Brian Scudamore (b. March 16, 1970) is an American–born, Canadian entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of O2E Brands, the parent company of
1-800-GOT-JUNK?, WOW 1 DAY PAINTING, and Shack Shine. He is a regular contributor to ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'', writing about small business ownership, franchising, and building corporate culture. His first book, ''WTF?! (Willing to Fail): How Failure Can Be Your Key to Success'', was published in 2018 and his second book, ''BYOB: Build Your Own Business, Be Your Own Boss'', was published in 2022.
Early life and education
Brian Scudamore was born on March 16, 1970 in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
.
In high school, Scudamore struggled with reading and had trouble completing a grade 8 math class.
When he failed, he decided to drop out. Despite not finishing school, he persuaded
Concordia University
Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...
's admissions department that he would be a good fit for their business program,
and they accepted him.
Two years later, Scudamore left Concordia to attend the
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
to be geographically closer to his business. His father, Charles Scudamore, a liver transplant surgeon, was disappointed when Scudamore dropped out of university in 1993 to focus on rubbish full time.
Books
Scudamore's first book, ''WTF?! (Willing to Fail): How Failure Can Be Your Key to Success'', was published in 2018. It traces his journey through entrepreneurship, telling stories from his almost 30 years in business.
His second book, ''BYOB: Build Your Own Business, Be Your Own Boss'', was published in 2022 and is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Amazon Bestseller. It shares two clear paths for starting a business, and is full of lessons learned from inspiring entrepreneurs, and tips and tricks for crafting your own vision for the future (and advice on how to achieve it).
Podcast
In October 2019, Scudamore launched ''Founders Stories,'' a podcast about ordinary people starting their own exceptional businesses. In the podcast, Scudamore interviews a different franchise owner each week about their path to business ownership, from their decisions to start their business, to the celebrations and lessons that follow.
Career
The Rubbish Boys
In 1989, Scudamore was waiting in line at a
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
drive-thru when he noticed a pickup truck advertising a junk removal service.
Scudamore, thinking he could haul junk to pay for college, invested $700 from savings to purchase a truck and started his own business.
Calling it The Rubbish Boys (tagline: "We'll stash your trash in a flash!"
), he would go door-to-door and patrol alleyways for junk that the city wouldn't take. The business took off faster than he expected, often requiring Scudamore to skip class to take calls.
Because he felt he was learning more about business through experience than school, he dropped out to focus on his company.
Although Rubbish Boys achieved $1 Million in revenue in 1997, Scudamore realized his team of employees did not share his vision for the company, so he laid-off his entire staff roster. He then adopted a new motto that states "It's All About People" and hired staff who shared his goals and vision for the company.
1-800-GOT-JUNK?
Scudamore decided that if he was going to professionalize a fragmented industry, the company needed a name that was catchy and easy to remember.
He settled on '1-800-GOT-JUNK?', but the number was already owned by the
Idaho Transportation Department
The Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) is the state of Idaho governmental organization responsible for state transportation infrastructure. This includes ongoing operations and maintenance as well as planning for future needs of the state and it ...
. Scudamore persisted, and they eventually released it to him at no cost.
Since 1998, the organization has experienced considerable growth. It currently services over 150 locations in three countries.
Franchising and Growth
Scudamore wanted to see his business grow, but declined to seek or accept offers of external funding so he could continue to move forward with his vision.
Even after being advised that his company and industry could not be franchised, he decided to test the markets by launching operations in
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...
and
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
.
After seeing success, Scudamore entrusted his friend Paul Guy to open the first 1-800-GOT-JUNK? franchise in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
in 1999,
which is still the largest and most profitable location today. The first US franchise opened in
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
the following year, opening the door to 100 franchises throughout
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
by 2004, and expanding into
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
in 2005.
Brian Scudamore was quoted on 10 million
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain.
As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...
cups as part of their 'As I See It' program.
WOW 1 DAY PAINTING
When Scudamore was looking for a company to paint his house, he saw an ad from a company claiming to paint an entire house in a day. Skeptical but curious, Scudamore decided to hire One Day Painting. He was so surprised and pleased with the results that he decided to approach the previous owner about franchising the company. Scudamore bought the majority stake and set out to apply the same principles and infrastructure of 1-800-GOT-JUNK? to another customer-focused, service-based business, which became WOW 1 DAY PAINTING (he'd initially renamed it 1-888-WOW1DAY! Painting).
Scudamore launched the first franchise in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
in late 2010, followed by the first US franchise in Seattle.
Since then, the franchise has grown to service over 60 locations in Canada and the United States.
Shack Shine
The latest home-service brand from Scudamore is Shack Shine, launched in January 2016. Shack Shine is a franchised company that provides gutter-cleaning, power washing, christmas light installations and window washing. Shack Shine services 60 locations in Canada and the United States.
Entrepreneurship
Near the end of 2015, Scudamore revealed a new term for the model of franchising used by O2E Brands - "entrypreneurship", defined as an entry point for aspiring entrepreneurs who don't have access to the expertise or capital to launch a business venture.
Recognition
In 2004, Scudamore was inducted into the
Young Presidents' Organization
YPO (formerly Young Presidents' Organization) is an American-based worldwide leadership community of chief executives with approximately 29,000 members in more than 130 countries, according to the organization's 2019 YPO international fact sheet. ...
(YPO) and served as a board member for the Young
Entrepreneurs' Organization
Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) is a global non-profit organization formerly known as Young Entrepreneurs' Organization (YEO). The organization was founded in 1987.
History
In 1987, 22 young entrepreneurs created an organization and what was ...
(YEO). Three years later, the International Franchise Association named Brian Scudamore 'Entrepreneur of the Year'.
He became a CEO Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Inductee with the Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization in 2012. Other accolades include
Fortune
Fortune may refer to:
General
* Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck
* Luck
* Wealth
* Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling
* Fortune, in a fortune cookie
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''The Fortune'' (1931 film) ...
Small Business' Best Bosses Award, Best Leader on Facebook fro
The CSuite Awards The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
's Top 40 under 40, three 'Best Company To Work For' awards, and an Entrepreneur of the Year award for Business to Consumer services in
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scudamore, Brian
1970 births
Living people
21st-century American businesspeople
Canadian businesspeople