Franchisee Voices: Eric Strumpf of Mosquito Joe

Eric Strumpf is a well-traveled soul with an adventurous spirit. His work over the course of 20 years as an officer in the Air Force took him across six continents on five deployments to the Middle East and where he also spent time living abroad in Japan, Germany, England, Mongolia and Madagascar. Upon returning home from England in 2011, Strumpf sought a business to own as he prepared for retirement from the Air Force and landed on Mosquito Joe*. He has settled down in Colorado to open the state's first location and ambitiously, he intends to acquire nine Colorado territories in the next few years.

Tell us a little bit about your background.

I grew up in New Jersey, until I was 13, and always visited Colorado. My dad and I took about five trips to Colorado and we loved it there. I went to high school in Charlotte and eventually college at the University of Georgia. I spent 14 months studying abroad in Holland and found an internship in the Czech Republic soon after that. I ran a fruit stand in England and ran with the bulls in Pamplona. Basically, growing up, I loved to read, so when I was younger I wanted to bring it to life with my adventures. This all happened while I was in college.

After working as a private school teacher and lacrosse coach, I pursued a commission in the Air Force and worked as an officer. Today, I’m wrapping all of that up and retiring after 20 years in the service. I was a navigator and electronic warfare officer on a special ops MC-130H Combat Talon II. It was my job to deliver and resupply special forces into enemy territory. My flying career lasted 15 years and I have five deployments under my belt; I was actually in Afghanistan five weeks after 9/11.

In my time, I’ve lived in Okinawa, Japan; I spent two years Germany, two in England, and I’ve lived all over the United States. I’ve conducted operations on every continent except for Antarctica, and that’s including Goodwill missions in Mongolia and Madagascar.

Recently, I worked to get my MBA from the University of North Carolina. I've moved to North Carolina but spend summers in Colorado where my Mosquito Joe location is. My wife, Jeanette, grew up in Greeley and that’s where my sister-in-law Jaime runs the business day-to-day.

Why did you choose to become a franchisee with Mosquito Joe? How did you learn about the brand?

In 2011, when we returned from England, our neighbors in Virginia were using Mosquito Joe. We had never heard of them or their service before but since my wife and my sons were so allergic to bug bites, we began considering it. I was a skeptic; honestly, I didn’t believe in the service that summer. Then, my family didn’t think big spray cut it, so we tried it and it worked very well. Now I’m totally converted and I have loved the service from the get-go. It allows us to hang out outside again.

While going through my MBA I was searching for businesses to own and franchise with, and the best business I came across seemed like it was Mosquito Joe. I explored locations to own and when I learned they had openings out in Colorado, it seemed like a perfect fit. My wife was born and raised there and we still have family there. In Colorado, Jamie is the director of sales and marketing and when I retire, I intend to make this my business. During my 20 years as an officer, my vision was being self-employed so I could chart my own course and Mosquito Joe offers the perfect marriage of what I was looking for. I truly believe in the work here.

What’s next for you and your business? Do you have any development and expansion plans with the brand?

We bought two territories and we’re already in communication with corporate to get Denver’s location. It’s safe to say we’re targeting southern Denver through northern Colorado, the I-25 corridor, east of the Rockies. We’d like to have Denver and the southern part of Denver all the way back up north. Through the next couple of years, we hope to acquire roughly nine territories. Let’s say in three years, we’ll get the nine territories.