What does it really take to grow a franchise beyond the first few locations? In this episode, Shaina breaks down the playbook for scaling smarter, supporting franchisees, and building a brand that lasts.

From personalized sales outreach to franchisor–franchisee partnerships and the hidden costs of growth, this conversation is packed with insights every entrepreneur needs before making the leap into franchising.

0:00:00 Intro & Guest Background
00:02:00 How Dog Drop Started
00:05:30 Early Challenges & Lessons Learned
00:10:00 Why Franchising?
00:15:00 Building Systems & Operations
00:20:00 Scaling a Franchise Brand
00:27:00 Marketing & Customer Acquisition
00:33:00 Competition & Differentiation
00:40:00 Technology & Innovation in Pet Care
00:47:00 Challenges of Rapid Growth
00:54:00 Leadership & Team Culture
01:02:00 Advice for New Franchisors
01:10:00 Future of Dog Drop & Closing Thoughts

Aaron Harper sits down with Kelcey Lehrich, co-founder of 365 Holdings, to unpack how he and his partner built a portfolio of consumer brands doing $60M+ in revenue—without raising outside capital. From buying a business with a $10K down payment to navigating a near financial meltdown in 2023, this episode is packed with hard-earned wisdom on e-commerce, partnerships, and founder resilience.

⏱️ Timestamps & Topics:
00:01 – Making friends in your 30s through business, skiing, and Twitter
01:09 – Kelcey’s first ecommerce business and how 365 Holdings began
02:53 – Scaling from $2M to $60M in revenue
04:30 – How many brands are in the portfolio (and how many flopped)
05:51 – The original thesis vs. today’s strategy
06:45 – Why the e-commerce aggregator model failed (Thrasio, etc.)
09:00 – Starbucks vs. “duct-taped” coffee shops analogy
10:30 – Kelcey's favorite type of business: own supply AND demand
11:20 – Cuddle Clones: the artisan product business they scaled
12:40 – Community, connection, and why Kelcey joined YPO
14:50 – The jump from $45M to $60M: acquisition + turnaround
16:40 – Buying a distressed jewelry brand (Brian Anthony’s)
17:44 – Tariffs, China, and global supply chain strategy
20:14 – Kelcey’s role: M&A, external relationships, and deal flow
21:19 – Ideal acquisition pace: 1 every 9 months
22:22 – “SEAL Team” for turnarounds + special situations
23:08 – Why they love distressed deals over premium growth buys
24:21 – What’s happening in capital markets & Holdco land
25:52 – No outside capital: how they bootstrapped from $10K
27:17 – 2023 financial crisis: the CFO lied, debt stacked up
30:00 – Daily cash flow, layoffs, workouts… and recovery
32:39 – How Kelcey’s wife handled the meltdown at home
34:56 – Faith, identity, and separating self-worth from business
37:30 – Aaron’s personal story: baby on the way, stepping back, hiring a CEO
40:24 – “I’m not my business” → writing it all down → reset
41:43 – Growth curve pressure: why some team members can’t keep up
43:00 – Making space for others to rise as the founder steps back
45:43 – Ironman idea: Aaron’s next personal growth & content move
46:14 – Kelcey gave up his office to make room for the CFO
47:38 – Holding company evolution: ops vs. strategic layer
50:12 – Kelcey on content: “not a focus, but I’ll show up if it’s meaningful”
52:59 – Why he shares: paying it forward to the next entrepreneur
54:45 – How Aaron’s Twitter & podcast directly drove revenue and talent
56:25 – Kelcey’s soapbox: “There is no such thing as an e-commerce business”
59:00 – The danger of launching too many brands in a holdco
01:00:54 – “Your worst asset is always for sale” – capital allocation logic
01:02:14 – Why Aaron isn’t opening trucks—his CEO is on a listening tour
01:04:01 – What comes next as Rolling Suds scales

Thinking about buying a business? Not sure what’s real and what’s hype?

In this episode of The Scaling Podcast, Aaron Harper sits down with Matthias Smith, founder of Pioneer Capital, to unpack exactly how SBA financing works, what makes a business lendable, and the harsh truths nobody on TikTok is telling you. From seller equity to working capital to divorce derailing deals (seriously), this episode dives deep into the real mechanics of acquisitions — whether you're a searcher, operator, or future franchisee.

Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
3:00 How Matthias helps business buyers get financed
6:50 Where deal flow comes from
10:00 SBA myths (zero money down?)
14:00 Seller equity changes
20:00 Why some businesses can’t be sold
25:30 Real talk on finding deals
35:00 Real estate in SBA loans
47:00 Bigger deals & private equity pressure
55:00 Aaron’s origin story
1:02:00 Why capital matters when starting

Learn more about Matthias:
Website: https://pioneercap.com
X (Twitter): @SBA_Matthias