What No One Tells You About Scaling Fast
Moneywise
Why Corporate Life Felt Wrong
Alex explains why returning to Ernst & Young felt stifling and pushed him back into startups for speed and learning.
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Alex Smereczniak built a $100M laundry business and sold 118 franchise locations in just 14 months. But just as the business took off, life hit hard. After a series of personal and professional crises, he stepped down as CEO. Now he’s back – not for another big exit, but to fix a franchise industry riddled with bad incentives and hidden fees.
Here’s what we talk about:
- Building a $100M brand from a college dorm laundry hustle
- The personal crises that forced him to walk away
- Why he thinks franchising is totally broken – and how brokers quietly take 60% commissions
- What he’s doing differently at Franzy: flat fees, transparency, no bullshit
- Why he’s not taking a salary, even with an $11M net worth
- What it actually costs – financially and emotionally – to scale fast
- The moment he knew he wasn’t the right CEO anymore
- Why he believes franchising could be the path for millions displaced by AI
- How he defines success today: not exits, but impact
Cool Links:
- Hampton https://www.joinhampton.com/
- Lower Street https://www.lowerstreet.co/
- Franzy https://franzy.com
- Alex Smereczniak https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-smereczniak-%F0%9F%A6%81-40310329
Sponsors:
- Get US caliber talent at offshore prices with https://www.oceanstalent.com/
- Achieve your dream body with https://www.dailybodycoach.com/moneywise
- Protect your upside and get your time back at https://www.cressetcapital.com/moneywise
Chapters:
- (0:41) Early Entrepreneurship: College Laundry Business
- (1:31) Selling the First Business & Lessons Learned
- (2:47) The Moment Alex Reconsidered Corporate Life at Ernst & Young
- (3:37) Returning to Laundry: The Startup Vision
- (6:07) Raising Capital & Startup Growth
- (10:40) Team Building, Hiring Challenges, and Culture
- (13:15) COVID-19, Franchising, and Business Model Shift
- (18:21) The Franchise Broker Problem & Franzy's Solution
- (20:45) Franchising as a Path to Wealth
- (24:03) AI, Job Displacement, and the Future of Work
- (28:30) Alex’s Personal Wealth, Fulfillment, and Impact
- (31:00) Reflections on Net Worth, Liquidity, and Success
- (34:40) Community, Support, and Peer Groups
- (40:02) The Sweet Spot: Wealth, Happiness & Freedom for Founders
This podcast is a ridiculous concept: high-net-worth people reveal their personal finances. Inspired by real conversations happening in the Hampton community.
Your Host: Harry Morton
- Founder of Lower Street, a podcast production company helping brands launch and grow top-tier podcasts.
- Co-parents a cow named Eliza.
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