How I Franchised This

What began as a summer project cleaning grills in Toronto has become a fast-growing franchise. Michael Sutton walks through the scrappy early days, the boost from Dragon’s Den, and the decision to sc…

In this episode of How I Franchised This, Alex Vidor steps in as host and sits down with Stephen Tong, a former law enforcement officer who traded 12-hour shifts and overtime cycles for entrepreneurs…

This week’s episode takes a different spin. With CEO Alex Smereczniak out, VP of Business Development Alex Vidor steps into the host seat to interview Franzy’s cofounder and COO, Chris Wright.

Chris …

Calvin Smith has worn a lot of hats — U.S. Marine, healthcare executive, EOS implementer, and owner of multiple franchise brands including Sinarama and Superior Fence & Rail. In this episode, Calvin …

This week, we’re turning the mic around. Franzy’s CEO and co-founder, Alex Smereczniak, joins fellow team member Alex Vidor for a deep dive into his own journey — from launching a student laundry sta…

After flying F-15s as a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, Vivek jumped into a whole new arena. He’s now a multi-unit franchisee (owning Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids), startup founder, and franchise advisor he…

What really happens when one franchisee sells—and another steps in? In this episode, we hear both sides of a rare transaction between Brian Gross, the seller of Art of Drawers Tampa, and Sid Kinghar,…

Kal started out slinging pizzas at Little Caesars and ended up running one of the most diverse and fast-growing franchise portfolios in the country. In this episode, he joins Alex Smereczniak to unpa…

Welcome back to How I Franchised This — the show where we dive into the real stories behind franchise empires, told directly by the people who built them.

Today’s guest is Adam Contos: former CEO of …

What happens when you're literally born into franchising?

In this episode of How I Franchised This, Alex sits down with GR Waldrop—a second-generation operator who grew up making subs at Jersey Mike’…

Taylor Byington and Shideler Bennett went from pitching insurance door-to-door to opening nine Crumbl Cookies locations across three states.

In this episode, they share their unconventional path into…

Jon Bahr didn’t come from food service. He came from real estate finance. But after bingeing franchise podcasts and hearing Dan Reese pitch Milkshake Factory, he and his wife took the leap, signing a…

Parker Feldmann didn’t plan on running a kids’ fitness franchise—he was working 20-hour shifts at Tesla when he and his wife started rethinking their future. A friend introduced them to KidStrong, an…

Bryant Cohen didn’t set out to run a window cleaning business—he started by managing a private equity fund focused on small business acquisitions. But after one deal fell through, he jumped in himsel…

From Audit Decks to Mosquito Vans: Ian Martens on Taking the Leap into Franchising

In this episode, Franzy co-founder Alex Smereczniak sits down with Ian Martens, a 25-year-old who walked away from a…

Jeff and Samantha Gossett weren’t planning to start a business—until an Instagram ad for KidStrong changed everything. They share how they left teaching and sales to open their own franchise, what Di…