How the Founder of 1-800-GOT-JUNK Built His $700M Empire

Episode 8: Today, host Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) is solo again for another special episode of The Crazy Ones, this time featuring founder and CEO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK and 02E Brands, Brian Scudamore (@BrianScudamore). Brian bought a used truck and started 1-800-GOT-JUNK in 1989 as a college dropout. Today, 1-800-GOT-JUNK makes $600 million in revenue, and Brian has also created the parent company 02E Brands which brings in an addition $100 million with its other businesses. Listen to hear Brian explain how he grew 1-800-GOT-JUNK from the ground up with a mixture of brilliant publicity tactics and smart hiring, as well as how Brian thinks about his role as a leader as his company grows. #TheCrazyOnes #Startups #Entrepreneur Listen to The Crazy Ones here: https://link.chtbl.com/OV4W93_W Subscribe to Morning Brew! Sign up for free today: https://bit.ly/morningbrewyt Follow The Brew! Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morningbrew/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/MorningBrew Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@morningbrew Follow Our Hosts! Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) Sophia Amoruso (@sophiaamoruso) Jesse Pujji (@jspujji) 00:43 - Intro 03:12 - How Brian started 1-800-GOT-JUNK 05:37 - 02E Brands’ reach and annual revenue 06:40 - Brian’s passion and what keeps him motivated 10:50 - How Brian got onto the Ellen Degeneres Show 14:37 - Brian’s opinion on PR to promote your business 16:20 - Brian’s decision to lay off his whole team in 1994 19:23 - Why Brian places a high importance on hiring for culture fit 21:44 - The most important decisions Brian made to allow his business to grow 25:54 - How 02E’s brand franchising works 29:53 - How Brian determined the price of services for 1-800-GOT-JUNK 32:07 - The systems Brian implements so that his ADD doesn’t derail him 34:48 - How Brian’s management of the business has changed as the company has grown 41:13 - Brian’s transition to being less hands-on with the day-to-day operations as his company grew 42:48 - Startup AMA: How do you think about what to do with the cashflow of your business? Links: WTF book BYOB: Build Your Own Business, Be Your Own Boss The E-Myth Revisited