Nuclear engineer to Boston Consulting Group to dog grooming franchisee. Jacob Lee walked away from the elite MBA path to build a Scent Hound empire, and his philosophy is almost too simple: all you have to do is not fail.

In this episode of The Exit Plan, Alex sits down with Jacob to break down how he went from signing his first franchise agreement in 2021 to eight locations open with a ninth under construction, all in under five years. They get into why he chose franchising over the search fund route, how he vetted brands using return on invested capital and the FDD, and why pet care was a category he was willing to bet on.

Jacob also opens up about the part nobody warns you about: financing. Stringing together SBA loans to open a store every few months got so painful he built a company to fix it (SBA Source). He shares when to move from SBA to conventional lending, what banks actually want to see before your second location, and the back office costs the item 19 never shows you.

Plus: how to keep multi-unit operations from falling apart as you scale, the membership numbers that make everything else take care of itself, and the best advice from his father-in-law, a former QSR CEO.

A practical playbook for anyone who is franchise curious or ready to grow.

Free Guide: Real costs & earnings for the Top 5 Franchises under $150k.
Find your fit here: https://go.franzy.com/top-5-franchises-under-150k

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