Podcast
The Exit Plan
Hosted by Franzy · EN
Every week on The Exit Plan, you get an unfiltered conversation with someone who actually left the 9 to 5 and built something real — how they did it, what it cost them, what they'd do differently, and what the numbers actually looked like. Franchise owners, startup founders, multi-unit operators. Real stories. Real playbooks. No highlight reel. New episodes every Monday.
21episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
He Went Bankrupt, Moved With $12K & Built a 116-Location Franchise
3d ago00:56:49Tap to summarizeDon Varady shares the unbelievable story behind building Clean Eatz from the ground up.After the recession crushed his construction career, Don liquidated everything, filed for bankruptcy, and moved across the country with his wife to open a small healthy cafe with just $12,000.What happened next became a 116-location franchise brand built completely without outside funding.In this episode we cover:The early days of Clean EatzTaking massive risks as entrepreneursFranchising lessons after 100+ locationsWhy most franchisees failThe realities of food business economicsBuilding community before profitThe future of healthy food brandsA must-listen for entrepreneurs, operators, and anyone interested in franchising or building a business from scratch.
Transcribe →5 Franchises You Can Start for Under $150K (That Make Millions)
6d ago00:13:14Tap to summarizeMost people think you need $1 million to own a franchise. You don't. Most people think franchising is only for people with deep pockets or business experience. It's not. And most people think the only franchises worth owning are the ones everyone already knows about. That thinking is costing people real money and real opportunity.In this episode we break down five franchise opportunities all under $150K to start and we pulled the actual franchise disclosure documents for every single one. Real costs. Real revenue. Real numbers from real owners.And here's the part most people miss: you don't pay for these in cash. With an SBA loan you typically only need about 20% down, which means you could be looking at as little as $15,000 to $35,000 out of pocket to own a real business.The five brands we break down: Frios - mobile gourmet popsicle franchise, get in for around $15K out of pocket Pink's Windows - home services, nearly $1M in affiliate revenue, 64% gross margin.Hole in the Wall - drywall repair, $1.1M in revenue year one, almost zero competitionLawn Doctor - 55 years in business, recurring revenue, average owner clears $1M+Waterloo Turf - artificial turf, $4.5M in gross sales at the corporate affiliateGet the free guide - real costs, what owners are actually making, and who each one is a fit for: 👉 https://go.franzy.com/top-5-franchises-under-150kWatch the full video on YouTube: 👉 https://youtu.be/eIJ9A8jTHosNew episodes every Monday on The Exit Plan
Transcribe →She Managed $500M Budgets. Then She Left to Run Pool Trucks
1w ago00:56:20Tap to summarize🎯 Get a free breakdown of the top 5 franchise opportunities under $150K - vetted with real unit economics, zero broker bias: 👉 https://go.franzy.com/top-5-franchises-under-150kShe managed half a billion dollars in budgets for Cleveland Clinic and Johns Hopkins in Abu Dhabi. Then she walked away to run pool trucks in Detroit.Five franchise brands. Two sold at their peak. Three she still owns today.And she says passive income is a myth.Nora Farhat is one of the most honest operators we've had on the show. In this episode she breaks down why she chose franchising over starting from scratch, how she picks a brand — and what makes her walk away, what the first three years actually looked like financially, why she sold two businesses at their peak instead of holding on, how she knows the difference between burnout and time to sell, and what actually builds wealth in franchising when passive income isn't real.No highlight reel. No shortcuts. Just a real operator who figured it out the hard way.New episodes every Monday on The Exit Plan.
Transcribe →I Worked the Chick-fil-A Drive-Thru With a College Degree - Here’s Why.
2w ago00:52:07Tap to summarizeMatt Forbush has lived the entire lifecycle of a franchisee. From scrubbing toilets as a teenager to managing a $30M portfolio of 50+ locations, Matt has mastered the "pennies to dollars" math of the QSR world. In this masterclass on scaling, Matt breaks down:The 21-Year-Old Founder: How he capitalized his first two Auntie Anne’s locations. The "Messy Middle": Why he nearly lost it all on a horizontal expansion into chicken tenders and how he regrouped. The Operator to Technologist Pivot: Why he removed himself from his stores to build Zignyl (and his recent acquisition by Miso Robotics). Retention Secrets: How Matt achieved 43% employee retention in an industry that averages 100%. Whether you are looking to buy your first unit or you’re stuck at 10 locations trying to reach 50, Matt’s insights on "thinking out loud" and granular data will change your operating playbook. Download the free guide to see real costs, what owners are actually making, and which brands are the right fit for you:👉 https://go.franzy.com/top-5-franchises-under-150k
Transcribe →Introducing The Exit Plan (Formerly How I Franchised This)
3w ago00:02:21Tap to summarizeHow I Franchised This is now The Exit Plan.Because most people aren’t looking for a franchise - they’re looking for a way out.The Exit Plan is for anyone done trading time for a paycheck and ready to build something real.Each week, Alex Smereczniak sits down with entrepreneurs, franchise owners, operators, and founders who’ve actually done it - breaking down how they got out, what worked, what didn’t, and what the numbers really looked like.No fluff. No highlight reels. Just real conversations with real operators.New episodes every Monday.Get the free guide - real costs, what owners are actually making, and who each franchise is a fit for: 👉 https://go.franzy.com/top-5-franchises-under-150k
Transcribe →There Were Only 3 Dave’s Hot Chicken Locations - That’s When He Went All In
4w ago00:41:44Tap to summarizeThere were only 3 Dave’s Hot Chicken locations when Brian Cassidy went all in.He was on FaceTime counting tickets, doing the math in real time… and realized this couldn’t be normal.So in 2020 - while the world was shut down - he signed a 30-store development deal.Today, he operates nearly 200 locations across Carl’s Jr., Dave’s Hot Chicken, and Mike’s Hot Tacos.Most people wait for proof.He moved before it existed.👉 Grab the free breakdown of the top 5 franchise opportunities under $150K — low investment, high potential, fully vetted: https://go.franzy.com/top-5-franchises-under-150k
Transcribe →He Spotted a Problem Nobody Fixed — Now It's a Franchise
Apr 900:48:10Tap to summarizeMost people complain about problems. Few actually build a business around them. Morgan Steir spent 12 years in software sales before spotting a problem nobody had solved vehicle rust. No convenient options, no mobile service, no easy fix. So he built one. In this episode Morgan shares how a frustrating personal experience turned into Undercover Undercoaters, a mobile franchise now expanding across the country.
Transcribe →From Wall Street to Boulder - How Andrew Pudalov Invented a Food Category and Built a 25 State Empire
Apr 200:57:13Tap to summarizeAndrew Pudalov spent 15 years as a global head of fixed income derivatives trading at Bear Stearns, Morgan Stanley and National Australia Bank. Then 9/11 happened and everything changed. He quit his job, moved his family to Boulder with no plan and no food experience, and spent the next two decades building Rush Bowls into a 25 state franchise empire completely privately owned. In this episode Andrew shares the raw origin story, why he spent 10 years in one location before expanding, how he took Rush Bowls into Whole Foods across 40 states before pivoting to franchising, and why the unit economics of his model are unlike anything else in food. If you are thinking about making a bold career pivot or building something from scratch this one is for you.
Transcribe →Opera Singer to Crumbl Cookie Franchisee — The Wildest Career Pivot You'll Ever Hear
Mar 2601:09:52Tap to summarizeTaj Suri trained to be an opera singer, worked at Madison Square Garden, managed luxury restaurants at the Fairmont in Silicon Valley, built an entertainment agency pitching TV and film to Netflix and Hulu and then his dad called with an idea. Now Taj owns two top 150 Crumbl Cookie franchises in Tennessee and Virginia and is figuring it all out in real time. In this episode Taj shares the raw truth about the first four months of franchise ownership, what the financials actually look like, how his background in music and hospitality shaped him as an operator, and why trust and people are the only thing that really matters. If you've ever wondered what it's actually like on day one of owning a franchise, this is the episode.
Transcribe →The ONE Question to Ask Before Buying a Franchise
Mar 1900:50:16Tap to summarizeScott Oaks didn't plan on franchising. He got downsized at 28, put his resume on Monster.com, and a franchise VP found him. Twenty-two years later he leads growth for Comfort Keepers, one of the largest senior care brands in the country. In this conversation Scott breaks down what he's learned from helping hundreds of people buy franchises what makes great operators, the red flags he watches for, why senior care is one of the most recession-resistant businesses out there, and the one question he says every buyer should ask before signing anything.
Transcribe →