin. In the five years since, the compa-
in 2023, they split up work based on strengths, with ny has grown from $1 million to $5 million-plus in annual sales. “With the
VanBrocklin managing the team and being the point of variations, I realized that there is no shortage of ideas here,” Farzin says.
contact for clients, and Groberg focusing on growth
and community outreach. “That should be the
role of every CEO, to delegate as much as
you possibly can [to] go out and keep
building,” Groberg says. Being able to
divide the work paid off; with over
50% client growth, it was the first
year that BookSmarts surpassed
$1 million in revenue.
52 / E N T R E P R E N E U R . C O M
UNLOCK / Find a better
way to package your product.
In just one year, Montreal-based
yerba mate company Mateína went
from selling 300,000 units to selling
1.3 million units. How’d they do it? By
shifting how they packaged and sold
their product.
The company began in 2017, after
cofounders Nicolas Beaupré and
Elodie Simard took a trip to Argentina.
That’s where they learned about mate,
an energizing tea that’s usually served
hot. They founded Mateína and started
selling loose-leaf tea—but discovered
that loose leaves are hard to distrib-
ute as samples, even harder to land
on retail shelves, and very seasonal.
(People mostly buy them in the winter,
when they want hot tea.)
That’s why, in 2019, Mateína added
a new product—a canned version of
the tea, which was easier to stock and
could be consumed year-round. “This
is really when everything became
real,” Beaupré says. And it’s when
sales jumped. Since then, Mateína has
grown at least 45% each year.
UNLOCK / Follow the money, even if it

changes your model.
Birdy Grey had a problem. The company
sells affordable bridesmaid dresses that
can be shipped fast—but when it launched
in 2017, customers kept complaining about
its limited color and style selection. The
founders knew this was a problem, but they weren’t sure
what to do about it. Their fast-shipping model meant they
needed inventory on hand, but they couldn’t afford to build
out more inventory. “We tried to get a loan from traditional
banks, but we were too young, small, and unproven,” says
cofounder and president Monica Ashauer. “We’d have to
P H O T O G R A P H S C O U R T E S Y O F M AT E Í N A ; B I R D Y G R E Y
go out and raise a bunch of money from equity investors,

and the market conditions were really terrible.”
Then they had an idea: What if they offered made-to-
order dresses in addition to their selection of ready-
to-ship dresses? It would be a departure from their
fast-shipping concept, but it would solve the cash-flow
problem. “We had to jump over our own shadow to even
think about offering a longer lead time,” Ashauer says.
But ultimately, this decision allowed them to offer a much
wider selection of dresses, both in size and style, and it
completely reversed their cash cycle, allowing them to
shift from shelling out money for all of their styles before
wedding season begins to paying manufacturers after
the product has shipped.
UNLOCK / Experiment, even if you
were taught not to.
After a stint as CFO of an inter-
national yoga franchise, Rachel
Hirsch was ready to venture out
on her own. In 2022, she launched
her own business, Empowered
Yoga. But eight months in, membership wasn’t
growing and classes weren’t filling up. She’d tried
to replicate the growth strategies she’d seen
work for franchisees at her previous company,
but it wasn’t going well.
Frustrated, she sat back to take stock of the sit-
uation, and realized something: She’d been follow-
ing a corporate playbook when she was actually
running a scrappy startup. She’d been so afraid
of making a misstep that she hadn’t been trying
anything new or daring. So, although it was scary,
she started acting scrappier. She cold-messaged
other brand owners to collaborate, hosted events
out of the studio, and offered class packs (a no-no
in her old world). “We can be malleable because
we’re a startup,” Hirsch says. “Pivoting and being
able to continue is a success.”
As she experimented, revenue doubled and
classes started to fill up. She received an invest-
ment offer at a $1 million valuation in 2023, and Em-
powered has since expanded to a second location.
UNLOCK / Listen carefully to understand UNLOCK / Boost your credibility to

who needs your product most. earn people’s trust.
Patty Leuchten founded Diligent Pharma to MysteryVibe launched in 2014 with a mission
streamline the process of clinical trial qualifica- to help people see vibrators as therapeutic
tion, by connecting pharmaceutical and biotech devices, capable of alleviating sexual health is-
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF EMPOWERED YOGA; DILIGENT PHARMA; MYSTERY VIBE

companies with the right researchers to run sues. Given their taboo positioning as “sex toys,”
their clinical trials. Diligent’s platform promises vibrators are not often discussed in medical
to cut 100 days from the process, and in the early days, they contexts, despite the fact that they can be used to resolve
were eager to land big pharma firms. But they ran into an pelvic pain, prostate pain, and dryness after menopause.
unexpected roadblock: Internal quality control teams within “We thought, This is an area that affects everybody, isn’t
big pharma companies were resistant to buying Diligent’s really talked about, and doesn’t have many solutions,” says
platform, because they feared it would eliminate their jobs. cofounder and CEO Dr. Soumyadip Rakshit.
Leuchten says this was a misconception, since their software There’s no way for one company to tackle a systemic
was actually intended to “help people in these jobs do more issue, but in the decade since MysteryVibe was founded, they
with less resources.” But this roadblock also helped Leuchten faced one big challenge: lack of education and understanding
realize something. around sexual wellness, both from consumers and doctors.
Sure, their platform was useful to these larger pharma To change the stigma around vibrators—and stand out in the
companies. But the companies that really needed their help marketplace—they realized they needed to give their product
were the smaller ones that didn’t already have a whole team more credibility. So they spent years working toward becom-
of people working on the process their platform was meant ing FSA/HSA eligible. Through FDA registration, clinical trials,
to speed up. These smaller companies really needed what Dil- and journal publications, the process proved the products
igent was selling. With this observation, Leuchten reoriented are medically useful. Advertising them as FSA/HSA eligible
Diligent to “hyperfocus” on small-to-midsize companies. This instantly led to a higher click-through rate, and after launching
helped the startup double its revenue in 2023 to $2 million. “It FSA/HSA eligibility in November 2022, the company saw 160%
starts with having expansive conversations, asking the right year-over-year revenue growth in 2023. As Rakshit says, “It
questions, and really listening to where the specific needs gives a certain amount of credibility, beyond the fact that they
are,” Leuchten says. will save some money.”

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W
ant to meet the “As a banker, when some-
people who can body comes to me with a
accelerate your low EBITDA and it’s a nice
growth? You company, I’ll say, ‘Do what-
might need to make $1 million ever you can to try and grow
in revenue first. the company, and let’s talk
“I think there’s something in a couple of years,’” says
magical about a million dollars Beatrice Mitchell, managing
in terms of just showing prog- director of Sperry, Mitchell &
ress and scalability of the busi- Company, a boutique invest-
ness,” says Laura Held, a partner ment banking firm. “If you
at the investment firm Shamrock go below $3 million, there’s
Capital. She says $1 million in just a whole bunch of pri-
revenue before EBITDA—inter- vate equity groups that won’t
est, taxes, depreciation, and even look at you.”
amortization—is a noteworthy All three experts agreed
metric that puts you on the map that private equity isn’t right
for everyone from angel inves- for every business. Much
tors to debt financiers. depends on a company’s
Case in point: Marilyn unique long-term vision. But
Adler, a founder and managing if you’re interested in an exit
partner at Mizzen Capital— strategy, private equity can
a group that invests debt into be a great way to maximize
lower middle market compa- your payout.
nies, which usually generate “One thing that’s really
from $1 million to $10 million attractive about private equity
of EBITDA—says $1 million in is that you can get what’s
EBITDA is the minimum a com- called the ‘second bite of the
pany must hit for her to even apple,’” Held says. “You sell a
consider funding them in most portion of your interest in the
cases. She says it’s also usu- business, but retain and roll
ally the minimum to be of any over a really big stake along-
interest to a private equity side the investor. So you get
group looking for add-on acqui- some liquidity on day one
sitions. (This is when a buyer when private equity comes in,
purchases a smaller company and then when private equity
to incorporate into an exist- is looking to sell three to five
THE ing business—known as the years down the road, you’re
MILLION-DOLLAR platform company—in order
to make it more profitable or
participating in that event
alongside them at a much
MEETING productive.) For example, the

owner of a pharmacy chain
might purchase a courier com-
higher value than when they
came in. You captured all that
value creation and growth
pany to deliver medications. in the meantime, versus just
“That $1 million of EBITDA selling out completely at the
Once your company hits seems to be a critical mark for onset. So that’s the second bite
a million dollars in revenue, them to spend time on it and of the apple.”
really make it worthwhile,” The decision to work
many more investors says Adler. toward different unlock
(and private equity buyers) To be considered for a main points is a personal one,
will start taking your calls. platform acquisition, where with a variety of consider-
your company is acquired with ations, including how much
Here’s why. the intention of keeping its effort you’re willing to put
brand and operations mostly into growth, and how badly
by KRISTEN BAYRAKDARIAN intact, Adler says, you’d want to you want a payout sooner
strive for the next unlock point rather than later. But regard-
of roughly $3 million to $5 mil- less, making $1 million
lion. Reaching that revenue throws open doors to new
mark (or higher) increases visi- and lucrative opportunities,
bility and potential competition ripe to explore when the
among private equity investors. time is right.

Do you have the #1 skill
that drives success?

TAKE MY FREE
SUCCESS TEST HERE

N
oah Kagan was the 30th employee at
Facebook, the fourth employee at mint.com,
and has started many successful businesses
of his own. Now, his company AppSumo
does nearly $100 million in annual revenue. Along
the journey, he says he’s discovered something:
Success isn’t about long-term dreams; it’s about
immediate action. His new book Million Dollar
Weekend lays out a plan for just that. He explains.
People often say they want Yes. It’s about asking, getting
to start a business, but they rejected, and realizing rejection’s
don’t have an idea. not so bad. Then you ask again.
I think ideas are bullshit. And again. As you keep doing
this, you keep getting better,
That’s a hot take. until you eventually find a prob-
Ideas are bullshit! There’s so lem that people are excited to
many articles out there with give you money for, and you’re
business ideas, so how come on your million-dollar path.
more people haven’t become
millionaires? The reality is, the What if you’re comfortable
idea isn’t the problem. The per- pitching, but worried about
son is afraid—that’s the problem. pitching the same people over
They’re not prepared to ask peo- and over?
ple to be their customer, or to be Number one, I call it the “survey-
their employee, or to give them to-sale” method. Communicate
feedback. Instead of thinking with people through a survey,
about ideas, think about prob- ask them about themselves, and
lems. Get excited about prob- learn the problems they have.
lems you can solve for people. If you can help solve their prob-
lem, aren’t they excited to give
You can do this in a weekend? you money for helping?
Entrepreneurship is a skill that’s If you’re concerned about
MAKE A developed. The more you prac-

tice it, the better it gets. If you’re
annoying people, don’t bother
all of them. Just talk to some.
MILLION DOLLARS thinking about a business, what If you have a 100-person email
IN A are the things you can do right

now? Let’s say you’re good at
list, get on the phone or send a
sale to 10 of them. If all 10 buy,
WEEKEND? email marketing. Is there one

person you can contact right
great. Roll it out to more. If they
don’t, try something else.
now and say, “I went through
your emails. Here’s three things It seems like your message
you could change. Want to be is: Don’t get caught up in
OK, you won’t earn it in a one of my first customers?” what you need later, because
weekend. But serial entrepreneur there’s a lot to do now.
You just need to be comfort- The reality is, there’s a lot of
NOAH KAGAN says you can
able doing it. really dumb people making a
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF NOAH KAGAN
start a thriving business That’s the fundamentals of busi- lot of money. Very, very dumb.
quickly—if you’re willing to move ness. All the billionaires I’ve These people are no better
interviewed or worked for—a lot than you. The only difference
fast and be uncomfortable. of them say the best skill is sales. is that they just started, and
by JASON FEIFER And what is sales? It’s an ask. eventually they got there. You
In my book, I teach the famous should realize that, “Huh, I can
“coffee challenge”... do this, too.” You don’t need
any investor, you don’t need
This is where you go to a cof- any cofounder, you just need a
fee shop and ask for a dis- weekend and the willingness to
count on the coffee, right? face yourself.
What Are
You Building?
Learn more at entrepreneur.vc
MAKE YOUR
FIRST TAX-FREE
MILLION
It’s legal, smart, and great for your long-term savings.
by MARK J. KOHLER, CPA, ATTORNEY

es, you can make a million—
and more—without paying
taxes on it. The wealthy do Using proper
self-directing Pooling IRA
it every day, and the formula structured
to scale
and 401(k)
accounts into a
is simple: Take a business or invest- self-directed
account
ment idea that’s separate from your
“day job,” combine it with a Roth IRA
structure, give it a little time and $1 Million
Snowball
Investing in
what you know
sunshine, and voilà!
PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel Converting all
accounts to Roth
famously did this, according to strategically
ProPublica. He turned a $2,000 Roth Making regular

contributions
into $5 billion, by using his Roth to to Roth
fund his investment in PayPal, which
grew astronomically. He never had
to pay taxes on the $5 billion because
it was generated from that one little tions to your Roth accounts. STEP 5/
$2,000 Roth (that he’d already paid For example, a 30-year-old Structure it properly.
who starts contributing The Roth can be structured to
taxes on when he was contributing $500 a month into their create even more incredible ben-
to it). Thiel used his Roth profits Roth, at a conservative 8% efits. The LLC is a powerful tool
annual return, will have when combined with the Roth
to buy more shares of other startups $1M at age 65 tax-free! account, for example.
at low prices with huge growth Perhaps you’ve heard that Many investors don’t realize
you can’t contribute to a Roth they can combine multiple retire-
opportunities, and the rest is history. if you make too much money. ment accounts, including other
So how do you do something like That’s false. You can always family members’ Roth accounts,
contribute to a Roth at any all into one LLC for more buying
that? Here’s a step-by-step guide. age or income level. power and leverage. In fact,
investors can combine their own
STEP 4/ personal funds with their Roth in
STEP 1/ soon as possible. Yes, you’ll pay Invest in what a properly structured LLC.
Pool your accounts. some tax, but no penalties—and you know. By using the “IRA/LLC invest-
Create a spreadsheet of all you’ll have frozen the value for Here’s the real meat of this tax ment structure,” self-directed
your IRA accounts, with ac- tax purposes. You’ll never pay strategy: Your Roth isn’t rele- IRA investors can have signing
count numbers and estimated tax again on the future growth gated to stocks, bonds, mutual control of the LLC and even
balances. As you do this, open and value you create. funds, and ETFs—which means serve as manager without pay
the proper self-directed IRA For example, say you you can also invest in “alterna- for administrative duties. This in
accounts based on the types expect a startup or real estate tive investments,” just like the turn makes it easier for investors
of retirement funds you’re deal to have a significant wealthy do. to begin projects, sign contracts,
pulling together. (You’ll want bounce in future value. Con- What’s that? It’s any busi- access the checking account, and
a trained eye on this, so ask verting the traditional IRA to ness (minus some limitations more quickly fund transactions.
your accountant.) Then trans- Roth now, at a far lower value, related to family members and Again, consult a professional
fer the chosen accounts tax- allows all that future wealth to personal ownership) that you for all of this—it’s a proven strate-
free and penalty-free to the be tax-free. (Again, consult a think is worth investing in. gy, but requires deep knowledge
new self-directed accounts. professional as you do this.) You can invest your Roth in of the rules. And remember
a startup, for example. If you that Rome wasn’t built in a day.
STEP 2/ STEP 3/ have unique industry knowl- The Roth IRA account is not a
Convert the money. Feed the machine. edge, or a strategic advantage get-rich-quick scheme. It is a way
If you have any traditional IRA Don’t worry about making with an undiscovered business to grow generational wealth and
or 401(k) money, convert your a huge upfront investment. opportunity, that’s your secret enable you to live the life you
funds into a Roth position as Just set up regular contribu- weapon inside your Roth. hope to in the future.
S
hort of running an online scam, how do
you get someone to willingly fork over
$1 million? The magic happens some-
where between dumb luck and intelligent
strategy, says Wanda Urbanska, who does it regu-
larly. She’s the director of philanthropy for North
Carolina State University’s College of Engineering,
and brings in large gifts for the school—but she’s
also done it for other causes, including her PBS
series, Simple Living with Wanda Urbanska.
No matter what you’re raising money for, she
says, the same basic rules apply:
RULE 1/ as disingenuous, she says. Her

Don’t let the zeroes advice: Make your intention
faze you. clear quickly. “I identify myself
“One of the biggest mistakes,” in the first email as an advisor
Urbanska says, “is to be intim- who helps people achieve their
idated by wealthy donors. philanthropic ambitions. I’m
Walk into the room as an very upfront.”
equal, with the attitude that
you’re here to explore an RULE 4/
opportunity of philanthropic Help them help
engagement. Of course you themselves.
want it to work, but if not, it Ask donors lots of questions
doesn’t matter.” about their lives—and as you
listen, look for ways that a
RULE 2/ donation to your cause helps
Don’t get them. Maybe it’s by honoring
discouraged. a loved one. Maybe it’s by
Urbanska doesn’t take rejec- expressing a passion, being
tion personally. Nor does she part of a community, or
give up. One prospect never paying it forward. Urbanska
answered her persistent calls, recently met with a man who
HOW TO ASK “but I figured I’d try one more
time, and he picked up,” she
said flat out he wasn’t likely
to give. But then they got to
SOMEONE says. He told her no way would talking about his mother, and
FOR A he give even $50,000, so she
quickly pivoted to ask if he’d
he started crying. “Well,” she
said, reaching for a tissue, “if
MILLION DOLLARS ever consider leaving a gift you ever thought about an
like that after he died, then endowment, you could name
got him to agree to discuss it it for her.”
over lunch.
Philanthropic fundraisers At the restaurant, he RULE 5/
often get donors to give wanted to know instead what Let the donor lead.
it would cost to endow a pro- When someone shows inter-
$1 million—and their tactics
fessorship. A million dollars, est, it’s tempting to push for
are useful for anyone she told him, assuming lunch the close. But that can back-
trying to win over was over. “He goes, ‘Yeah, I fire. Instead, ask permission
think I could do that,’” she to take a next step—as in, “Are
someone else’s dollars. says. “You never know!” you okay with me putting a
by LIZ BRODY proposal in front of you?” If
RULE 3/ they say they’re not ready yet,
Skip the ‘friend raise.’ answer, “That’s fine. What
A lot of people try to get information do you need from
buddy-buddy with a prospect me? When is it good for me to
and then segue into asking for contact you again?” Now they
money. But that just comes off feel in control.

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Charities
Are Getting
Down to
Business
Nonprofits
are struggling.
That’s why
more charitable
leaders are
taking a page
from their
for-profit
peers—and
learning
how to make
money.
by LIZ BRODY
Illustration / MARIAELENA CAPUTI May-June 2024 / E N T R E P R E N E U R . C O M / 65
to give this idea more cultural traction. Since the pandemic upended
norms and life poured online, more nonprofits have started using
technology and data to carry out their services—both of which lend
themselves to earning revenue. The pandemic also laid bare the ten-
uous nature of our social safety nets—governmental and charitable—
underscoring how easy it is for people to fall through the cracks.
For sick people to not get the care they need, for families to go hun-
gry, or for kids to fall behind in school. And younger generations are
bringing new attitudes about purpose to the workplace. They expect
their employers to have missions they believe in—to be actively work-
ing to make the world a better place—all of which is making the lines
between nonprofit and for-profit causes blurrier.
Beyond these shifting notions about profit, there is a growing
sense that the existing philanthropy system is faltering and out-
dated, including the standard practice of restricting funding, which
means that even when a nonprofit does get donations, it may not be
able to use them to actually keep the lights on, much less expand.
One of the most fiery advocates for rethinking charities is Dan
Pallotta. With two books, TED talks with over 7.5 million views, and
ix years ago, Michelle Brown (pictured a new film called UnCharitable (streaming June 15), Pallotta has long
above) met with a major funder of her argued that nonprofits are pressured to pay measly salaries, keep
literacy nonprofit. She’d been count- operating costs low, and avoid taking risks to innovate, while being
ing on them to renew their grant, and expected to fill society’s greatest needs. “I look at Tesla, or Apple,
there was no reason they shouldn’t. or NVIDIA—where they have a massive dream and go out and raise
But as the meeting began, she had that billions of dollars in capital in order to finance that dream,” he says.
sickening, slow-motion realization “Nothing remotely like that is happening in the nonprofit sector.”
that everything was about to change. These are the kinds of things that Brown started to question
In her mind’s eye, she saw millions of dollars fluttering away like after her major donor backed away. Today, she looks at that meet-
a flock of geese, on to warmer waters. ing as the day that “made us get our shit together.” And she’s not
She thought of William, a seventh-grader in a small, struggling the only nonprofit founder who’s had a moment like this; more and
Mississippi town, who was so behind in reading—the one who more are experimenting with business strategies to accelerate their
inspired Brown to start her nonprofit, called CommonLit. Her causes. As you’ll read, charities are doing everything from salvaging
memories flashed through the years of winning grants and charm- medicine to drilling wells in Africa to seeking a cure for cancer. But
ing donors. The tens of thousands of teachers using the program to succeed, they need to challenge some of the major dogmas that
for free. The measurable improvements in children. But now, her have dominated the charity space for decades. Here are three.
major funder was dropping off, because—as far as she could tell—
philanthropists were moving on to some shinier, trendier cause.
CHARITY DOGMA/
Brown walked out of that meeting knowing her budget would soon
evaporate, wondering how she would support a staff of some 20
Your “customers” can’t pay.
people and keep her students reading. “I never thought when I nonprofit founder rarely wants to serve “paying custom-
started a public charity, especially for something so basic as liter-
acy,” she says, “that philanthropy wouldn’t come through.”
So Brown did something that had long been frowned on in the
A ers.” In fact, it’s the opposite: They want to serve the peo-
ple who cannot pay.
That’s how Brown got into charity. She signed up for Teach
world of charities: She started thinking like a business. for America and in 2009, at 22 years old, ended up in Itta Bena,
On the face of it, a business mindset—which includes thinking Mississippi. That’s where she met William, the seventh-grader at his
about products to market and sell, consumers to test and please, wits’ end with reading. Stuck in the remedial class, he was starting
and money to be made and not just solicited—seems antithetical to get into trouble. One day, Brown was teaching the advanced read-
to the premise of a nonprofit. The assumptions are all there in the ing students and they were animatedly discussing Anne Frank’s diary
name: Nonprofits offer social services unhindered by market forces when she saw William looking in from the outside, dejected. People
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF MICHELLE BROWN
or the “greed” (as some might say) associated with making money. talk about their call to action, the life whisper, the moment of obliga-
A nonprofit’s mission is purely to help. But depending on gener- tion; this was hers. Despite the rules, she invited him into the class-
osity has always been a precarious model, and in this time of per- room. “I swear to you,” she says, “I’ve never seen a child go from
ceived economic instability, charitable giving is in a downward being so shut down to becoming alive with questions, talking to his
spiral. In 2022, donations plummeted 10.5% adjusting for inflation, peers, and using vocabulary words that I had not heard before.”
according to Giving USA. “Broad public support for nonprofits has Five years later, after finishing a master’s from the Harvard
also been down this past year,” says Soraya Alexander, president Graduate School of Education, she decided to start a nonprofit so
of the fundraising platform Classy and COO of GoFundMe, looking students like William wouldn’t be underestimated. She researched
back at 2023. “This has required the social sector to be more cre- and developed a proven literacy program that emphasized read-
ative with how they fund their important work.” ing as a social experience, rather than drills and exercises. There
And in reality, there’s nothing to say that charity causes and busi- would be texts and curriculum online in multiple languages for
ness strategies cannot coexist. Now, numerous factors are converging teachers, parents, and students, all for free. At first she had no
Illustration / MARIAELENA CAPUTI May-June 2024 / E N T R E P R E N E U R . C O M / 67
trouble raising money, including winning a $3.89 million award something to sell, or clients who can become customers. Not all
from the Department of Education in 2016. But two years later, have systems and cultures to support this pivot, or donors who will
when her major funder dropped off, she learned the hard way tolerate years of experimentation and market research. And very
that charity causes go in and out of style like shoes and dog few have the resources to iterate, collect data, and improve effi-
breeds. Not long after, she grabbed her chief strategy officer and ciencies, the way for-profit companies do. “People want the impact
said, “We are now Team Money.” data, but they’re not going to fund the mileage reimbursements and
Kevin Barenblat calls this moment “nonprofit judo.” He’s the everything else it costs to get it, because that’s not sexy,” says Sarah
cofounder and president of Fast Forward, an accelerator for Evans, who’s working on creating earned revenue for her nonprofit
charities that deploy tech to serve their beneficiaries (including Well Aware, which drills wells and builds water systems with long
CommonLit), and he’s seen many passionate founders arrive at this term maintenance support in East Africa. When Well Aware col-
realization. “It’s like, how do you take what looks like weaknesses of lects impact data, for example, they have to spend time working in
the nonprofit model and turn it into a strength?” he says. the villages to figure out metrics like how much the clean water is
Team Money did that with a traditional business approach: It reducing disease and how much time it saves farmers to not have to
talked to its best customers—the tens of thousands of teachers using walk so far for water, and then have that data analyzed and present-
its program for free—and learned what other problems these people able. She makes it happen, but it costs thousands of dollars a year.
had. CommonLit then developed a robust suite of services, which
it began selling to schools. “If they use it with fidelity,” says Brown,
CHARITY DOGMA/
“we see the outcomes from children dramatically increase, so it’s
driving revenue and impact all at once—a double bottom line.”
Never spend on overhead!
Earned revenue is hardly a new idea for nonprofits. It’s part of the harity websites often make promises like “98 cents
recipe—along with government grants, foundation and corporate
philanthropy, and individual donations—that many use to sustain
themselves. In fact, in 2019, 49% of total revenue came from fees for
C of every dollar you give goes to the hungry children.”
That sounds great, right? If you donate your hard-
earned money, you want it to go directly to the kid you saw in a
programs, according to the National Council of Nonprofits. What’s heart-wrenching photo, whose big eyes are filled with the sedi-
changing is the entrepreneurial mindset that founders are bringing to ments of hardship.
their earned revenue streams. Instead of approaching them as trick- “But they’re not selling the impact that they’re making. They’re
ling sideline operations, they’re building products with plans to scale selling how low their overhead is,” Pallotta says. Why do nonprof-
and sell them to nontraditional customers. Not only does the money its talk like this? Because the public has been trained to look for it.
make a nonprofit organization more financially secure, but it frees Charities that spend “too much” on administration have been criti-
them from needing “restricted donations”—funds designated only cized in the press, and it affects their scores from rating organizations
for certain programs or initiatives, which must be documented to the like Charity Navigator and Charity Watch. And although that’s start-
penny. Although these funds are common in the sector, they often ing to change, the myth of overhead persists, and nonprofits feel its
hamstring charities trying to grow and improve their operations. pressure. The result is that they must figure out how to achieve their
CommonLit’s strategy—of finding other problems it can solve for ambitious goals, even though they can barely afford the staff and
customers who can pay—has been repeated in many other nonprof- resources to do it. As GoFundMe and Classy’s Alexander says, “The
its. SIRUM is a good example. The organization helps give millions misguided focus on low overhead limits the sector’s ability to scale its
of dollars of unused, perfectly good medicines (unexpired, no con- impact effectively.”
trolled substances) to people who can’t afford them. It does this by For one, employees are expected to work for passion. “You can’t
getting surplus drugs from manufacturers and healthcare facilities, get paid a living wage,” says Jody Levison-Johnson, president and
and then, through partnerships with charity clinics and pharmacies, CEO of Social Current, which works with a network of more than
distributing those medications to the patients. At the beginning, the 1,800 human and social services organizations. “People are leaving
model was simple: The drug donation process happened for free. to go work at Amazon, where there’s less stress and more money.”
This is still true, but SIRUM discovered another option. The manufac- Low salaries make it challenging to attract top talent from the busi-
turers and healthcare facilities also had drugs they couldn’t donate— ness world who could help, say, in finance, fundraising, and product
expired or otherwise unusable—and had to pay a company to collect development. Paul Blavin, a philanthropist and businessman, has
and destroy them. So SIRUM created a new service: It would accept seen this firsthand, having sat on the boards of multiple nonprofits. “I
all surplus medications—the stuff worth donating and the stuff to remember one where they were trying to recruit a development offi-
trash—and take care of the courier pickup, shipping, logistics, and cer and were very much focused on, ‘Well, we need to cap the salary.’
record-keeping. But this new service would come with a fee. And I’m like, ‘If we could pay them a million dollars a year and they
“They’re like, ‘Wait, I have to pay to donate to you? This a joke, could raise five, God bless them, let’s do it,’” he says. “There’s no dif-
right?’” says Adam Kircher, one of SIRUM’s three founders. But once ference between a social venture and a for-profit venture in that the
he showed the manufacturers and healthcare facilities how this results are going to be driven by the people.”
would save them time and money, many got on board. Kircher is cur- But there’s no easy fix for a strapped founder, as Vikas Birhma
rently exploring other ways to drive revenue, including potentially learned. His small nonprofit, Gramhal, aims to make technology
selling SIRUM’s data to predict drug shortages, for example. Today, that helps farmers in India. But his underpaid staff was rarely stick-
earned revenue makes up about 20% to 30% of the nonprofit’s core ing around to finish projects. “We couldn’t get good talent to even
operating budget, excluding some hefty one-time expenditures, but apply,” he says. So he’s now attempting a high-risk experiment:
Kircher hopes that will get to 100%. In October 2023, he greatly raised the salaries he’s paying, some-
Still, for every nonprofit like CommonLit or SIRUM that finds times by as much as 100%. His hope is to maintain his unrestricted
earned revenue, there are many others that hit walls. Not all have funding (fellowships, accelerators, and competitions) long enough
“I look at Tesla to doing just that. “For-profit America knows that they need to
spend money to make money,” he figured. “Well, let’s use that same
or Apple, where mentality in the nonprofit world.” The idea excited his corporate
donors, and with $12 million so far, the fund helped Homeboy open
they have a a new dog-grooming enterprise, among others.

For any nonprofits considering venture philanthropy, Sean
massive dream Doherty has advice: Be very specific about your goal. That way, just
like a for-profit venture fund, you can attract the right investors, iden-
and raise billions tify opportunities that appeal to them, and create more impact for
everyone. Doherty himself set up a fund for the JDRF, a foundation
to finance it. that researches a cure for Type 1 diabetes. The former general coun-
sel for Bain Capital, Doherty has a son with Type 1 diabetes, so the
Nothing like that cause is personal to him. And he was frustrated that virtually no bio-
tech companies were working on a cure. “Unless we change this sim-
is happening in the ple fact, we are whistling in the wind,” he says.
Medical nonprofits are ripe for this kind of philanthropy, given
nonprofit sector.” how expensive drugs are to develop but how potentially lucrative it
is when done successfully. It’s also a way to help scientists focus on
the disease they’re advocating for. The Multiple Myeloma Research
to prove the impact this change will make. Then it will be easier to Foundation (MMRF) also has a venture philanthropy fund, which
raise other kinds of donations. “We’re now hiring at market rate has raised more than $17 million and already had two exits, kicking
salaries,” Birhma says, “and these roles are critical because we’ve back $4 million for more research. And after eight years, the Type 1
achieved product-impact fit—and it’s time to take the next leap.” diabetes fund has about $200 million in assets and a portfolio of 38
How can other nonprofits tackle this problem? Pallotta suggests companies, which have returned $89 million into play. More impor-
transparency and dialogue. “Develop a donor literacy program and tantly, they’ve spawned exciting discoveries in the search for cures.
put your entire staff, board, and all your major donors through it,” MMRF’s founder, Kathy Giusti, urges other nonprofit founders
he says. “If you can get them excited about these new ways of think- to explore venture philanthropy as an option. The author of Fatal
ing, now you’ve got permission as a community to move forward to Fearless, Giusti started the nonprofit after being diagnosed at age
with bold ideas.” Brown is doing that at CommonLit. When she 37 with multiple myeloma and told she only had three years to live.
takes gifts now, she brings the donors along on her thinking: “This “One of my big regrets,” she says, “is that I didn’t do it sooner.”
is the plan. This is what we’re going to spend it on. Are you in? Are
you out? Like, are we in a relationship or not?” hese days, CommonLit is still fulfilling its mission of help-
CHARITY DOGMA/
Investors are for businesses, not nonprofits.
T ing children to read—but it’s also getting good at mak-
ing money. Once it started selling its literacy programs
to schools, it was technically competing against everyone in the
for-profit ed tech sector. So just like any other founder, Brown has
n business, everyone is familiar with venture capital: An inves- had to find her competitive advantage. And here, being a nonprofit
I tor puts money into a startup, hoping to supercharge growth

and lead to an exit where everyone profits.
But in nonprofits, there’s an increasing embrace of something
helps. She wins customers by pricing her product lower and sell-
ing it as a research-backed, mission-driven program that improves
reading at $4 per student, the cost of a paperback book.
called philanthropic venture funds. In this case, “investors” give Currently, revenue from CommonLit’s products covers 63% of
nonrestricted dollars to a fund, which is set up by a charity. That operations, which include paying a staff of nearly 130 at market sal-
fund then invests in new projects that help the organization grow aries. Brown expects revenue to cover 100% of operations by 2026.
and improve its impact. In the meantime, the program is in 2,400 schools, and has helped
The concept isn’t new, and the term “venture philanthropy” more than 5 million students become more proficient. “Our reve-
itself is credited to John D. Rockefeller III in 1969. But it’s taken on a nue is our lifeline and it’s our future,” Brown says. “Without it, we
fresh life recently, as successful executives and entrepreneurs apply would definitely not be here.”
a businesslike approach to their philanthropy. Pallotta is heartened by stories like this and is trying to cre-
Thomas Vozzo is a great example. His long corporate career ate more of them using UnCharitable. In an ambitious initiative,
ended in 2011 as executive vice president of the $13.5 billion pro- the filmmakers are teaming up with the nonprofit Social Current
fessional services company Aramark. Then he became the volun- to develop teaching tools to educate the next generation of non-
teer CEO of Homeboy Industries, a nonprofit that offers support to profit leaders, and work deeply with five pilot cities on new ways
formerly incarcerated gang members. Homeboy provides services to address their social needs. “Entrepreneurs to me are the real
such as therapy and tattoo removal, but its most unique impact heroes,” Pallotta says. “Nonprofit is just a tax status. So if you’re
takes place in its stores. It owns and operates 14 small businesses, passionate about something that can be monetized, do it as a for-
such as an electronics recycling business and a bakery, where for- profit. Whichever way you go, put all your frustration and all your
mer gang members can work and develop professional skills. Most love and courage and imagination into it, and you will make a great
of Homeboy’s donors wanted to fund the services, but Vozzo was difference. And when you do, the money will follow.”
itching to actually grow these businesses and start new ones.
His solution? To set up a venture philanthropy fund dedicated Liz Brody is Entrepreneur’s contributing editor.
Listings
The Top 150 New and

Emergıng Franchises
Want to buy a young, exciting franchise? This ranking of top brands should be your first stop.
by T R A C Y S TA P P H E R O L D PHOTOGRAPH BY STOCK.ADOBE.COM/CHAN2545
ranchising is full of decades-old brands that have proven cepts? That’s what we assessed in this ranking, which is based on
themselves—so why would someone consider buying a fran- the scores that these companies received during the Franchise 500
chise from a brand-new franchisor instead? There are many evaluation process. We looked at more than 150 data points in the
reasons: Although newer franchise concepts may come areas of costs and fees, size and growth, franchisee support, brand
with higher risk, you can usually have more influence over strength, and financial strength and stability. Only brands that
how the brand develops, you may get in at a lower price started franchising in 2019 or later were considered.
than future franchisees will, and you have more available Getting in on the ground floor with the next hot concept can
territories to choose from. If that sounds appealing, there are be an exciting prospect, but keep in mind that this list is not
plenty of new franchise brands to consider: An estimated 300 intended as an endorsement of any particular franchise, rather
companies begin franchising every year, and of the 1,389 franchi- just as a starting point for your own research. Before investing in
sors that applied for our 2024 Franchise 500 ranking, nearly 17% any franchise, make sure you carefully read the company’s legal
had started franchising in the past five years. documents, consult with an attorney and an accountant, and talk
So which are the strongest new and emerging franchise con- to existing franchisees.
1 7
Koala Insulation
Insulation services
Sign Gypsies
Special-occasion yard sign
WE ASKED TOP NEW AND EMERGING FRANCHISORS/
FRANCHISING SINCE
rentals
2020 FRANCHISING SINCE
2020
STARTUP COST
$182.6K-$210.5K
TOTAL UNITS
STARTUP COST
$4.2K-$9.9K
Why did you choose to
(Franchised / Co.-Owned)
384/0
TOTAL UNITS
715/1
franchise your business?
2
Jeremiah’s Italian Ice 8
Shoot 360
Italian ice, gelati, soft ice
cream
FRANCHISING SINCE
Basketball training facilities
FRANCHISING SINCE
THREE ANSWERS/
P H O T O G R A P H S C O U R T E S Y O F J E A N N I N E M A R I E P H O T O G R A P H Y ( K R I S T E N D E N Z E R ) ; D AV E P U E N T E ( M I C H E L E H E N R Y ) ; Q C K I N E T I X (J U S T I N C R O W E L L)
2019 2019
STARTUP COST STARTUP COST
$325.6K-$696K $754K-$2.6M
TOTAL UNITS TOTAL UNITS “Franchising was a great way to scale
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
100/19 29/2 our business quickly. We knew we were

3 9 onto something with the amazing success
QC Kinetix
Randy’s Donuts
Doughnuts, breakfast Regenerative medicine of our corporate stores and wanted
sandwiches, croissants, and nonsurgical pain
coffee, tea, drinks management therapies to spread it nationwide as quickly as
FRANCHISING SINCE
FRANCHISING SINCE
2019 2020 possible. Franchising was the clear path
STARTUP COST
STARTUP COST
$606K-$1.2M $227.3K-$495.9K for our business model.”
TOTAL UNITS TOTAL UNITS
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) (Franchised / Co.-Owned) —JUSTIN CROWELL, cofounder, QC Kinetix (No. 9)
23/9 187/12
4 10
Your CBD Store Ellie Mental Health
CBD stores Outpatient mental health
services
“I built this concept to be franchised from
FRANCHISING SINCE
2021
the start. I had always loved the franchise
STARTUP COST
$93.3K-$148.6K STARTUP COST model and knew that I wanted to connect
$278.5K-$480.4K
TOTAL UNITS
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) TOTAL UNITS
with individuals who had that entrepre-
289/1
122/26 neurial spark. In addition, the consistency
5 11 and high ability to replicate made it a per-
Mighty Dog Roofing
The Vitamin
Residential and commercial
roofing services, siding, Shoppe fect fit as a franchise model.”
windows, gutters, and solar Vitamins, minerals,
supplements, sport —MICHELE HENRY, founder and CEO, Face Foundrie (No. 57)
FRANCHISING SINCE
nutrition products
2019
FRANCHISING SINCE
STARTUP COST
2021
$214.5K-$319.99K
STARTUP COST
TOTAL UNITS
90/0
$528.9K-$976.9K
TOTAL UNITS
“I love supporting and mentoring entre-
31/673 preneurs. With franchising, I am able to
6 partner with driven, community-minded
KidStrong
Physical fitness, leadership, 12
and confidence-building Richard’s Painting
Painting
people to help them achieve entrepre-
training for children
FRANCHISING SINCE FRANCHISING SINCE
2019
neurial success while also having a tre-
2019
STARTUP COST STARTUP COST mendous positive impact.”
$313.2K-$664.2K $60.2K-$106.5K
TOTAL UNITS
TOTAL UNITS
—KRISTEN DENZER, founder and CEO,
93/9 18/2
Tierra Encantada (No. 104)
The Top 150 New and Emerging Franchises
21 27
→ DAVE’S HOT CHICKEN Send Me a Pro Dave’s Hot Chicken
In-home services Nashville hot chicken
2019 2019
$49.1K-$84.8K $615.8K-$1.8M
84/0 133/19
22 28
Strickland Brothers Fundraising
10 Minute Oil University
Change Fundraising
Oil changes and routine FRANCHISING SINCE
auto maintenance 2020
FRANCHISING SINCE STARTUP COST
2019 $91.8K-$98.5K
STARTUP COST TOTAL UNITS
$217.9K-$1.9M (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
TOTAL UNITS 43/6

62/113
29
Dumpster Dudez
23 Residential and commercial
Combo Brands dumpster rentals
Ghost kitchens/ FRANCHISING SINCE
restaurants, personal- 2019
care services, home-
improvement services, STARTUP COST
children’s enrichment $345.1K-$403.7K
services, pet care TOTAL UNITS
FRANCHISING SINCE
2020 17/1
STARTUP COST
$7.8K-$353K 30
TOTAL UNITS
Blingle!
Holiday, landscape, patio,
126/1 permanent, and event
lighting
2021
Hello Sugar
Traditional waxing and STARTUP COST
sugaring $280.97K-$419K
FRANCHISING SINCE TOTAL UNITS
13
Alloy Personal
15
Blue Kangaroo
17
Prime IV Hydration
19
Everbowl
2021
STARTUP COST
48/0
Training Packoutz & Wellness Health food bowls $61.6K-$482.7K

Small group personal Contents restoration IV therapy, cryotherapy, FRANCHISING SINCE TOTAL UNITS 31
training FRANCHISING SINCE
peptides 2019
Hangar 54 Pizza
51/13 Pizza, chicken, breakfast
FRANCHISING SINCE 2019 FRANCHISING SINCE STARTUP COST
2019 2020 $133.9K-$451.6K FRANCHISING SINCE
STARTUP COST
STARTUP COST
$221.8K-$431.4K STARTUP COST TOTAL UNITS 25 2020
$185.3K-$452.4K TOTAL UNITS
$164.6K-$599.7K (Franchised / Co.-Owned) All Dry Services STARTUP COST
TOTAL UNITS (Franchised / Co.-Owned) TOTAL UNITS 64/2 Water and mold $9K-$349K
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) 91/1 (Franchised / Co.-Owned) remediation and
P H O T O G R A P H B Y A R M A N O G A N E S YA N / D AV E ’ S H O T C H I C K E N
TOTAL UNITS
24/1 76/1 restoration
16 20
American Freight
FRANCHISING SINCE
114/1
14 Augusta Lawn Care 18 Furniture, Mattress

2020
STARTUP COST
32
KeyGlee Services Bath Tune-Up and Appliance $87.7K-$275.3K
Wholesale real estate Lawn care and landscaping Bathroom remodeling Furniture, mattresses, and StretchMed
appliances TOTAL UNITS Assisted stretching
FRANCHISING SINCE FRANCHISING SINCE FRANCHISING SINCE (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
2020 2019 2020 FRANCHISING SINCE 125/1 FRANCHISING SINCE
STARTUP COST 2020 2019
$122.3K-$296.6K
TOTAL UNITS
$12.99K-$82.5K
TOTAL UNITS
$104.9K-$158.9K
TOTAL UNITS
STARTUP COST
$496.9K-$942.9K 26 STARTUP COST
$70.4K-$185.5K
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) (Franchised / Co.-Owned) (Franchised / Co.-Owned) TOTAL UNITS
ISI Elite Training TOTAL UNITS
98/5 126/7 52/0 (Franchised / Co.-Owned) Group fitness (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
7/355 FRANCHISING SINCE 25/1
2019
STARTUP COST
$327.4K-$687K
TOTAL UNITS
32/2
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33 39
Tapville Social
Self-service and self-
Super Soccer Stars
Soccer programs
service beer taproom FRANCHISING SINCE
restaurants/kiosks/mobile 2022
units
FRANCHISING SINCE
2019
STARTUP COST
$72.8K-$105.8K
TOTAL UNITS
What unexpected challenges have
you faced since franchising, and
STARTUP COST
$134.8K-$1.4M 47/13
TOTAL UNITS
how have you responded to them?

23/1 40
Gatsby Glass
34
Tile Liquidators
Frameless glass showers
and shower doors, custom
interior glass, railings,
Flooring stores doors, mirrors, commercial
glass partitions and walls
FRANCHISING SINCE
THREE ANSWERS/
STARTUP COST
2022
$79.7K-$160.2K STARTUP COST
TOTAL UNITS
$209.8K-$358.2K
16/0
TOTAL UNITS
“Our biggest challenge was figuring out who
11/0 would be the best fit for our model and who to
35 41 cater the message to. We’ve landed on corporate
GrassRoots Turf
Lawn, tree, and shrub care; The Now Massage refugees and people who want to leave their 9-to-
mosquito control Massage services
FRANCHISING SINCE
2019
FRANCHISING SINCE
2019
5, because our franchise allows people to work
STARTUP COST STARTUP COST part time initially, and eventually they can quit
$100.8K-$151.6K $477.5K-$819.1K
TOTAL UNITS TOTAL UNITS their job and go full time.”
19/1 44/4 —NEEL PAREKH, CEO, MaidThis Cleaning (No. 58)
P H O T O G R A P H S C O U R T E S Y O F C H I Z E B R A N D S (A L N O U F A R O ) ; H U D S O N VA L L E Y S W I M (J E F F G A R T N E R ) ; N E E L P A R E K H
36 42
Heroes Lawn Care Temporary Wall
Lawn fertilization and Systems
irrigation, pet waste Rental, installation, and “When we helped our first franchisee go live,
removal, mosquito control service of modular
FRANCHISING SINCE containment systems we realized there were several aspects that we
STARTUP COST 2021 needed to streamline. We decided to create
$281.1K-$492.3K
TOTAL UNITS
STARTUP COST
$145.4K-$352.5K a ‘business-in-a-box’ concept where we pre-
19/0
TOTAL UNITS
negotiated programs with vendors for payroll,
75/0
bookkeeping, marketing, insurance, etc., so
37
Astrawatt Solar
Solar system sales and
43
Vicky Bakery
franchisees can basically sign on the dotted line.”
installation Baked goods, breads, —JEFF GARTNER, cofounder and CEO,
FRANCHISING SINCE pastries, sandwiches,
2022 coffee Hudson Valley Swim (No. 77)
STARTUP COST FRANCHISING SINCE
$89.9K-$158.8K 2021
STARTUP COST
TOTAL UNITS
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) $626.7K-$1.2M
8/4 TOTAL UNITS
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) “Selecting the right franchisees. Initially,
11/10
38
Nautical Bowls
our enthusiasm led us to welcome anyone
Acai bowls 44 with interest, but we quickly learned
FRANCHISING SINCE Scoop Soldiers
2020 Pet waste removal that alignment in vision and values is
STARTUP COST FRANCHISING SINCE
$250.8K-$474.8K 2019 critical. We introduced a comprehensive
TOTAL UNITS STARTUP COST
53/0
$68.3K-$118.3K vetting system that goes beyond financial
TOTAL UNITS
46/58
qualifications to assess a candidate’s
dedication to service excellence. This shift
has been a game-changer.”
—AL NOUFARO, franchisor and CEO, Junk Chuckers (No. 115)
2021
The Top 150 Newto July
and2022.
Emerging Franchises
55
→ RUMBLE BOXING Hangry Joe’s Hot
Chicken
Hot chicken sandwiches
FRANCHISING SINCE
2021
STARTUP COST
$238.5K-$421K
TOTAL UNITS
43/1
56
Rumble Boxing
Boxing fitness studios
FRANCHISING SINCE
2021
STARTUP COST
$405.6K-$4.2M
TOTAL UNITS
52/15
57
Face Foundrie
Facials, lash and brow
services, skin care
FRANCHISING SINCE
2020
STARTUP COST
$255.8K-$563.5K
TOTAL UNITS
24/5
58
MaidThis Cleaning
Vacation-rental and
residential cleaning
FRANCHISING SINCE
2020
STARTUP COST
$50.4K-$72.7K
TOTAL UNITS
45
Purchase Green
47
All Med Search
49
That 1 Painter
51
Hawaii Fluid Art
53
Cinch I.T.
15/2
Artificial Grass
Sales, installation, and
Healthcare industry
recruiting and placement
Residential and
commercial painting and
DIY art studios Outsourced IT support for
businesses
59
Groovy Hues
FRANCHISING SINCE
maintenance of artificial services cosmetic repairs 2021 FRANCHISING SINCE Painting, power washing,
turf, putting greens, and FRANCHISING SINCE FRANCHISING SINCE 2019 gutter and shutter
sports turfs STARTUP COST
2019 2021 replacement, carpentry
FRANCHISING SINCE STARTUP COST STARTUP COST $100K-$124.9K FRANCHISING SINCE
2020 $67.1K-$83.2K $85.8K-$116K
TOTAL UNITS 2022
STARTUP COST TOTAL UNITS TOTAL UNITS 13/3 (Franchised / Co.-Owned) STARTUP COST
$110.1K-$550.7K (Franchised / Co.-Owned) (Franchised / Co.-Owned) 11/1 $223.8K-$420.8K
13/1 51/6
TOTAL UNITS
27/21
52 54
TOTAL UNITS
48 50 i4 Search Group
Healthcare recruiting Website Closers
10/0
Big Chicken The DripBar

46 Chicken sandwiches and IV vitamin therapy
FRANCHISING SINCE
2021
Business brokerages
for tech and internet 60
Detroit Wing tenders, salads, sides, businesses DumpStor
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF RUMBLE BOXING
FRANCHISING SINCE
Company desserts STARTUP COST
Dumpster and jobsite
Chicken wings FRANCHISING SINCE $66.8K-$113.6K 2020 storage container rentals
STARTUP COST
FRANCHISING SINCE
2021 TOTAL UNITS STARTUP COST FRANCHISING SINCE
$142.1K-$404.8K (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
2021 STARTUP COST $67.7K-$112.6K 2021
TOTAL UNITS 30/0
STARTUP COST $681.5K-$1.5M (Franchised / Co.-Owned) TOTAL UNITS STARTUP COST
$378.9K-$747.6K TOTAL UNITS 57/1 (Franchised / Co.-Owned) $112.8K-$458.95K
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) 31/1
8/3 (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
23/1 8/3
61 67
Mosquito Mary’s
Outdoor pest control
Carousel’s Soft
Serve Icery
FRANCHISING SINCE Soft-serve ice trucks
STARTUP COST
$92.96K-$116.9K
TOTAL UNITS
2021
STARTUP COST
$75.8K-$99.8K
As an emerging franchise, how
10/2
TOTAL UNITS
7/0
do you compete against
62
XP League 68 more established franchises?
Youth esports leagues SnapHouss
FRANCHISING SINCE Real estate photography,
2020 videography, 3D virtual
tours, aerial/drone photos/
STARTUP COST
$79.4K-$171.3K
videos
FRANCHISING SINCE
THREE ANSWERS/
TOTAL UNITS 2021
45/2 STARTUP COST
$31.2K-$60.2K
“To set ourselves apart, we’ve embarked on var-
63 TOTAL UNITS
33/1 ious initiatives that inject energy into the brand.
Dryer Vent Squad
Dryer-vent cleaning and
P H O T O G R A P H S C O U R T E S Y O F L A U N D R O L A B ( B E C K M I L L E R ) ; B R YA N R O W E P H O T O G R A P H Y ( M AT T E O R A C H O C K I ) ; B I G C H I C K E N (J O S H H A L P E R N )
repair
69 For example, our partnership with Blue Origin.
FRANCHISING SINCE
2019 Top Rail Fence
Residential and
What other concept can say that their consum-
STARTUP COST
$52.6K-$68.9K
commercial fencing ers can send postcards into outer space? It’s all
FRANCHISING SINCE
TOTAL UNITS
2022 about embracing creativity, leveraging our con-
31/0 STARTUP COST
$103.4K-$219.2K nections, and constantly seeking opportunities
64
Magnolia Soap and
TOTAL UNITS
51/0
to surprise and delight our guests.”
Bath Co. —Josh Halpern, CEO, Big Chicken (No. 48)
Bath and home products
70
FRANCHISING SINCE
2021
Heyday
Facial services and
STARTUP COST skincare products
$239.1K-$331K FRANCHISING SINCE “We market ourselves as the ‘anti-franchise
TOTAL UNITS 2021
19/12
STARTUP COST franchise,’ and I believe that lends to a slightly
$966K-$1.2M
TOTAL UNITS
different market than most franchise brands. We
65 (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
19/10 also don’t require previous restaurant experi-
Pure Green
Smoothies, cold-pressed
ence—just a desire for community engagement
juices, acai and pitaya
bowls 71
FRANCHISING SINCE
Basecamp Fitness and an entrepreneurial spirit. We have to want
Fitness studios
2019
STARTUP COST
FRANCHISING SINCE to have a beer with you first and foremost.”
2019
$170.5K-$425.4K
STARTUP COST
—Matteo Rachocki, CEO, Voodoo Brewing Co. (No. 84)
TOTAL UNITS
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) $507.8K-$895.1K
23/9 TOTAL UNITS
9/5
66 “Franchising is a relationship business. The
SkyRun Vacation
Rentals 72 business model and the unit economics need to be
Vacation rental FunBox
management Outdoor bounce parks
and indoor inflatable
competitive, but we will always set ourselves apart
FRANCHISING SINCE amusement parks
2022
FRANCHISING SINCE
by the relationships we develop with candidates
STARTUP COST
$69.7K-$101.2K
2022
STARTUP COST
and franchisees. Being a young system gives
TOTAL UNITS
$572K-$795K us some advantages, like having an accessible
30/7 TOTAL UNITS
16/3
leadership team, being flexible in direction, and
having lots of green space in major markets.”
—Beck Miller, senior director of franchising,
LaundroLab (No. 143)
May-June 2024 / E N T R E P R E N E U R . C O M / 7 7
81
Stride Fitness
87
Team Up Athletics
→ ALOHA POKE CO.
Treadmill-based interval Team sport jerseys,
training apparel, and equipment
2019 2022
$379.9K-$554.7K $71.5K-$239.2K
19/1 10/1
82 88
Beef-a-Roo ManageMowed
Burgers, roast beef Commercial landscape
sandwiches, milkshakes, management
fries, salads
FRANCHISING SINCE
FRANCHISING SINCE 2019
2022 STARTUP COST
STARTUP COST $114.8K-$245.8K
$344.7K-$1.4M TOTAL UNITS
TOTAL UNITS (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
2/12
83 89
Fuse HVAC &
Modern Market Appliance Repair
Eatery HVAC and appliance repair
Healthful food FRANCHISING SINCE
2020
STARTUP COST
$728.5K-$1.5M TOTAL UNITS
3/23
84 90
Softroc
Voodoo Brewing Rubber safety surfacing
Co. FRANCHISING SINCE
Craft brew pubs 2021
FRANCHISING SINCE STARTUP COST
2019 $93.9K-$179.3K
STARTUP COST
TOTAL UNITS
$479K-$1.1M (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
73
Toastique
75
Rolling Suds
77
Hudson Valley
79
OTA World
TOTAL UNITS
31/0
11/5
Toast-style meals, fruit
bowls, juices, smoothies
Power washing Swim Massage chair and
accessories stores
91
Swimming and water Dirty Dough
FRANCHISING SINCE
FRANCHISING SINCE
2022 safety lessons for all ages FRANCHISING SINCE 85 Filling-stuffed cookies
2019 STARTUP COST FRANCHISING SINCE 2019 Boss’ Pizza and FRANCHISING SINCE
STARTUP COST $144.8K-$197.7K 2022 STARTUP COST Chicken 2021
$367.6K-$695.98K STARTUP COST $59K-$156K Pizza and broasted chicken STARTUP COST
TOTAL UNITS restaurants
TOTAL UNITS (Franchised / Co.-Owned) $79.5K-$119.5K TOTAL UNITS $161.6K-$427.9K
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) 18/1 TOTAL UNITS
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) FRANCHISING SINCE
13/6 23/0 2021 TOTAL UNITS
3/7
74 76
Grand Welcome 80
STARTUP COST
$137.2K-$538.5K
31/0
Aloha Poke Co. Vacation rental property 78 Hello Garage TOTAL UNITS
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) 92
Poke bowls management Costa Oil Garage renovation 4/8 Uncle Sharkii Poke
FRANCHISING SINCE FRANCHISING SINCE Oil-change services FRANCHISING SINCE Bar
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF ALOHA POKE CO.
2019 2019 2020

FRANCHISING SINCE
2020 STARTUP COST 86
Accelerated Waste
Poke bowls, boba tea, soft-
serve desserts
$140.9K-$425.9K $37.9K-$169.8K STARTUP COST $131.6K-$160.9K FRANCHISING SINCE
TOTAL UNITS TOTAL UNITS $155.8K-$1.9M TOTAL UNITS
Solutions 2019
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) (Franchised / Co.-Owned) (Franchised / Co.-Owned) Junk removal and STARTUP COST
TOTAL UNITS apartment/condo doorstep
5/13 44/8 (Franchised / Co.-Owned) 141/10 $95K-$394.2K
trash pickup
28/15
2019
10/1
STARTUP COST
$88.99K-$325K
TOTAL UNITS
27/5
“There’s genuine compassion
from Pure Barre. They’re vested “From the weekly & daily calls, to “I feel like we have such a
in all aspects of the business. We emails, to having our management connection with every person on
exceeded goals. We broke records. team very accessible... there’s so “I can reach out to the corporate the corporate team that there’s
That was really a bonus for every- many resources. We really love team and immediately get always someone that can get back
thing else that came with it, which how much they care about the responses, usually within minutes. to us a timely manner. But then just
was the joy of the studio. ” franchisee, the studios, and how It’s kind of wild.” the weekly calls, the group calls
intimate they are with it. ” for open studios or pre-sale
Lanie Marinelli, Megan and Rob Jones, studios, the recordings of these
Multi-Unit Pure Barre Franchise Owner, Karlos Galvan & Frank Amaya, Pure Barre Raleigh and Cary Crescent
Row House Tustin and Temecula, CA
calls on the LMS platform that we
Colorado
use to share information & train
with, are also so helpful. ”
BODY FIT Tania Rupp,
TRAINING
Multi-Unit YogaSix Owner, Orlando, FL
“I chose BFT due to Xponential’s

“I own different franchises and “Not only just through Zoom calls track record in scaling other
different concepts outside of and speaking with the StretchLab brands and because the BFT
Xponential. Their team has been team, but also in-studio visits from workout aligns with my own fitness
fantastic for support. I’ve been our regional sales manager, Jason, interests as well as the growing
with the franchise since 2015. I’ve and they respond quickly. awareness for strength training. ” “We were successful from the
watched it grow. My studios have They’re always available and it’s day we opened our doors
Kevin Boesen,
grown. I started with one unit, now something that, like I said, has Multi-Unit BFT Franchise Owner, Arizona because of the support we
up to seven, and recently acquired helped us continue to grow and received - we opened with a really
the master franchise rights for solve a lot of issues that we’ve robust membership and we’ve
Switzerland, Ireland, and France. ” seen along the way. ” just grown ever since. So literally
Chris Fichaud, Matt Duffy,

the first month we opened! ”
Multi-Unit Club Pilates Owner, TX Multi-Unit StretchLab Owner, Tucson, AZ
Michelle Littlewood,
& International Master Franchise Owner
Pure Barre Bend, OR
Xponential is the Largest Franchisor

of Boutique Health & Wellness Brands
Xponential Fitness is the largest global franchise group of boutique health and wellness brands across a variety of verticals
including Pilates, barre, cycling, rowing, dance, yoga, boxing, stretching, strength training, and metabolic health.
To learn more please email [email protected]

or visit us at xponential.com/franchising
107
petbar
→ LITTLE KITCHEN ACADEMY
Pet grooming and bathing
FRANCHISING SINCE
2019
STARTUP COST
$397.6K-$745.8K
TOTAL UNITS
28/2
108
Little Kitchen
Academy
Children’s cooking classes
FRANCHISING SINCE
2019
STARTUP COST
$394.5K-$655.1K
TOTAL UNITS
12/2
109
The Tox
Body sculpting services
and related products
FRANCHISING SINCE
2021
STARTUP COST
$235K-$396.5K
TOTAL UNITS
1/12
110
Craft Axe Throwing
93
Graze Craze
96
Grimaldi’s
99
M14Hoops
102
1-800-Textiles
105
VetCor
Ax throwing venues
FRANCHISING SINCE
2020
Charcuterie boards and Coal-Brick Oven Youth basketball training Textile restoration Emergency restoration
STARTUP COST
boxes Pizzeria and development FRANCHISING SINCE
services
$220.6K-$554.9K
FRANCHISING SINCE Pizza restaurants FRANCHISING SINCE 2022 FRANCHISING SINCE
2021 2021 2019 TOTAL UNITS
FRANCHISING SINCE STARTUP COST (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
STARTUP COST 2019 STARTUP COST $71.7K-$739.5K STARTUP COST 2/12
$162.5K-$294.3K STARTUP COST $97.4K-$127.5K TOTAL UNITS
$173.9K-$358.3K
TOTAL UNITS
42/0
$1.4M-$1.8M
TOTAL UNITS
TOTAL UNITS
12/2
47/0
TOTAL UNITS
23/1
111
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) Innovative Sport
Surfacing
94
2/45
100 103 106 Playground, park, and
Zion Healing custom recreation
Capital Tacos
Tex-Mex food
97 Rubbish Works
Eco-friendly junk removal
Centers The B12 Store
Vitamin injections
equipment construction,
sales, and services
Taxi Mom and dumpster rental
Mental and behavioral
FRANCHISING SINCE Transportation service for health services FRANCHISING SINCE FRANCHISING SINCE
2022 school-age children FRANCHISING SINCE FRANCHISING SINCE 2022 2023
2020 2021 STARTUP COST
STARTUP COST FRANCHISING SINCE STARTUP COST
$211.2K-$447.2K 2019 STARTUP COST STARTUP COST $81.1K-$223.2K $238.1K-$532.5K
TOTAL UNITS STARTUP COST $106.4K-$144K $320.2K-$508.3K TOTAL UNITS TOTAL UNITS PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF LIT TLE KITCHEN ACADEMY
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) (Franchised / Co.-Owned) (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
$70.9K-$129.6K TOTAL UNITS TOTAL UNITS
2/9 (Franchised / Co.-Owned) (Franchised / Co.-Owned) 44/1 15/1
TOTAL UNITS
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) 10/0 10/1
95 7/5
101 112
Savvy Sliders 104 True North
Sliders, chicken fingers,
custard shakes, fries,
98
Garage Kings
Hydrate IV Bar
IV therapy spas
Tierra Encantada
Spanish immersion early
Restoration
Restoration services
beverages Garage floor coatings, FRANCHISING SINCE education FRANCHISING SINCE
FRANCHISING SINCE cabinets, and storage 2020 FRANCHISING SINCE 2021
2019 solutions STARTUP COST 2019 STARTUP COST
STARTUP COST FRANCHISING SINCE $238.1K-$454K STARTUP COST $87.3K-$195K
$411K-$965K 2020 $1.5M-$2.9M
TOTAL UNITS STARTUP COST (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) $176.4K-$235.2K 6/4 (Franchised / Co.-Owned) 10/1
40/0 2/9
TOTAL UNITS
20/0
Join 750 franchise founders and senior executives at the 12th Annual Springboard Event
as we take part in sessions, breakout programs and expert panels! You’ll network with
the best in franchising as they share success stories and tips to avoid pitfalls that could
be detrimental to the growth of your brand. There truly is no comparable event for
emerging and re-emerging franchisors. To register or for more information visit
113 116
→ SALTY PAWS Wonderly Lights Salty Paws
Holiday and exterior Dog ice cream shops and
lighting services trucks
2022 2019
$66.4K-$82.7K $73.3K-$200.7K
14/1 7/4
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF ERIK WEBER WEST CHESTER VIEWS

114 117
Wise Coatings Franny’s Farmacy
Floor coatings CBD products and
accessories
FRANCHISING SINCE
STARTUP COST
2019
TOTAL UNITS
$206.6K-$362.5K
8/4
115
Junk Chuckers
Junk removal
FRANCHISING SINCE
2020
STARTUP COST
$39.4K-$72.8K
TOTAL UNITS
40/2
118 120 122 125 127 129
DryerVentz Clozetivity Benny’s Pizza Zebra Robotics Access Garage Press Waffle Co.
- DuctVentz Custom closet design and Pizza Robotics, coding, and Doors Belgian waffles, coffee, ice
Dryer vent and air duct installation FRANCHISING SINCE
technology education Garage door sales, cream
inspection, cleaning, and FRANCHISING SINCE 2019 centers for grades 1 installation, and repairs FRANCHISING SINCE
repair through 12
2021 STARTUP COST FRANCHISING SINCE 2019
FRANCHISING SINCE FRANCHISING SINCE 2019
STARTUP COST $138.4K-$370K STARTUP COST
2020 2019
$81.5K-$157.5K TOTAL UNITS STARTUP COST $188.4K-$497.3K
STARTUP COST (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
$68.9K-$98.9K (Franchised / Co.-Owned) 2/27 $160K-$320K (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
TOTAL UNITS
TOTAL UNITS 51/0 TOTAL UNITS (Franchised / Co.-Owned) 6/3
6/1
11/0
121 123 5/6
130
Puddle Pool
119 Turning Point
Breakfast, Brunch
Services 126 128 Snapchef
Residential and Dope CFO Certified Staffing and training for
CR3 American & Lunch commercial pool and spa Level Up Advisor commercial kitchens
Exteriors Breakfast, brunch, and maintenance Automation Accounting, tax, and CFO FRANCHISING SINCE
Roofing and exterior lunch restaurants FRANCHISING SINCE
Design and installation of services for cannabis/ 2022
remodeling commercial and residential CBD/hemp businesses
FRANCHISING SINCE 2022 technology modifications STARTUP COST
FRANCHISING SINCE 2021 STARTUP COST and integrations FRANCHISING SINCE $134.3K-$193.7K
2022 STARTUP COST $99K-$148.9K 2022
STARTUP COST $938K-$1.4M TOTAL UNITS 2021 STARTUP COST (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
$73K-$188.3K (Franchised / Co.-Owned) $57.2K-$235.8K 2/4
TOTAL UNITS (Franchised / Co.-Owned) 12/2 TOTAL UNITS
$51.8K-$68.2K
8/4
1/23
TOTAL UNITS
7/1 131
8/1
Facial Mania Med
Ideal Siding Spa
Home siding renovation Spa, aesthetic, and med
FRANCHISING SINCE
spa services
STARTUP COST
2019
TOTAL UNITS
$260.3K-$698.5K
6/2
JOIN HUNTINGTON AND MAKE

A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR COMMUNITY!
As a Huntington Learning Center franchise owner, I’ve

gained a sense of purpose being part of this community while
also building an asset that contributes to my family’s financial
security. It’s meaningful work that is both personally and
professionally rewarding. I am truly committed to Huntington’s
mission to give every student the best education possible.
Beth Dotson Multi-Unit Franchise Owner
Huntington Learning Center of Daphne, AL & Montgomery, AL
WHY HUNTINGTON?
•
•
•
•
CONTACT US TO LEARN MORE • 1-800-653-8400 • HUNTINGTONFRANCHISE.COM • SCAN THE QR CODE
This is not an offer to sell a franchise. This franchise is offered only by our delivery of a franchise disclosure document to you in compliance with the Federal Trade Commission’s rule on franchising and various state franchise sales laws. *Chart is based on each company’s 2023
Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) for centers open in 2022, except for Kumon, which is based on its 2022 FDD. We estimated Kumon’s revenue based on the number of subject-students reported in its FDD and their monthly fee, registration fee, and materials fee obtained from
a web search. We estimated ClubZ! revenue from its total revenue (less material purchases) and average royalty rate and number of open businesses.
136 139
→ LAWN PRIDE Slice House by Tony Lawn Pride
Gemignani Lawn care
Pizza FRANCHISING SINCE
2022 STARTUP COST
$406.3K-$1.1M
P H O T O G R A P H C O U R T E S Y O F D W Y E R F R A N C H I S I N G L L C ( D B A N E I G H B O R LY )
TOTAL UNITS
TOTAL UNITS
8/1
140
137 BooXkeeping
Discover Strength Bookkeeping for small and
Strength training medium businesses
2020 2020
$373K-$611K $25.8K-$52.8K
3/6 6/1
132 133 134 135 138 141

Pet Evolution Sticky Fingers Bubbly Paws Meals of Hope
Healthy pet food, pet Cooking Pet grooming and self- Meal packing events DocuLock Spray Foam Genie
products, grooming, self- After-school enrichment service dog washing Secure document Spray foam insulation
FRANCHISING SINCE services
wash stations cooking schools for FRANCHISING SINCE 2021 scanning, archiving, and
FRANCHISING SINCE children 2021 shredding services FRANCHISING SINCE
STARTUP COST 2022
2021 FRANCHISING SINCE STARTUP COST FRANCHISING SINCE
$61.1K-$71.9K 2021
STARTUP COST 2022 $197.4K-$370.9K STARTUP COST
TOTAL UNITS $289.4K-$439.3K
$635.2K-$988.8K STARTUP COST (Franchised / Co.-Owned) STARTUP COST
TOTAL UNITS
TOTAL UNITS $77.5K-$125.4K (Franchised / Co.-Owned) 7/1 $86.95K-$104.4K TOTAL UNITS
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) 4/5 (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
7/2 (Franchised / Co.-Owned) (Franchised / Co.-Owned) 9/0
3/2 5/0
Build A Brighter Future

SEASONAL & YEAR-ROUND LIGHTING SERVICES
Discover the joy of owning a Wonderly Lights franchise at

WONDERLYFRANCHISE.COM
© Wonderly Lights Franchising, LLC | 2829 Guardian Lane, Suite 100 | VA Beach, VA 23452. This information is not intended as an offer to sell a franchise or the solicitation of an offer to
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Over 55 years of proven success.
142
Bumble Bee Blinds
147
Boost Home
Installation and repair Healthcare
of blinds, shades, and Home healthcare
shutters
FRANCHISING SINCE
2022
STARTUP COST
$185.5K-$260.3K
TOTAL UNITS
6/0
4/0
143 148 Drive-thru-only, conversion,

Koibito Poke
LaundroLab
Laundromats
Poke bowls
FRANCHISING SINCE
and turn key options available
2020
STARTUP COST
STARTUP COST
$1.2M-$1.7M
$273.3K-$502.2K
TOTAL UNITS
Exclusive territories & multi-unit
TOTAL UNITS
7/2
9/0 agreements available
144 149
The Pampered
Heating + Air
Paramedics
Residential heating, air
Peach
Waxing spas
FRANCHISING SINCE
Come grow with us!
conditioning, and air quality
services 2022
FRANCHISING SINCE
2021
STARTUP COST
$139.8K-$460.5K
www.beefaroo.com
$130.1K-$237.4K
7/0
TOTAL UNITS
5/1
150
The Roof Resource
145 Roof installation
Plumbing FRANCHISING SINCE
Paramedics 2023
Residential plumbing STARTUP COST
services $53.97K-$79.6K
STARTUP COST 8/1

$131.1K-$239.9K
TOTAL UNITS
4/1
146
Smalls Sliders
Cheeseburger sliders, fries,
shakes
FRANCHISING SINCE
2021
STARTUP COST
$1.2M-$1.6M
TOTAL UNITS
7/2
Franchisee
Engineering a Better Life

Kayla Opperman put a lot of time and money into establishing her career, and she didn’t want to throw
that away. But when she found a franchise that put her background to use, she was all in. b y J O H N F R A N C I S
ayla Opperman made good money at her engineering

job. But when her daughter was a baby, she got tired of
long hours in the office. She also recognized there was
a limit to how much she could make working for some-
one else. “I’d worked hard to get an engineering degree,”
she says, “so I didn’t want to let that go completely. But
I started researching if there were any franchises that
involved engineering. And that’s when I came across Snapology.”
Snapology is a kids’ STEM and robotics brand founded in 2010,
and now has 130 locations around the country. But in 2018, there
were no locations in Colorado, where Opperman lived, and she
viewed that as a big opportunity. When she visited headquarters,
she loved how happy everyone seemed, so she went for it. Six
years later, she and her husband own five units, as well as one
with Class 101, a college-planning franchise. Here, she talks about
scaling strategies, working with your spouse, and the importance
of friendships with other franchisees.
You scaled to five units pretty started working remotely, so

quickly. What was that like? he got roped into my business
Snapology has proven to be stuff. After a while he was
a good choice for a lot of rea- working full time at Snapology, but I knew she needed a smart for Class 101. So I would love
sons, but especially the scaling and full time at his engineering exit plan, like any strong busi- to have Class 101 all over my
part. At first, we were kind of job, and also taking care of ness owner would. Of course, Snapology territory.
living off my husband’s pay- two kids. So it was like, some- selfishly, I was sad, but it all
check and I was reinvesting in thing’s gotta give. He quit may- made sense to me. I was just ex- Do you have advice for other
the business to expand more. be eight months after I bought cited to have more smart people prospective franchisees?
I was in the green with my those additional units, and it’s around me and more resources. Talk to other franchisees. We
first franchise 10 months in, so been great. We don’t really rely on each other for ideas,
bought my second franchise have a work-life balance, more What are your plans for and you form a special bond
a year later. I bought three like work-life integration. But continued growth? when you train together.
more units a couple of years that works for us. We’ll go out Well, we’re pretty maxed out They’re my best friends now.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF SNAPOLOGY
after that, which made sense on a date and talk a lot about on our territory with Snapolo- The other thing is, when you
because I’d gotten to know my business, but that’s because gy. I also feel like it’d be hard buy a franchise, I think you
market and customer base, we like talking about it. to own a Snapology remotely. need to make it your full-time
and I knew I wanted those I’m from the Chicago area, so I commitment. When people
other territories. Snapology was acquired by thought about opening one in buy a franchise while they’re
Unleashed Brands after you my hometown, but I just don’t still working another job,
How did you and your joined. How’s that been for you? think it’s possible. But Class they’re so slow building it that
husband make the decision To me, it meant more resources. 101 focuses on high schoolers. they end up failing, because
to work together? I genuinely love and care about At Snapology, I’m working you do have to pay royalties.
It just started to make sense. Laura Coe, the founder and with elementary-age kids, and So I tell anyone thinking about
When COVID happened, he now-former CEO of Snapology, eventually they’ll be the age it: You need to be all about it.
AT PUROCLEAN,
YOU’LL FIT RIGHT IN
A PuroClean franchise is the perfect business opportunity for all walks of life. SCAN ME
We help you build a fully-managed, profitable operation with an experienced
support team, top-tier training, and a world-class brand presence.
Visit PuroCleanFranchise.com for more info or scan the QR code
to download our franchise starter kit.
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Franchisor
‘We Built Success on

Top of Success’
Decades ago, Nicolas Estrella Sr. built an insurance company that spoke to the Hispanic community in
Florida. Now, through franchising, his son is taking their strategy nationwide. b y K I M K AV I N
hen Cuban immigrant Nicolas Estrella Sr. started selling

auto insurance in Miami in the 1970s, he had an opening
line: His last name meant “star” in Spanish, so he and
other Latino immigrants could bet on the same shooting
star—the American dream. “He realized he could fill a
void in the marketplace for the greater Hispanic com-
munity,” says his son, Nicolas Estrella Jr.
Estrella Jr. took over as president of Estrella Insurance in 2006.
At the time, the business had 40 corporate stores and three fran-
chises, left over from a previous attempt at franchising in the ’90s.
But when Estrella Jr. took a closer look at the franchises’ finances,
he was surprised by what he found. “They weren’t doing well,”
he says, “but they were doing very decently without any type
of support. And the profit margin on that type of business was
much greater than the corporate model.” This made him won-
der: Should Estrella Insurance try franchising again?
Today, the company has no corporate stores, 206 franchises
across the nation, and is growing rapidly. It still sells auto insurance,
but offers many other policies as well—including for pets, boats,
health, home, and more. Here, Estrella Jr. talks about the pivot.
How hard was it to transition to How did you find your first amount of Hispanic growth in So they reached out to us, and
the franchise business model? franchisees? the U.S. over the last 30 years. we gave them the support they
It was very difficult. At the We made the existing man- needed to thrive and be finan-
time, we had a hair under 400 agers an offer they couldn’t Are many of the franchise cially self-sustaining.
employees, with salespeople refuse: We would provide them owners Hispanic?
working at the corporate stores with the financing to buy the Predominately Hispanic How have things changed from
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF ESTRELL A INSURANCE
and back-office employees who business and convert it into a women. We started off with when your father started selling
all worked from a central office. franchise. We did it over a span a basket of offices where the insurance?
[Back-office workers] made up of two or two and a half years. managers were women. This The evolution of the immigrant
a significant share of employees was something that, to a cer- community has changed every-
in the whole organization—but Now that you’ve gone national, do tain extent, was by design. My thing. They are business own-
under the franchising model, you still mostly market to father felt that these women ers now. They have their own
franchisees become their own Hispanic communities? were more approachable. grocery stores. They have their
units and do their own back- What we identify is metropoli- They were going to interact own gas stations. They have
office work. So unfortunately, I tan areas that have density and with the community much their own mechanic shops.
had to lay off a lot of the corpo- diversity. That’s where our busi- better than the male persona. They have become lawyers.
rate employees, many of whom ness model works best. These But when they saw the success They have become doctors.
had been with us for so long aren’t solely Hispanic areas, their bosses experienced, they They have grown, and it has
they were like family. but there’s been a significant said, “I want my share of that.” allowed us to grow too.
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Feature
When franchises
grow responsibly,
they create
incredible oppor-
tunities and
wealth for fran-
chisees and
franchisors. But
when they grow
irresponsibly,
they create
problems that
hurt us all. Here’s
a four-point plan
to help everyone
in this great
industry thrive—
and it’s called
Responsible
Franchising.
by A A R O N H A R P E R
90 / E N T R E P R E N E U R . C O M / May-June 2024 Illustration / Z O H A R L A Z A R

Feature
love franchising. This

industry helps people
achieve their dreams of
business ownership. It
helps founders scale their
brands into national or
international successes. It
can be a pathway to per-
sonal satisfaction and financial
freedom. To achieve all that,
franchises must act respon-
sibly—and the vast majority
of them do. There are hun-
dreds (or even thousands!) of
brilliant, energetic, innovative,
responsible brands.
But at the beginning of my
career, I worked for a brand
that was none of those things. It
tortured me.
This was 2017, and I had
taken a job in franchise sales,
scaling a decades-old service
business by signing up new
franchisees. I was taught: If
a prospective franchisee has
$30,000 in the bank, try to sell
them five units. Some of these
people were in their 60s or 70s,
only made $50,000 to $60,000
a year, and $30,000 was the
only capital they had. This
seemed odd to me, but I was
new and didn’t ask questions.
Later, I’d learn that these peo-
ple rarely succeeded as franchi-
sees. Many of them lost a lot of
money. They blamed me, and
sometimes cussed me out on
the phone. (The company now and get trapped trying to raise where I put these best practices Responsible Franchising. I
has new owners, and the bad cash as fast as possible, and into place myself. Now I can say believe in this industry and the
practices have stopped.) start working with consultants with confidence: When fran- opportunities it presents, and
As my career in franchising and salespeople who make the chising is done right, it trans- I’m writing this article because
progressed, I gained a clearer problem worse. This bad-acting forms lives for the better. I’ve of this passion. This text calls
understanding of what hap- minority can harm this indus- seen it with my own eyes! That’s upon all stakeholders in the fran-
pened. Although most franchise try’s reputation, which is tragic. why I became so passionate chising industry to embrace this
brands are devoted to their cus- I knew there had to be a bet- about stopping irresponsible movement, and to actively and
tomers and franchisees, some ter way, so I went in search of sales techniques, like the ones I openly champion integrity, resil-
are just devoted to numbers— it. I started talking to others in was once forced to do. ience, and sustainable growth.
selling as many units as they the industry, learning from lead- Along with many like-minded Most of you already do. I know
can, no matter what. I also ers who do it right. After a few peers, I decided to start talking that. But even a few bad actors
came to understand why this years, I became the franchisor about these solutions as sim- can harm our entire industry’s
happens; it often starts with for a 34-year-old residential and ply a series of best practices. I reputation, which is why we
well-intentioned franchisors commercial power-washing want people to think of it as a must all speak up. That’s when
who don’t do their homework company called Rolling Suds, movement—a movement called everyone truly thrives.
92 / E N T R E P R E N E U R . C O M / May-June 2024 Illustration / Z O H A R L A Z A R

The Problem and now wants to franchise it. incentives create problems. equity has taken a strong inter-
ow did we get here? He doesn’t know much about I’ve seen all sorts of tricks. I est in franchising and is actively
H When franchising boomed
in the 1950s, bad actors and
franchising, so he hires lawyers
and consultants to help. Those
saw one FSO promise to help
emerging franchises sell more
buying or investing in early-
stage franchises. Sometimes
salespeople saw opportunity: services are expensive—some- than 100 units in under two this works out well—the PE firm
They made unfounded prom- times upward of $100,000— years, which is unsustainable provides operational and stra-
ises to new franchisees, ulti- and do not always fully prepare for most new brands. I’ve also tegic support, and the brand
mately draining people of their a franchisor for the costs and seen FSOs and brokers misrep- (and its franchisees) are stron-
savings in exchange for busi- challenges ahead. By the time resent or downplay the time ger as a result. But sometimes it
nesses that would never suc- Steve’s franchise is created, he commitment needed to open a falls apart.
ceed. After many attempts at has little money left, and no idea unit, claiming that people can The moral of the story is
solving this problem, in 2008, how to find franchisees. Steve run it as a passive investment. this: Because Steve didn’t do
the Federal Trade Commission needs sales help, so he turns to That may be possible for a lim- his homework, he got into
stepped in with the Franchise the two kinds of organizations ited number of brands, but most franchising without under-
Disclosure Document (FDD). that help with sales—franchise franchises are full-time work. standing its costs. He sold a lot
Franchisors must legally pro- sales organizations (FSOs) and Now we’ll return to Steve, of franchise units, but his busi-
duce this document, which franchise brokers. our new franchisor. Let’s say he ness was never healthy—and
provides prospective fran- FSOs are like a supercharged, hires an overly aggressive FSO, his franchisees didn’t get the
chisees with the details of a outsourced sales team: They and they sell his first 50 fran- experience they deserved.
franchise’s history, the fees help franchises grow by tak- chises. That sounds great—but This doesn’t just hurt Steve’s
involved, and the franchisee’s ing over their sales efforts, sell- FSOs are costly. Some charge franchisees. It hurts all of us.
responsibilities. This way, pro- ing the brand to prospective high commissions for their People hear about a friend who
spective franchisees can see franchisees, and managing the sales; others take equity or a bought a franchise and regret-
what they’re buying. sign-up process. Brokers are share of royalties. When Steve ted it, and the industry’s rep-
The FDD is great in many like career guides for prospec- looks at the numbers, he broke utation and trust is harmed.
ways, but it contains a hole: tive franchisees, helping a fran- even or lost money on those 50 According to FRANdata, hun-
The franchise can misrep- chisee find the right brand for sales. That means Steve can’t dreds of new franchisees offer
resent the level of support them. To be clear, FSOs and bro- afford to build a team to support an FDD every year—and hun-
it provides franchisees, or kers don’t only work with new- his new franchisees—and his dreds of them may stop after
wrongly claim that a busi-
ness can be run without
much effort (or in sales lingo,
it can be run “absentee” or WHEN FRANCHISING IS DONE RIGHT, IT TRANSFORMS LIVES FOR
“semi-absentee”). This is THE BETTER. I’VE SEEN IT WITH MY OWN EYES! THAT’S WHY I
why most experts, includ- BECAME SO PASSIONATE ABOUT STOPPING IRRESPONSIBLE
ing Entrepreneur magazine,
SALES TECHNIQUES, LIKE THE ONES I WAS ONCE FORCED TO DO.”
always advise that prospec-
tive franchisees do their own
research—looking at the FDD,
yes, but also talking with (and bies like Steve; they also help franchisees may have been sold just one year. That’s an incred-
even shadowing) current fran- accelerate growth for estab- a totally wrong idea about how ible amount of churn, and it is
chisees, and taking other lished brands. Many of them much work their business will simply not sustainable.
actions to truly understand are honorable, responsible, and take. Steve’s new franchise is on But we can fix this. Here’s how.
how a brand operates. That’s truly committed to a franchise’s the brink of failure. He needs a
good advice. You’ll find the success. I’ve worked with many way out. Solutions
best brands that way. of them, and like them both per- So what happens next? f you love franchising the
Now, here’s a question: Why
would a franchisor misrepre-
sonally and professionally. But
some of them act irresponsibly.
Maybe Steve’s business goes
under. Maybe he sells it. Or
I way that I do, then I have
good news: Franchising itself
sent itself like this? Why tell FSOs and brokers are paid in maybe Steve was never a isn’t the problem; irresponsi-
people that a business can be many ways, and a common way well-intentioned franchisor to ble sales and a lack of education
run part time, if it’s not true? is to be paid for every sale they begin with—and in truth, he are the problems. And those
The answer is complicated—so make—which means the more just wanted to pump up sales problems are solvable.
to appreciate it, let’s imagine a franchises they sell, the more to raise his company’s valua- I’ve seen it myself. My first
new franchisor we’ll call Steve. money they make. You can see tion, so he could sell it quickly franchise sales job was a disas-
Steve built a local business, how, in the wrong hands, those at a high price. After all, private ter, but my second job showed
Feature
what change can look like. units in 25 states this year. Entrepreneur analyzed five bank. When he went to training
The year was 2020, and I So what exactly does it mean years of data and found that to learn how to use the equip-
was leading growth at a differ- to franchise responsibly? It franchisees with lower-cost ment, he clearly wasn’t the right
ent home services company. starts in the franchise sales franchise brands tended to person to run this business. He
The company was recently process and continues through fail more often. When the ini- didn’t seem engaged and strug-
acquired, and I’d been empow- supporting the franchisee. The tial investment was between gled to operate the equipment.
ered to reshape its processes. I sales arm and operations arm $15,000 and $25,000, the fail- He ran the business for less than
interviewed the current franchi- of the company must be totally ure rate nearly doubled—going a month before it went under.
sees and discovered how little aligned to ensure a positive to 9.3%, compared to an aver- He should never have been
support they had. My team and experience for franchisees. age failure rate of 5% for peo- sold that business.
I listened to their concerns, then Here are the four core tenets ple whose startup costs were A franchisor needs to know
built systems around training, of Responsible Franchising: higher than that. And I under- what type of person will be a suc-
coaching, marketing, and tech- stand why. Lower-cost fran- cessful franchisee, and only work
nology, and taught each franchi- 1/ Set clear expectations. chises can appeal to people with those kinds of people. At
see how to recruit employees. I almost never sign on a pro- on more limited budgets, who Rolling Suds, our ideal franchi-
Instead of a typical seller- spective franchisee if they hope underestimate what it will cost sees are business-savvy, outgo-
buyer relationship, I began to only work part time. That’s to truly run their business. ing people who are comfortable
working with each franchisee simply not realistic for most Now here’s a data point for networking in their community
in a collaborative and transpar- business owners. franchisors: Whatever you and have a desire to build a big
ent way from the first call to It’s better to clearly lay out think it’ll cost you to start fran- business. They have grit and
them opening their business. I what the franchisee can expect, chising your business, you may determination, and they demon-
turned away prospective fran- how many hours they’ll likely want to double that. Many fac- strate behaviors that align with
chisees who weren’t right for devote to the business, and how tors can impact the amount our core values, including living
the system, and I was clear much money they may spend of startup capital you’ll need, an honest life with integrity and
about the challenges they could before it becomes profitable. including the industry you’re purpose. They are compassion-
face. The first franchisee who Franchising is a great model, entering, the amount of expe- ate and helpful to those around
launched with the systems in but it is rarely a passive busi- rience you have, the speed at them. If someone doesn’t have
place was seeing positive cash ness, especially for first-time which you want to grow, and these skills or values, they’re
flow within the first month of franchisees or emerging brands. endless outside factors from probably not a right fit. Sales and
operation. Over the next two
years, I awarded 223 units to 83
franchisees. But more impor-
tantly: They all opened on time IT’S BETTER TO CLEARLY LAY OUT WHAT THE FRANCHISEE
and were thriving. CAN EXPECT, HOW MANY HOURS THEY’LL LIKELY
What did I do to succeed? It DEVOTE TO THE BUSINESS, AND HOW MUCH MONEY THEY
wasn’t rocket science, and I cer-
MAY SPEND BEFORE IT BECOMES PROFITABLE.”
tainly wasn’t the first or only
one to do it. All I’d done was
franchised responsibly—in the
best interests of the franchisee. Many prospective franchisees real estate (if you’re entering a operations experience is less
To succeed in this industry, both have never owned a business brick-and-mortar business) to important, because I can teach
sides must be set up to win. The before, so they don’t know how the cost of labor (if you need those skills—but I can’t teach grit
franchisor’s job is to create the to hire and manage staff, secure employees). And if you plan to and compassion.
system, and the franchisee’s job a lease, or negotiate with suppli- work with an FSO, broker, or I find most of my franchisees
is to execute the system. Once I ers. It’s up to the franchisor to other third-party seller, make through brokers—because as I
saw how powerful Responsible train and support them. sure you have even more cash said above, most brokers are
Franchising could be, I wanted on hand. You’ll need it. wonderful and ethical people
to do it on my own. That’s why, 2/ Carefully determine (even if some of their peers are
in January 2023, I acquired the capital adequacy. 3/ Choose the right bad actors). And ultimately, as
franchise rights to Rolling Suds, Franchisors and franchisees franchisees. a franchisor, it is my obligation
the power-washing business can both underestimate the At my first franchise sales job, to only accept franchisees who
that I mentioned previously. amount of capital required to there was a franchisee, a gentle- will succeed with my brand.
We’ve now brought on over 40 be successful. That’s a mistake. man in his 60s, whom I still think I’ve turned away more than 50
franchisees and are in the pro- Here’s a data point about about. I sold him five territories, people over the past year, even
cess of opening more than 75 franchisees: Last year, and he had about $60,000 in the though they had enough cap-
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Feature
ital. That works out to turning growing at a sustainable pace. What Happens course before they can begin fran-
down about $10 million in rev- Like I wrote above: I don’t If We Don’t Act chising, to ensure that they know
enue. It was the best money I’ll take credit for this strategy, nor ecently, lawsuits have exactly what they are getting them-
never make. Those prospective
owners weren’t the right fit,
do I think it’s exclusively mine. I
know that most of my franchis-
R reverberated throughout
the industry. In one case, mul-
selves into? I think the answer to
all of these is yes, but I want the
and that’s all that matters. ing peers also act this way. But tiple franchisees sued a brand industry to discuss!
as my career progressed, and I that worked with an FSO to This issue is resonating across
4/ Aim for sustainable growth. saw the power of Responsible sell them their units. In their the industry. When I give talks
While it’s tempting to sell 100 Franchising, I became con- claims, the franchisees say they about Responsible Franchising,
units in a year or two, that’s not vinced that it is more than just were told their business could people approach me afterward
a sustainable level of growth for a growth strategy. It must be a be profitable with minimal to thank me. Employees who
most franchises. It’s important philosophy—written down, spo- effort—taking far fewer hours work at irresponsible franchise
to only open the number of units ken about often, and with core and making much more money companies are reaching out to
that can reach profitability. principles that we can all adhere than was possible. me, seeking work with a fran-
How does a franchisor deter- to, for the good of this industry The government is clearly chisor that operates responsi-
mine the right pace? It’s all and everyone who seeks to ben- watching the franchise indus- bly. They tell me they can’t sleep
about how much capital is efit from it. We must also shine try. Last year, the National Labor at night with some of the things
available, as well as the staff a light on bad actors so we can Relations Board changed a rule they are seeing. Franchisors
and infrastructure available change the landscape internally. called “joint employer” that and industry leaders are rallying
to support the franchisees. If This is the reason I gave a could have made franchisors behind this. Matt Haller, the pres-
a franchise has one person on keynote speech about this at jointly responsible for a franchi- ident and CEO of the IFA, now
staff and only $200,000 in cap- the International Franchise see’s employees. It was struck speaks about it regularly.
ital, it simply cannot support Association Emerging down in court, but the effort I’ve said it before, and I’ll say
100 units. Not even close. I Franchisor Conference, have shows you what regulators are it forever: When done responsi-
advise any emerging brands to written about it extensively, visit thinking. And last year, the U.S. bly, franchising is truly a great
figure out exactly how much it Capitol Hill every year to discuss Government Accountability business model—and there’s
will cost in infrastructure to get this with lawmakers, plan to Office issued a report recom- plenty of money to be made
one unit open and profitable. launch a podcast soon, and am mending changes to franchise without any misleading sales tac-
They can back into that num- now writing this declaration for disclosure practices—pushing for tics or unsustainable growth. I
ber based on the available capi-
tal, and only sell the number of
units they can feasibly open.
Some people might look at WHILE IT’S TEMPTING TO SELL 100 UNITS IN A YEAR OR
my numbers of 40 new fran- TWO, THAT’S NOT A SUSTAINABLE LEVEL OF GROWTH FOR
chisees in one year at Rolling MOST FRANCHISES. IT’S IMPORTANT TO ONLY OPEN
Suds and say I’m growing too
THE NUMBER OF UNITS THAT CAN REACH PROFITABILITY.”
fast. But I have a huge staff
working for me, plus years of
experience in the franchise
industry and fully developed you to read. I want to accelerate more education and outreach. don’t think there’s a quicker way
systems in place. I also con- this movement of Responsible The threat of lawsuits and reg- for a person to generate wealth
sider the experience of the Franchising. Joining the move- ulation will hopefully motivate than to find the right brand and
franchisee when I decide how ment is simple: If you are in change, but the franchising indus- execute it. Investing $150,000
many units to sell. I don’t franchising, and if you franchise try can also do more to hold itself in the stock market will almost
award anyone more units than responsibly, then you’re in! accountable. For example, the never generate the same return
they can reasonably open. Now it’s time to help others act IFA endorsed a bill in California to as investing $150,000 into a suc-
responsibly too. If we are to suc- increase regulation of FSOs and cessful and responsible brand.
hat’s what Responsible ceed as an industry, and to ful- brokers, as well as provide more It’s a win-win. And if we priori-
T Franchising is: Setting clear
expectations, ensuring the right
fill our true mission of creating
economic opportunity for those
disclosure to prospective fran-
chisees. Next, let’s ask: Should
tize the success of franchisees,
that’s how it will stay.
amount of capital for both the who believe in us, then we must there be state-mandated licens-
franchisee and franchisor, choos- franchise responsibly. ing for FSOs, brokers, and other Aaron Harper is the CEO
ing the right franchisees who are If we do not, the conse- third-party sales advisors? Should of Rolling Suds. Freelance
prepared for the risks associated quences can be larger than emerging franchisors have to reporter Blaire Briody
with running a business, and anyone thinks. complete a standardized licensing contributed to this report.
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About Rolling Suds
Rolling Suds Facts

Startup Costs : $149,915 -
$206,140 for 2 territories
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Rolling Suds Named we do it 2-3x faster than the

competition
to Entrepreneur’s “I wish we had found out

about this sooner... I just now,
for the first time, have found
2024 Top New

out what I want to do for the
rest of my life.”
—Jud McGehee,
and Emerging very first Rolling Suds

franchisee, located
in Austin, TX
Franchises
R olling Suds, on track to being the largest power washing fran-
chise in the world in 2024, presents an exceptional franchise
opportunity tailored for ambitious individuals aspiring to establish
Utilizing a commercial lead center, Rolling Suds supplies franchisees
with an internal centralized resource for exceptional leads. Its proprietary
technology and process, the Professional Wash Method, also sets Rolling
a lasting legacy and accumulate generational wealth. Emphasizing 6XGVDSDUWDVLWDOORZVIUDQFKLVHHVWREHIDVWHUDQGPRUHHIÀFLHQW7KLV
responsible franchising, Rolling Suds is dedicated to ensuring a pos- wash method boasts a cleaning process 2-3 times faster than competitors,
itive franchisee experience and offers unparalleled support through- coupled with an impressive 96% customer satisfaction rate.
out the franchise journey. )UDQFKLVHHVEHQHÀWIURPDEXVLQHVVPRGHOZLWKORZVWDUWXSFRVWVDQG
Having sold more than 140 locations in 13 months, Rolling Suds overheads, offering a lucrative opportunity for budding entrepreneurs.
has a proven track record of franchisee success, capitalizing on the While adhering to a proven system, Rolling Suds encourages franchisees
fragmented nature of the mobile power washing industry. In an industry to contribute suggestions aligned with the company’s values, fostering a
lacking a dominant national leader, Rolling Suds introduces a disruptive collaborative environment.
element, poised to establish new standards of excellence. To learn more about Rolling Suds, visit rollingsudsfranchise.com
For Rolling Suds Information:

 JT Thiessen rollingsudsfranchise.com
[email protected]
The List
Top Franchises
for Diversity,
Equity & Inclusıon These 100 companies offer programs, incentives,
and other initiatives to help expand opportunities for all.
by T R A C Y S TA P P H E R O L D
franchise is most successful when it reaches a wide vari-

ety of communities—and to do that best, it needs to bring
a diversity of voices and experiences into its franchisee
and corporate-level ranks. That’s why, for the third year,
we’ve chosen the 100 franchises that we think are doing
the most to expand opportunities for all.
Typically, our franchise lists are created by gathering
and crunching a lot of data, and then ranking brands based on
the results. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts can be
difficult to quantify, so we’ve chosen the companies on this list
editorially, and they’re listed alphabetically instead of ranked.
To determine which brands to include, we considered a number
of factors, including: any incentives offered to franchisees from
underrepresented groups; diversity among franchisees; diversity
within the leadership team; and other company initiatives or pro-
grams related to DEI. We also asked leaders from each company
PHOTOGRAPH BY STOCK.ADOBE.COM/KOSTIANT YN
why their brand values DEI and what specific ways they have
found to promote and support it. You’ll find a sampling of their
answers on the following pages.
If DEI is important to you, this list can be a great starting point
for finding a franchise company that aligns with your mindset.
But keep in mind that the list is not intended as a recommenda-
tion of any particular company, and it’s important to do your own
homework before investing in any franchise opportunity. That
means reading the company’s legal documents, consulting with
an attorney and an accountant, and talking to current and former
franchisees about their experiences.
List compiled with assistance from Jordan Hall.

Abrakadoodle Altitude Trampoline
Art-education programs for Park
children Family entertainment
centers
WE ASKED/
FRANCHISE FEE
$25.4K-$56.9K FRANCHISE FEE
STARTUP COST $45K
$38.7K-$82.6K
TOTAL UNITS
STARTUP COST
$1.6M-$2.8M
TOTAL UNITS
Why is diversity, equity,
481/2
AeroWest
70/9 and inclusion important
Anago Cleaning
Odor control, restroom care,
hygiene, scent marketing
FRANCHISE FEE
Systems
Commercial cleaning
to your company?
$25K FRANCHISE FEE
STARTUP COST $5K-$31K
$35.2K-$91.3K
STARTUP COST
TOTAL UNITS $11.3K-$68.3K
25/11 TOTAL UNITS
THREE ANSWERS/
INCENTIVE 1,835/0
25% off franchise fee for
BIPOC, women, and LGBTQ+ Apricot Lane
franchisees Boutique “Our franchisees serve diverse consumers and
Women’s clothing,
Allegra Marketing accessories, gifts communities, spanning various demographics,
Print Mail
P H O T O G R A P H S C O U R T E S Y O F V I S H A L B H A S I N ; B I G F R O G C U S T O M T- S H I R T S & M O R E ; M A R E D I T H L A U D E (J E S S I C A M C D O N A L D )
FRANCHISE FEE
Printing, marketing, direct
mail, signs, promotional $39.5K cultures, and backgrounds. By promoting
products
FRANCHISE FEE
STARTUP COST
$146K-$341.3K diversity within our support team and franchise
$45K
STARTUP COST
TOTAL UNITS
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) community, we ensure that we can effectively
114/0
$129.5K-$456.8K connect with our guests.”
TOTAL UNITS ASP-America’s
237/2
Swimming Pool —Jessica McDonald, senior director of brand
Company
INCENTIVE Swimming pool marketing, Altitude Trampoline Park
25% off franchise fee for maintenance, repairs, and
BIPOC, women, and LGBTQ+ renovations
franchisees
FRANCHISE FEE
All Med Search $40K-$90K
Healthcare industry STARTUP COST
recruiting and placement $84.4K-$207.4K “Diversity, equity, and inclusion are integral to the
services
FRANCHISE FEE
TOTAL UNITS
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) foundation of a thriving, innovative franchise com-
$50K 379/0
STARTUP COST INCENTIVE munity. We believe that embracing different per-
$67.1K-$83.2K $5,000 off franchise fee
TOTAL UNITS
for minority, women, and spectives enhances our business culture, nurtures
LGBTQ+ franchisees
13/1 creativity, and ensures everyone has a seat at the
Assisted Living
INCENTIVE
Locators table, making a positive impact on our community.”
franchisees who identify Senior-living placement
as BIPOC, women, and/or and referral services
LGBTQIA+ FRANCHISE FEE
—Tina Bacon-DeFrece, CEO, Big Frog Custom T-Shirts & More
$49.9K
AlphaGraphics STARTUP COST
Printing, marketing $74.2K-$94.5K
communications, signs and
graphics TOTAL UNITS
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) “Our founders, leaders, and the majority of our
FRANCHISE FEE 141/3
$48.95K
INCENTIVE franchisees are people of color and women. We
STARTUP COST 5% off first-unit franchise
$285.3K-$368.6K fee for BIPOC franchisees understand firsthand the significance of seeing
TOTAL UNITS
259/0
individuals who resemble us in positions of
INCENTIVE leadership and influence. This representation not
$5,000 off franchise fee
for BIPOC and women
franchisees
only reflects the diverse communities we serve,
but also ensures our products and services cater
to a broad range of needs.”
—Vishal Bhasin, cofounder, Wize Computing Academy

Top Franchises for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
ATAX The Camp

Tax preparation, Transformation
bookkeeping, payroll, and
incorporation services
Center WE ASKED/
Fitness/weight-loss
FRANCHISE FEE services
$35K FRANCHISE FEE
STARTUP COST
$57.7K-$74K
TOTAL UNITS
$49.5K
STARTUP COST
$351.4K-$474.4K
How has your company
103/2
INCENTIVE
TOTAL UNITS
103/3
promoted DEI at the
BIPOC, women, and LGBTQ+
franchisees
Caring Senior
Service
corporate or franchise level?
Nonmedical home care
Batteries Plus
Batteries, light bulbs, and FRANCHISE FEE
related products; repair $49K
services
FRANCHISE FEE
STARTUP COST
$116.9K-$176.1K THREE ANSWERS/
$49.5K TOTAL UNITS
P H O T O G R A P H S C O U R T E S Y O F K E V I N S M A R T/ W I L D B I R D S U N L I M I T E D , I N C . ; A N D R E W W E E K S ( G E N E V I E V E C U S T E R W E E K S ) ; K A M P G R O U N D S O F A M E R I C A ( K O A)
STARTUP COST
$197.4K-$465.5K 50/5
TOTAL UNITS
INCENTIVE
20% off first-unit franchise “In 2023, we placed an emphasis on
614/117 fee for BIPOC, women, and/
INCENTIVE
or LGBTQ+ franchisees accessibility as our DEI focus. This initiative
$10,000 off franchise fee
for BIPOC, women, and
Caring Transitions encompasses projects such as improved
LGBTQ+ franchisees Senior transition and
relocation, online auctions,
and estate liquidation
signage, autistic certification, email accessibility,
Ben & Jerry’s
Ice cream, frozen yogurt,
management
recruitment efforts, internships, campground
nondairy frozen desserts, FRANCHISE FEE
sorbet $44.9K design, and technology partnerships, all aimed
FRANCHISE FEE STARTUP COST
$18K-$39.5K $58.9K-$84.6K at enhancing the camping experience for
TOTAL UNITS
STARTUP COST
278/0
individuals with diverse needs.”
TOTAL UNITS
Central Bark
—Whitney Scott, senior vice president of strategy,
550/8
INCENTIVE
Dog daycare, boarding, Kampgrounds of America (KOA)
grooming, training, and
Franchise fee/transfer fee retail
waived, royalty fee waived
for 3 years, and up to FRANCHISE FEE
$2,500 reimbursement for $49K
training and development STARTUP COST
for BIPOC franchisees $552.8K-$934.2K “We tell our community that ‘ballet is for
Big Frog Custom TOTAL UNITS
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) everybody.’ Our Ballet Storytime curriculum and
T-Shirts & More 35/0
Custom garment printing our monthly Ballet Book Club both feature visual
and embroidery Challenge Island
FRANCHISE FEE Educational enrichment representations of characters that are diverse
$39.5K programs
STARTUP COST FRANCHISE FEE in race, gender, and body type. We want our
$195.9K-$291.4K $44.9K
TOTAL UNITS STARTUP COST students to see that ballet is more beautiful when
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) $53.4K-$68.9K
75/0 TOTAL UNITS
differences are included and honored in the
INCENTIVE
10% off franchise fee for 216/7 studio and on the stage.”
first standard franchise
for women and ethnic Chef It Up!/Chef It —Genevieve Custer Weeks, founder and CEO, Tutu School
minorities Up 2 Go!
Allergy-friendly cooking
Building Kidz parties, classes, and events
School FRANCHISE FEE
Preschool/educational $18K-$27K
childcare STARTUP COST
“Our values statement has always included:
$30.1K-$73.4K
FRANCHISE FEE
$50K TOTAL UNITS
‘We embrace diversity in our community.’ We
share that with our franchisees, their teams, and
STARTUP COST
$266K-$1.1M 14/4
TOTAL UNITS
INCENTIVE
5% off franchise fee for retail customers. Just one example of putting
38/5 minority and women
franchisees it into action is our support of the Black AF in
STEM Black Birders Week as one of our strategic
partner support programs.”
—Paul Pickett, chief development officer and executive
vice president of franchising, Wild Birds Unlimited

Chefs For Seniors Denny’s
In-home meal preparation Full-service restaurants
service for seniors → DREAM VACATIONS
FRANCHISE FEE
FRANCHISE FEE $30K
$8K-$13K STARTUP COST
STARTUP COST $1M-$2.3M
$12.6K-$29.4K TOTAL UNITS
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) 1,522/66
83/1
DivaDance
The Cleaning Dance classes and parties
Authority for adults
Residential and commercial FRANCHISE FEE
cleaning $18K-$32K
FRANCHISE FEE STARTUP COST
$15K-$20K $32.4K-$69.4K
TOTAL UNITS 26/4

222/3 DonutNV
INCENTIVE Mini doughnuts, juices, hot
$5,000 off first-unit and iced coffee
franchise fee for minority- FRANCHISE FEE
owned, women-owned, and $59.5K
LGBTQ+-owned franchises
STARTUP COST
$185.1K-$253.5K
Color World
Painting TOTAL UNITS
Residential and commercial 117/1
painting
FRANCHISE FEE DoodyCalls
$49.5K Pet waste management
STARTUP COST FRANCHISE FEE
$106.5K-$166.8K $49K
$64K-$83.5K
59/3
TOTAL UNITS
INCENTIVE (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
$5,000 off first-unit 77/2
franchise fee for minority-
owned, women-owned, and INCENTIVE
LGBTQ+-owned franchises $5,000 off franchise fee Fit4Mom G-Force Parking Lot Heating + Air i4 Search Group
for minority and women Prenatal and postnatal Striping Paramedics Healthcare recruiting
Corvus Janitorial franchisees fitness and wellness Residential heating, air
Pavement marking FRANCHISE FEE
Systems programs for mothers services conditioning, and air quality $50K-$80K
Commercial cleaning
Dream Vacations FRANCHISE FEE
services
Travel agencies FRANCHISE FEE STARTUP COST
$7.5K-$13.4K $7.5K-$37.5K FRANCHISE FEE $66.8K-$113.6K
FRANCHISE FEE
$8.5K-$18.5K FRANCHISE FEE STARTUP COST
$40K
$495-$10.5K STARTUP COST TOTAL UNITS
$8.2K-$28.7K $34.8K-$120.5K STARTUP COST (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
STARTUP COST
$9.6K-$34.5K STARTUP COST TOTAL UNITS
$130.1K-$237.4K 30/0
$1.8K-$21K TOTAL UNITS
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) (Franchised / Co.-Owned) TOTAL UNITS
TOTAL UNITS 226/1 (Franchised / Co.-Owned) Image360
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) TOTAL UNITS 44/0
1,959/0
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) 5/1 Signs, graphics, displays,
1,874/0 Fresh Coat Painters Grasons Estate INCENTIVE digital imaging, visual
Residential and communications
Crestcom Executive Image Sales & Business 10% off franchise fee
commercial painting for franchisees who are
Leadership development
Building Services Liquidations women, ethnic minorities,
FRANCHISE FEE
and training FRANCHISE FEE Estate sales, business $40K-$45K
Commercial cleaning and $49.9K physically challenged, or
FRANCHISE FEE liquidations, online auctions LGBTQ+ STARTUP COST
building maintenance $132.1K-$522.1K
$75K STARTUP COST FRANCHISE FEE
FRANCHISE FEE $66.2K-$96.3K $49.9K Home Instead TOTAL UNITS
STARTUP COST $35K (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
$91.9K-$104.9K TOTAL UNITS STARTUP COST Nonmedical senior care
STARTUP COST (Franchised / Co.-Owned) 281/2
TOTAL UNITS $58.8K-$109K FRANCHISE FEE
$39.1K-$83K 172/0 INCENTIVE
TOTAL UNITS $54K
164/0 TOTAL UNITS (Franchised / Co.-Owned) 25% off franchise fee for
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) Frios Gourmet Pops 35/0
STARTUP COST franchisees who identify
$98K-$125K as women, BIPOC, and
P H O T O G R A P H C O U R T E S Y O F D R E A M VA C AT I O N S
Deka Lash 51/1 Frozen pops

INCENTIVE TOTAL UNITS LGBTQ+
Eyelash extensions, brow INCENTIVE FRANCHISE FEE 5% off first-unit franchise (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
services, skincare solutions 80% financing of franchise $20.5K fee for franchisees who
fee for BIPOC, women, and 1,213/4 ISI Elite Training
FRANCHISE FEE STARTUP COST identify as Black, Asian, Group fitness
LGBTQ+ franchisees Hispanic, Native American,
$59.9K $40.9K-$71.8K Homewatch
or any other racial or ethnic FRANCHISE FEE
STARTUP COST FastSigns TOTAL UNITS
minority group CareGivers $60K
$222.8K-$476.9K Signs, graphics Home care services
86/0 STARTUP COST
TOTAL UNITS FRANCHISE FEE GW Gyro & Wings FRANCHISE FEE $327.4K-$687K
$49.8K Fun 4 US Kids Gyros, wraps, wings, $50K
129/1 TOTAL UNITS
cheesesteaks (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
STARTUP COST Family calendar/directory STARTUP COST
$240.1K-$310.6K websites for local FRANCHISE FEE $92.3K-$154K 32/2
communities $29.9K
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) FRANCHISE FEE STARTUP COST (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
768/0 $3K-$25K $265.6K-$559.6K 222/0
STARTUP COST TOTAL UNITS INCENTIVE
$10.7K-$47.8K (Franchised / Co.-Owned) $5,000 off franchise fee
37/0 for minority, women, and
TOTAL UNITS LGBTQ+ franchisees
15/6

JPAR Real Estate The Junkluggers Lawn Doctor Level Up Little Kitchen MassageLuXe
Real estate Environmentally friendly Lawn, tree, and shrub care; Automation Academy Therapeutic massage,
FRANCHISE FEE
residential and commercial mosquito and tick control Design and installation of Children’s cooking classes facials, waxing
$25K-$30K junk removal FRANCHISE FEE commercial and residential FRANCHISE FEE
FRANCHISE FEE
FRANCHISE FEE $40K technology modifications $65K $42.5K
STARTUP COST and integrations
$36.7K-$237.9K $50K STARTUP COST STARTUP COST
STARTUP COST
STARTUP COST $117.7K-$143.2K FRANCHISE FEE $414.7K-$768K
TOTAL UNITS $35K $394.5K-$655.1K
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) $98.1K-$359.3K TOTAL UNITS TOTAL UNITS
TOTAL UNITS
42/26 TOTAL UNITS (Franchised / Co.-Owned) STARTUP COST (Franchised / Co.-Owned) (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) 635/0 $51.8K-$68.2K 12/2 79/0
INCENTIVE
5% of franchise fee 124/4 INCENTIVE TOTAL UNITS
donated to NAR-affiliated INCENTIVE $10,000 off franchise fee (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
MaidPro Men In Kilts
nonprofit on behalf of $5,000 off franchise fee for BIPOC franchisees 8/1 Residential cleaning Window and exterior
women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ for minority and women INCENTIVE cleaning
franchisees franchisees FRANCHISE FEE
Lennys Grill & Subs 10% off franchise fee for $45K FRANCHISE FEE
Deli subs, Philly BIPOC, women, and LGBTQ+ $38K
Junk Chuckers Kampgrounds of cheesesteaks, catering franchisees STARTUP COST
$105.6-$130.8K STARTUP COST
Junk removal America (KOA) FRANCHISE FEE $127.5K-$222.95K
FRANCHISE FEE Campgrounds and RV $20K-$25K Lightbridge TOTAL UNITS
$30K Parks Academy (Franchised / Co.-Owned) TOTAL UNITS
STARTUP COST 267/0
FRANCHISE FEE Early education and 42/0
STARTUP COST $339.8K-$508.5K childcare
$39.4K-$72.8K $11.3K-$35K INCENTIVE
TOTAL UNITS 10% off franchise fee INCENTIVE
STARTUP COST (Franchised / Co.-Owned) FRANCHISE FEE 10% off franchise fee
TOTAL UNITS for franchisees who are
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) $106.3K-$15.2M 59/4 $40K for franchisees who are
women, ethnic minorities,
40/2 TOTAL UNITS STARTUP COST physically challenged, or women, ethnic minorities,
INCENTIVE
INCENTIVE (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
$5,000 off franchise fee $621.2K-$5.2M LGBTQ+ physically challenged, or
15% off franchise fee and 456/51 for BIPOC, women, and/or LGBTQ+
TOTAL UNITS
$5,000 royalty fee credit LGBTQ+ franchisees (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
for women, persons with Keyrenter Property 52/17
disabilities, and other Management
underrepresented groups Residential property
management
FRANCHISE FEE
$40K
STARTUP COST
$104.6K-$220.3K
TOTAL UNITS
43/1
REPRINTS
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Contact our Partner: PARS International Corp.
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Mobility City Mosquito Hunters 1Heart Caregiver Pestmaster PostNet Richard’s Painting
Mobility equipment repairs, Mosquito, tick, and flea Services Pest and rodent control, Packing, shipping, printing, Painting
rentals, and sales control Nonmedical senior care wildlife exclusion, signs, marketing solutions FRANCHISE FEE
FRANCHISE FEE FRANCHISE FEE
vegetation management FRANCHISE FEE $39.95K
FRANCHISE FEE
$47.5K-$150K $40K $47.5K FRANCHISE FEE $36.8K STARTUP COST
$42.5K STARTUP COST $60.2K-$106.5K
STARTUP COST
$197.4K-$460K $99.8K-$116.8K $91.3K-$133.4K STARTUP COST $209.3K-$261.3K TOTAL UNITS
$84.6K-$188.8K TOTAL UNITS (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
TOTAL UNITS
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) (Franchised / Co.-Owned) (Franchised / Co.-Owned) TOTAL UNITS (Franchised / Co.-Owned) 18/2
36/1 133/6 18/3 (Franchised / Co.-Owned) 730/0 INCENTIVE
INCENTIVE INCENTIVE
41/6 INCENTIVE 15% off franchise fee for
10% off franchise fee $10,000 off franchise fee Patrice & INCENTIVE 10% off franchise fee BIPOC, women, and/or
for women and BIPOC for BIPOC franchisees Associates 10% off franchise fee for BIPOC and women LGBTQ+ franchisees
franchisees Hospitality, executive for franchisees who are franchisees
Mosquito Squad search, retail, and sales women, ethnic minorities, Robeks Fresh
Monster Tree Outdoor pest control recruiting physically challenged, or PuroClean Juices & Smoothies
Service LGBTQ+ Property damage
FRANCHISE FEE FRANCHISE FEE Juices, smoothies, bowls
Residential and commercial $27.5K-$50K $65K restoration and remediation
tree and plant care Pet Wants FRANCHISE FEE
services STARTUP COST STARTUP COST Natural pet-food stores/ FRANCHISE FEE $30K
$164.5K-$217.1K $90.1K-$92.8K delivery $59K
STARTUP COST
FRANCHISE FEE
$49.5K TOTAL UNITS TOTAL UNITS FRANCHISE FEE STARTUP COST $320.4K-$484.4K
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) (Franchised / Co.-Owned) $42.5K $95.5K-$245.9K
TOTAL UNITS
STARTUP COST 224/15 199/0 TOTAL UNITS (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
$399K-$535.6K STARTUP COST (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
INCENTIVE $131.4K-$202.5K 97/2
TOTAL UNITS $5,000 off franchise fee Pedal Pub 436/0
TOTAL UNITS
for minority and women Party bike tours (Franchised / Co.-Owned) RockBox Fitness
231/1 franchisees FRANCHISE FEE 132/1
Rent-A-Center Boxing, kickboxing, and
INCENTIVE $39.9K Rent-to-own furniture, functional strength training
$5,000 off franchise fee Neighborhood Port of Subs electronics, tires, fitness studios
for minority and women STARTUP COST computers, appliances
Barre $117.5K-$270.4K Subs, wraps, salads, FRANCHISE FEE
franchisees Barre fitness classes, FRANCHISE FEE $59.9K
TOTAL UNITS
desserts, breakfast,
apparel, merchandise catering $35K
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) STARTUP COST
FRANCHISE FEE 20/1 FRANCHISE FEE STARTUP COST $374.6K-$491.3K
$35K $25K $367.1K-$693.6K
TOTAL UNITS
STARTUP COST TOTAL UNITS (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
STARTUP COST (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
$78.5K-$248.5K $310.5K-$528.2K 57/0
384/1,923
22/3 116/14
GENERATE ACTION.
GO BEYOND WORDS.
BUY THE BOOK
VISIT
entm.ag/dynamic-comms
Send Me a Pro Servpro Skyhawks & Spherion Staffing & Tierra Encantada Unishippers
In-home services Fire, water, and other SuperTots Sports Recruiting Spanish immersion early Parcel and freight shipping
FRANCHISE FEE
damage cleanup, Academy Flexible staffing, recruiting, education services
$34.99K restoration, and Children’s fitness programs workforce management FRANCHISE FEE FRANCHISE FEE
reconstruction solutions $60K $30K
STARTUP COST FRANCHISE FEE
FRANCHISE FEE FRANCHISE FEE
$49.1K-$84.8K $90K $15K-$42.5K STARTUP COST STARTUP COST
$40K $1.5M-$2.9M $34.6K-$233.3K
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) STARTUP COST STARTUP COST
$236.3K-$296.8K $30.3K-$89.8K TOTAL UNITS TOTAL UNITS
84/0 $214.3K-$471.98K (Franchised / Co.-Owned) (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
TOTAL UNITS 2/9 237/74
TOTAL UNITS (Franchised / Co.-Owned) TOTAL UNITS
Senior Care (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
INCENTIVE INCENTIVE
Authority 2,199/0 214/0 $5,000 toward opening 50% off franchise fee
Senior-care consulting and SnapHouss INCENTIVE training or marketing for for women and minority
placement Sir Grout 25% off franchise fee BIPOC, women, and LGBTQ+ franchisees
Residential hard Real estate photography,
videography, 3D virtual for SBA-recognized franchisees
FRANCHISE FEE surface restoration and
$52.5K tours, aerial/drone photos/ disadvantaged/minority United Country
maintenance groups Tutu School
videos Real Estate
STARTUP COST FRANCHISE FEE Children’s ballet schools
$73.1K-$99K FRANCHISE FEE Real estate
$60K $9.9K-$29.7K StretchMed FRANCHISE FEE FRANCHISE FEE
TOTAL UNITS STARTUP COST Assisted stretching $42K $10K-$20K
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) STARTUP COST
84/4 $31.2K-$60.2K STARTUP COST STARTUP COST
TOTAL UNITS $40K $89.1K-$158.3K $10.5K-$44.9K
Senior Helpers 57/0
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) STARTUP COST TOTAL UNITS TOTAL UNITS
Personal, companion, 33/1 $70.4K-$185.5K (Franchised / Co.-Owned) (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
Parkinson’s, and INCENTIVE TOTAL UNITS 66/3 422/1
INCENTIVE
Alzheimer’s home care 10% off franchise fee Up to 60% off equipment (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
for franchisees who are fees and up to 100% off 25/1
FRANCHISE FEE women, ethnic minorities,
$55K initial marketing fee for INCENTIVE
physically challenged, or franchisees who identify
STARTUP COST LGBTQ+ 10% off franchise fee
as BIPOC, women, and/or for BIPOC and LGBTQ+
$127.8K-$171.8K LGBTQIA+ franchisees
TOTAL UNITS
356/5
INCENTIVE
BIPOC franchisees
The UPS Store Wize Computing
Shipping, packing, Academy
mailboxes, printing, faxing, Coding, robotics, and design
shredding, notary services classes, camps, and
FRANCHISE FEE competition prep
STARTUP COST $32.5K
TOTAL UNITS $40K-$70K
TOTAL UNITS
5,568/2 (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
INCENTIVE 19/2
50% off $29,950 franchise
fee for first-time Black, Woofie’s
Asian, Hispanic, Native Pet sitting, dog walking,
American, and LGBTQ+ mobile pet grooming
franchisees purchasing a
new store FRANCHISE FEE
$52.5K
USA Insulation STARTUP COST
Home insulation and $129.1K-$246.4K
energy-efficient products TOTAL UNITS
FRANCHISE FEE (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
$55K 23/2
STARTUP COST INCENTIVE
$269.5K-$398K $5,000 off first-unit
franchise fee for minority-
TOTAL UNITS owned, women-owned, and
LGBTQ+-owned franchises
113/1
INCENTIVE Young Chefs
10% off franchise fee Academy
for franchisees who are
women, ethnic minorities, Cooking schools for
physically challenged, or children and adults
LGBTQ+ FRANCHISE FEE
$45K
VetCor STARTUP COST
Emergency restoration $150.4K-$199.9K
services
TOTAL UNITS
FRANCHISE FEE (Franchised / Co.-Owned)
$60K 28/1
STARTUP COST
$173.9K-$358.3K Zoom Room
TOTAL UNITS
Indoor dog training and
(Franchised / Co.-Owned) socialization, pet products
23/1 FRANCHISE FEE
$49.5K
Wendy’s STARTUP COST
Burgers, chicken $317.6K-$489.5K
sandwiches, breakfast
sandwiches, sides TOTAL UNITS
FRANCHISE FEE 54/1
$50K
STARTUP COST
$320.5K-$4.6M
TOTAL UNITS
6,724/403
Wild Birds
Unlimited
Bird-feeding supplies and
nature gift items
FRANCHISE FEE
$40K
STARTUP COST
$209.4K-$350K
TOTAL UNITS
360/0
Wireless Zone
Wireless devices, services,
and accessories
FRANCHISE FEE
$1K-$25K
STARTUP COST
$182.5K-$443.5K
TOTAL UNITS
501/0
INCENTIVE
50% off franchise fee/
transfer fee for BIPOC,
women, and LGBTQ+
franchisees
A DVE R T ISE M E NT
OPPORTUNITY
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What Resiliency Really Is
by Mita Mallick, head of DEI, Carta
hen I began my career in marketing, a men-

tor told me this: Resilience is key. I nodded
at the time, thinking I understood what he
meant—that nothing is easy, that the strong-
willed survive, and so on. I struggled with
confidence during my early career, but over
time I grew bolder, well-respected, and
accomplished. Wasn’t this resiliency?
I thought I’d learned my mentor’s lesson.
But I did not understand resilience at all. That became
clear in 2017, when my father unexpectedly died. He was a
stable, inspiring force in my life—and with him gone, I felt
in free fall. I started isolating myself. I lost focus at work.
My decades of experience and confidence slipped away.
Months after his death, I discovered one of his hand-
kerchiefs in his study. For as long as I could remember, he
kept one of these tucked in his pocket. It was his version
of a small luxury—like a consistent gift to himself, despite
what the world gave or took from him. He was an Indian
immigrant engineer who left his family behind in Kolkata
to start a life in the U.S. He didn’t have a community of
support to fall back on. He struggled to fit into corporate
America. But despite all that, he became an executive of a
Fortune 500 company.
As I grieved, I carried his handkerchief wherever I went. It
reminded me to do as I’d watched him do—to establish rou-
tines at work, to focus my attention, to practice self-care. I
started taking long walks and made sure to eat lunch every
day. I built new connections with colleagues, took on new
projects, began co-leading our women’s employee resource
group, and helped my employer rethink its bereavement
policies. In short, I established my own purpose, no matter
what challenges surrounded me. Just like my father.
→ MEMORIES KEPT
In time, I came to reflect upon my mentor’s old words:
The author’s father,
Resilience is key. Now I understood. Resilience is not some- Satya Priya Mallick,
thing you can borrow, emulate, or study in a manage- and the handkerchief
P H O T O G R A P H C O U R T E S Y O F M I TA M A L L I C K
ment book. It is not something you can just have, as I once he used to carry.
thought. It is something you build—an iterative process
that’s unique to each of us, as we adapt to life’s challenges
and choose to move forward again. On the other side of
that process, you truly find yourself.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

Tell us about a story, person, object, or something else that pushes you forward, and we may include it in a future issue. And we may make you
photograph it, too. Email [email protected] with the subject line “WHAT INSPIRES ME.”

As a small business owner, you can’t escape your to-do list.
That’s why Progressive makes it easy to save with a commercial
auto quote, so you can take on all your other to-dos. Get a quote
in as little as 7 minutes at ProgressiveCommercial.com
Business solutions so powerful,
you’ll make every move matter.
What would you like the power to do?®
Learn more at bankofamerica.com/bankingforbusiness

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May-June 2024 / Entrepreneur.

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