SBP #20 Building Businesses to Fund a Bigger Mission With Ryan McEvoy

In this episode of the Stay Broke Podcast, Randy sits down with Ryan McEvoy, a former college hockey player turned multi-unit operator, franchise owner, and founder of a mission-driven nonprofit.Ryan’s journey started with discipline and sacrifice. When he opened his first uBreakiFix location, his business partner fronted the startup costs. Ryan moved into the cheapest apartment he could find, had no furniture, and sometimes slept at the store because it was easier and safer. For more than six months, sleeping on the floor was part of the process. Buying a bed felt like a milestone.That focus helped Ryan scale to 12 locations across multiple states using reinvested cash flow instead of bank loans. Years later, he sold all 12 stores and his home in the same week, moved to North Carolina, and started over.Today, Ryan is a franchise owner of Jeff’s Bagel Run, where he operates in Wake Forest and helps test ideas that could eventually become permanent menu items across the brand. He also founded 127 Haven, a nonprofit focused on creating family-based homes for orphaned children in Uganda, funded through business systems rather than donations.In this episode, we talk about:What can break when you scale beyond one locationThe difference between owning a business and operating oneWhy franchising is never passive, even at the brand levelWhy food businesses are harder than techUsing discipline and systems to start over the right wayThis conversation is not about shortcuts or hype. It is about execution, ownership, and building something that lasts.