Catholic Founders #40 Are Franchises a Continuation of the Medieval Guilds?| Mike Parrott
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News / Updates:
* Today I’m in SF for a gathering of Catholic Entrepreneurs — if you’re in SF and not attending, LMK, would love to find time to meet while I’m here
* In NYC, on December 16th, we’re hosting our Catholic Founders dinner. Location TBD, and total space available TBD. We could use help pulling this together, so if you have a location or can help sponsor, please reach out. Register here.
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In Today’s Issue:
* Intro to the Guest and Topic
* Core Takeaway
* Episode References
* Select Quotes
* Key Moments
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Today’s Topic & Guest:
* Mike Parrott | Novo Inspire Studios
* Mike Parrott is a former Marine Corps officer and Wall Street finance professional who transitioned into the film industry (working on projects like Sound of Freedom and Cabrini) before becoming a serial entrepreneur, successfully building and selling three home services businesses. Currently, he teaches at Benedictine College and researches the connection between modern franchising and medieval guilds. His core philosophy, which he developed through his career and as a father of eight, emphasizes the importance of making life and career decisions “in service of their families,” valuing self-employment and tangible work, and passionately advocating for a return to dynastic family businesses as the ideal social and economic unit, viewing the sale of a family legacy for cash liquidity as a cultural tragedy.
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Core Lesson:
Through building God-centered businesses, we can cultivate a true sense of identity for our families. In so doing, we help our children avoid years of wandering in the desert to ‘find themselves,’ thus allowing for more compounding in life.
An idea exists that man must ‘find himself’ through some sort of discovery process. But truthfully, we have been given the cards God wants us to play.
We were born into this specific family, at this time in history, in this geography, with all of the other circumstances that surround us.
Do you really think God just rolled the dice on that?
No, He gave you those specific circumstances.
Now, look at it the other way. As a parent, you get to build something to pass on to your children. Not the money or the business — but the identity.
Through building a life (personal and business) centered around God, you can bestow on your children a true sense of identity. Nothing quite like this in life.
Don’t take this opportunity for granted.
God Bless & Happy Building!
~Silas Mähner
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Key Episode References:
* 360 Painting of Saint Joseph
* Cabrini
Select Quotes:
* “The fundamental building block of a society is a family...” –Mike
* “I think we should mark the death of a family when the entrepreneurial venture that was family-owned for 100 years now gets sold to some private equity vulture, merely to placate the liquidity desire for the children.” –Mike
* “It is French revolutionary principle that the idea that your estate is equally divided amongst all your heirs... One of the things that held Christendom together was a contrary idea to that called primogeniture, in which the firstborn son was sort of dubbed as the heir to the empire and the family assets.” –Mike
* “The guy who can come and fix your clogged toilet. That guy has real value and that will never go away and AI cannot replace it.” –Mike
* “The home is a sacred space, it’s where families are raised, it’s where children are raised. We believe that the home should be beautiful, that children should be surrounded by beautiful things...” –Mike
Key Moments: (outline)
* 00:00 Introduction and Welcome
* Mike Parrott opens the conversation by stating that elite franchising is the “new Ivy League.”
* 03:00 Mike Parrott’s Background
* Mike summarized his varied career in the Marines, finance, film, and home services.
* 09:20 Family Legacy and Identity
* Mike discusses how his career decisions were guided by family needs and relying on God’s providence.
* 18:00 The Role of Mentorship
* Mike talks about mentorship across generations in companies and organizations.
* 26:00 The Family is the Basic Unit of Society
* 27:00 Franchises and Medieval Guilds
* Mike argues against modern individualism, stating that true freedom is choosing the “good path” laid out by one’s father.
* 36:00 The French Revolutionary Principle
* Mike critiques the “French revolutionary principle” of equal inheritance, which he says forces the sale of family businesses.
* 45:00 Building a Legacy
* Silas reflects on how disconnected work can lead to a general decay in stewardship over one’s home and life.
* 58:13 On Subsidiarity
* Discussion on subsidiarity as a Catholic Social Teaching
* 1:04:00 Rapid Fire and Conclusion
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