#1136 What if a simple college side hustle could turn into a fast-scaling franchise brand across North America? In Part 1 of this two-part episode, host Brien Gearin sits down with Michael Sutton, founder and CEO of Grill Hero, to unpack how a door-to-door summer experiment cleaning barbecues evolved into a rapidly expanding franchise system. Michael shares the early scrappy days of landing customers before even knowing how to clean a grill, the lessons learned while building systems and playbooks, and the strategic decision to pursue franchising instead of corporate expansion. They also dive into how Grill Hero identifies ideal markets, builds community-driven marketing strategies, and creates scalable systems that allow franchise partners to launch successfully from day one!
(Original Air Date - 3/4/26)
What we discuss with Michael:
+ College side hustle origins
+ Door-to-door customer acquisition
+ Learning by doing
+ Building scalable systems
+ Transition to franchising
+ Franchise vs corporate growth
+ Ownership mentality advantage
+ Market selection strategy
+ Neighborhood-to-national marketing
+ Launching new franchise locations
Thank you, Michael!
Check out Part 2 of this episode.
Check out Grill Hero at GrillHero.com.
Watch the video podcast of this episode!
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