The UpFlip Podcast 222. The Story of College Hunks Growing to $300M/year
How do you turn a beat-up cargo van and a funny name into a $300 million empire? Nick Friedman, co-founder of College Hunks Hauling Junk & Moving, joins UpFlip to reveal the blueprint behind one of America’s most iconic service brands.
From a summer side hustle to over 200 locations, Nick breaks down the exact systems used to survive the 2008 housing crash, COVID, and volatile markets.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
The "Purple Cow" Strategy: Why a funny name and bright orange trucks were the ultimate "pattern interrupt" to dominate a crowded market.
Guerilla Marketing: How to use your vehicle as a rolling billboard and secure high-visibility parking spots for free.
The E-Myth Shift: The specific moment Nick realized he had to stop driving the truck to start building the business.
The H.U.N.K.S. Acronym: How to build a world-class company culture using values (Honest, Uniformed, Nice, Knowledgeable, Service).
Systems Before Scale: Why documenting simple tasks (like safety checklists) allowed them to franchise successfully.
"Who Not How": The mindset shift required to go from incremental growth to 10x expansion.
The "Why, Where, Who" Framework: Why you must define your destination before worrying about the tactical "how."
Loyalty Loops: How to turn a one-time moving customer into a lifetime referral source.
Surviving Adversity: Lessons learned from launching a franchise model during the peak of the 2008 financial crisis.
10x vs. 2x Planning: How to set audacious 10-year goals and reverse engineer them into quarterly "rocks."
Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro: From Cargo Van to $300M
(02:15) The Origin Story: Winning a Business Plan Competition
(05:40) Naming the Business & Standing Out
(08:30) Guerrilla Marketing Tactics (The Rolling Billboard)(11:50) When to Transition to Paid Ads
(15:30) Building a World-Class Customer Experience
(18:45) The "E-Myth" Moment: Working ON the Business
(22:10) The "Why, Where, Who" Framework
(26:00) Overcoming the 2008 Crash & Adversity
(31:15) The Fan Blitz: Best Books & Early Mistakes
Tags: Business scaling, Entrepreneurship, Home Services, College Hunks, Business growth, Business leadership, Customer retention, Junk Hauling
Resources:
Grow your junk removal business today: https://www.upflip.com/course/moving-and-junk-removal-blueprint
Connect with Nick: https://www.instagram.com/nickfriedman1/?hl=en