Episode Overview

Podcast: Next Level Pros
Host: Chris Lee
Guest: Kirk McKinney, Co-Founder of Junk Teens
Episode Title: Did Junk Teens Solve the Labor Shortage?
Date: October 21, 2025

This episode features Chris Lee interviewing Kirk McKinney, the 22-year-old co-founder (with his younger brother) of Junk Teens—a multimillion dollar junk removal company. The discussion centers on how Kirk and his team flipped the “Gen Z is lazy” narrative, used culture as their competitive advantage, and built a youth-centric, mission-driven business that’s thriving in an industry plagued by a labor shortage. The episode dives deep into company culture, personal branding, entrepreneurial maturity, generational dynamics, and the realities of running—and scaling—a service business in 2025.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Flipping the Labor Shortage Script

• Gen Z Isn’t the Problem: Chris upends the “no one wants to work” trope, noting that purpose-driven work environments attract youth:

  “Gen Z isn't lazy. They're just not inspired by your leadership.” (00:02)

• Junk Teens’ Edge: Kirk and his brother started at 17, focusing on building a community and culture that made hard work fun and meaningful.

Building a Youth-Centric Company Culture

• Culture by Design:

  “It's like getting paid to work with your friends and have fun while doing it.” (Kirk, 02:19)

  • The initial strategy was recruiting friends and friends-of-friends.
  • Their appeal became so strong that recruits began relocating from other states to join.
  • It’s less about immediate pay and more about opportunity, buy-in, and being part of something bigger.

• Sacrifice for the Mission:

  “When a guy's willing to make sacrifice for culture...the buy-in is just so much greater.” (Chris, 04:14)

Profitable, Simple, and Scalable Service Model

• Kirk explains the economics of junk removal:
  • Low cost of goods, mostly labor, trucks, and minimal tools.
  • $2.5 million revenue in 2025, pacing toward $3.5 million—high-profit margins compared to equipment-heavy trades like HVAC. (06:03–06:46)

Brand Identity & Vision

• Name Origin & Brand Loyalty:

  • “Junk Teens” chosen because customers were drawn to their youth and energy.

    “Why are people hiring us? Because we’re young.” (Kirk, 06:49)

  • They plan to keep the labor force young, but management roles allow growth as employees age.

  • Vision:

    “I could see Junk Teens nationwide and a hundred million. And that's the vision that I see.” (Kirk, 09:28)

• Minimalism Trends Fuel Growth:

  • Kirk points to ongoing waves of downsizing and the storage unit phenomenon as catalysts for lasting demand. (09:54–10:41)

Social Media: Core to the Business Model

• Kirk credits building a strong online presence (over 180k followers on both Instagram and TikTok; 55k on YouTube) as instrumental for branding, recruitment, and mission clarity—even at the expense of direct ROI:

  “It doesn’t have a direct ROI…but it creates a mission that's bigger than the money, where people feel like they're a part of something more than just their job.” (Kirk, 18:44)

• Branding and culture became the “great separator” in an otherwise bland, commoditized service space.

Launch Story & Early Hustle

• Started at 17 with a $4,000 pickup truck, funded by selling items scavenged from the dump, bicycles, and weights during COVID.

  "I was just looking at every opportunity in front of me and thinking, what can I do to make six figures this year?" (Kirk, 12:41)

• First-year sales: $120,000 with $90-100k net profit due to scrappy operations and upselling recovered valuables.

  • Kirk delayed gratification—invested profits into a dump truck rather than his dream car (a Hellcat), a decision praised as wisdom beyond his years. (15:00–16:29)

Behind-the-Scenes: Creating an Irresistible Work Environment

• The warehouse is decorated with graffiti, filled with “cool stuff” (pinball, street signs, man-cave vibes) to make work fun and social, inspired by Kirk's favorite YouTubers and a sense of living out childhood dreams. (22:48–24:02)

• Chris compares this to “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and argues that adults are just "tall kids," so designing a business culture around playful, aspirational themes keeps people engaged and loyal.

Leadership, Self-Awareness, and Team Dynamics

• Kirk discusses the pros and cons of working 50/50 with his younger brother, including the challenges of differing maturity and communication conflict.

  "We're both growing so quickly. Two years is a big difference...who I was two years ago is so much different than who I am today." (Kirk, 33:24)

• Chris introduces frameworks like "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" and the three stages of relationships ("love without knowledge," "knowledge without love," and "love with knowledge") to highlight healthy approaches to conflict and growth. (31:38–39:41)

• Willingness to accept feedback and "be wrong" is stressed as a hallmark of great leaders.

Recruiting, Expansion, and the Power of the Non-Founder Role

• Not everyone needs to be a founder; the company looks for “intrapreneurs” who can lead their own mini-empires within the larger business.
• Plans to expand nationwide over the next two years, opening opportunities for ambitious recruits.

Balancing Entrepreneurship and College

• Kirk is in his final year at Babson College, attending classes while running the multimillion dollar business.
• He stays in school primarily for his parents’ sake, balancing cultural/familial expectations with his own ambitions, which Chris praises for emotional intelligence and respect.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Brand Longevity and Recruitment:

  "I realized…the brand was going to be one of our biggest tools to having Junk Teens be able to continue to grow and have that aspect of the youth and the teenagers and the exciting new energy would be through our social media and our branding." (Kirk, 18:44)

• On Keeping the Dream Alive (Childhood Energy in Business):

  "I would argue that there's no such thing as adults, only tall kids…deep down, each one of us want to be a kid every single day.” (Chris, 24:25)

• On Delayed Gratification:

  “Most people, they want to rob the profits from the business to be able to shout on the rooftops, look at me, I'm successful. Right?...But the fact that you chose to really swallow your pride, get rid of the ego and reinvest just shows wisdom way beyond your years.” (Chris, 16:29)

• On the Hardest Part of a Sibling Partnership:

  “Through maturing, it's realizing that differences are not bad, but they can be complementary and they can be gifts…it's like, we're both better at these different things, and that's why we're so good together.” (Kirk, 35:28)

• On Growth, Feedback, and the Willingness to Be Wrong:

  “One of the greatest strengths or indications of a great leader is a willingness to be wrong.” (Chris, 39:41)

• On Opportunity for New Team Members:

  "Most people are meant to either be employees or what I call entrepreneurs, which is guys that can build their own empire within somebody else’s empire. And I’m imagining there's a lot of opportunity for that inside the junk teens world." (Chris, 42:23)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Time | Topic/Quote | |-----------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:02 | Opening: Gen Z isn’t the problem—leadership and culture are key | | 02:19 | “It’s like getting paid to work with your friends…” (Kirk on culture) | | 04:14 | Sacrifice as the ultimate buy-in for a strong culture | | 06:03 | Junk Teens’ high-margin, low-cost business model | | 06:49 | Why “Junk Teens”—brand origin story | | 09:28 | Vision: "Junk Teens nationwide and a hundred million" | | 12:41 | Starting at 17: Initial dreams, Hellcat story, early hustle | | 15:00 | First year financials and lessons on delayed gratification | | 18:44 | Social media and branding as a recruiting/mission tool | | 22:48 | Creating a “childhood dream” workplace—warehouse as vibe center | | 33:24 | Challenges of working with a younger brother & partnership dynamics | | 39:41 | "Willingness to be wrong" and leadership humility | | 42:23 | Intrapreneurship & non-founder opportunities at Junk Teens | | 43:06 | Balancing college with entrepreneurship |

How to Connect with Kirk & Learn More

• Instagram: @kirkmckinney or search “Junk Teens”
• YouTube: Junk Teens
• TikTok: Junk Teens
• Brand Handle: Just search “Junk Teens”—the brand is “strong enough, you’ll find them.” (46:43)

Tone & Final Reflections

Chris and Kirk’s conversation is energetic, candid, and loaded with practical wisdom and transparent storytelling. There’s a recurrent theme of building mission-driven businesses, investing in youth, and prioritizing culture—not just compensation.
Chris demonstrates genuine admiration for Kirk’s maturity, brand savvy, and ability to weave childhood energy into the DNA of a fast-growing service business.

Conclusion:
Junk Teens’ story is a case study in using vision, social branding, and workplace culture to revitalize a “boring” industry and recruit a new generation—proving that young people will work hard, given the right leadership and a mission to rally behind.