How Lane Martin Built Modern PURAIR Into a North American Indoor Air Quality Franchise

When it comes to indoor air quality, Lane Martin has built a strong name for himself by blending innovation and technology alongside a thorough understanding of the service industry. Growing up in the duct cleaning business in Canada, Martin watched his father navigate both independent operations and life as a franchisee, an experience that would shape his own approach to franchising when he founded the indoor air quality franchise Modern PURAIR nearly two decades ago in Canada. 

In 2005, Martin found himself reading an article about 1-800-GOT-JUNK, which inspired him to explore franchising more seriously. A chance meeting with founder Brian Scudamore helped Martin reverse-engineer the steps necessary to build a successful franchise system by combining operational excellence with a focus on customer experience. 

Today, as the founder of Modern PURAIR, Martin oversees a rapidly growing network of franchises across Canada and has just opened the first U.S. location in Texas, delivering the franchisor support he found to be lacking in his early franchising days.

Martin recently joined 1851 Franchise Publisher Nick Powills on the “Meet the Franchise” podcast to discuss his entry into franchising, how he built a national indoor air quality franchise, his use of technology and what he learned franchising in Canada as he eyes further U.S. expansion for Modern PURAIR. A transcript of Martin’s interview with Powills, edited for length and clarity, has been provided below: 

Nick Powills: All right, Lane. I said not scripted, but there is one scripted question I'm going to ask, and then we go unscripted. You have the simplest LinkedIn, among the simplest I've ever seen — it says one job — so that's where the answer is going to be intriguing. How did you accidentally fall into franchising? What's your franchise backstory?

Lane Martin: Honestly, I grew up in this industry. My dad's the godfather of duct cleaning here in Canada — I say that respectfully. He started in 1970 in a duct cleaning truck, so I grew up in the industry. Anyone who knows me knows I've tried to leave the industry multiple times and continually got pulled back in.

The true story is, in 2005 I was reading an article in Canadian Business magazine on a similar business model. A guy had three trucks (I had three duct cleaning trucks at the time) but he set out to be the FedEx of junk removal. It turned out to be Brian Scudamore from 1-800-GOT-JUNK!, and that brand just exploded in North America.

His head office in Vancouver is a 45-minute flight or three-hour drive from me. Every day I would come home and tell my wife, April, about this magical story. She got me an hour with Brian Scudamore in 2006. I sat down with him at a Starbucks in Vancouver and asked, “What did you do right in franchising in the first few years? What did you do wrong?” We reverse engineered from there. That's how I got into franchising.

And I'm thankful because my brain is about the relentless pursuit of perfection in franchising, the rate of change. The first five to 10 years are difficult as a new franchisor. There’s still some hardship, but I continually get to set the vision for where the brand is going six to 12 months out, with technology at the core. The name is Modern PURAIR for that reason. We have a great tech stack and excellent customer experience. That’s the key. 

So, that's a short answer for what my resume is — little on LinkedIn.

Powills: A few things there. Your dad, obviously, the godfather of duct cleaning – but was he in franchising or did he stay independent?

Martin: He stayed independent. His first business was in Calgary, Alberta. He was a licensed gas fitter and plumber. Some commercial clients asked for duct cleaning in the 1970s. He had to research and find a duct cleaning truck. He grew that to five or six duct trucks and sold it independently.

Then we moved to the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. He bought a franchise on resale. I was eight at that point in Kelowna. Back then, franchising was different. He literally walked in and bought it – no interview. After I graduated high school, I bought into that business with him and ran a duct truck.

I remember doing our royalties – not even an Excel spreadsheet. There was no franchise performance coach, no site audit, no technology. The only support was an annual convention in Winnipeg in January at minus 30 degrees. That was my dad's experience. We sold it and, in 1996, we had a five-year non-compete – which is when I got pulled back into the industry. I grew it as an independent model and started franchising in 2007.

Powills: Winnipeg probably represented how they treated franchisees.

Martin: They took us to a hockey game. The old Jets, NHL. The franchisors had a limo – but they put us on a school bus with a broken heater. It was minus 30 out. Then they put us in the nosebleeds. I had never been to an NHL game. But I was excited.

Powills: So, you graduate high school and join your dad. Did you understand franchising at that point?

Martin: No. Franchising was getting a name and paying a fee. There were no systems, no support. My mom answered the phone. Later, after meeting Brian Scudamore in 2006, we hired a brand designer and agency to build our brand. About nine months in, they pointed out a conflict: duct trucks emit pollution while cleaning inside. Portable technology wasn't available then, so we developed our PURAIR vacuum: more suction than a duct truck, zero emissions, exclusive to our brand.

Powills: How monumental is that, showing customers what comes out?

Martin: Huge. Clean trucks, uniform technicians, upfront pricing, 30-day satisfaction guarantee. We show clients what we get from every residential job. Customer experience is critical. We've passed 12,000 five-star Google reviews in Canada. Competitors are around 2,000.

Powills: During your five-year non-compete, what were you doing?

Martin: I applied for a job at a furniture store, became assistant manager, then district manager. Opened eight locations with 450 people reporting to me. Later, I co-founded Sklar Peppler Sofa Shop in Western Canada with high school friends. We raised about a million. First day, my ex-employer challenged me for conflict of interest. Six months in court. I won. But we lost the store. I lost money, went through a divorce and became a cell phone rep at Rogers Wireless. Then a restoration company owner called. Restoration is 30% of our revenue now. My dad wasn’t interested in scaling, so we bought a $130,000 truck in 2001. So, I was back on the truck – hated it – but eventually scaled to franchising.

Powills: Every franchise buyer looks at culture and business model. Your story shows silver linings. How did that shape Modern PURAIR?

Martin: A hundred percent. It's how we handle challenges every day.

Powills: How many units do you have today?

Martin: 22 franchises across Canada, 75 territories. We recently opened in the U.S. The first franchise is in North Houston, Texas.

Powills: Do you look at expanding into other areas or stick to indoor air quality?

Martin: Stick to what we know. Indoor air quality is huge in the U.S. and Canada. Adding services like irrigation would be a distraction. Specialization is key. We three to five times outperform similar brands because we focus only on our services.

Powills: How do you control the entrepreneurial urge to diversify?

Martin: Rate of change drives us. The brand evolves constantly. New technologies in the next 12 to 18 months could open new verticals – but we stay focused now.

Powills: How do you reach potential franchise buyers?

Martin: Nobody dreams of owning an indoor air quality franchise. We get to be the first. Brian Scudamore cemented that for me: stick to what you do best. We're the FedEx of indoor air quality in the U.S., building from rural Canada to national scale. Finding the right owners is key.

Powills: So, in closing, what does it cost to get in? How much I can make? How do you answer that?

Martin: We have an amazing 25 page item 19 in our financial disclosure document (FDD) that is great. 

Powills: 25 pages?

Martin: A 25 page item 19 that rocks – full transparency. It looks great. So, that's the biggest thing that I would look at as far as what it costs.

Powills: I think you're doing fantastic stuff. To anybody that's even considering home service, they should put you in the mix.

Martin: This has been a tremendous help. I love it. Thank you.

Powills: For Lane, I'm Nick. This is another episode of Meet the Franchise. Go check out Modern PURAIR.

Watch the full interview here.