Phoenix Franchise Brands VP Kevin Longe Share His Journey from Corporate America to Multi-Brand Franchisor

In a recent episode of Nick Powills' "Franchisor Hot Seat" podcast, Kevin Longe — CEO of Spray Foam Genie and vice president of Phoenix Franchise Brands — shared insights into his franchising journey. Growing up in a family with a long history in the industry, Longe began working in his father’s multi-branded franchise at a young age. After earning his MBA and running his own franchise, Longe stepped into corporate America for a decade before returning to franchising. Today, he leads the home service division at Phoenix Franchise Brands, overseeing multiple brands, including Spray Foam Genie, Door Renew, Furry Land and Fetch Pet Care.

During the interview, Longe spoke about the importance of franchising education, highlighting that many potential franchisees are unfamiliar with the complexities of the industry. He believes education should play a greater role in preparing business owners for success, saying, “Franchising gives you a blueprint to follow. You don't have to go through the startup phase alone. You have other franchisees in the system to learn from and collaborate with.” Longe noted that his father helped start a franchise degree at Northwood University, but he feels more needs to be done in this area.

Longe also touched on the vision for Phoenix Franchise Brands, which plans to grow from its current four brands to 12-15 over the next five years. The company is looking to expand in areas such as home services and early childhood development. In addition to focusing on growth, Longe emphasized Phoenix’s commitment to building strong relationships with franchisees, offering them the support and resources needed to succeed.

A transcript of Longe’s interview with Powills has been provided below. It has been edited for brevity, clarity and style.

Nick Powills: All right, Kevin, what I love to start with is the backstory. First of all, thanks for doing this. Tell me your franchise story. How did you accidentally fall into franchising?  

Kevin Longe: Sure. Ironically, I grew up in franchising. My dad's been in franchising for 40 years. When I was about 13 or 14, I started working with him at a multi-branded franchise he had. I worked my way up, finished my MBA and opened my own franchise in the home service industry. That was all I knew, so I wanted to see what else the business world had to offer. I went into corporate America for a decade in the packaging industry, health care and pharmaceutical sectors. After 10 years, I got sick of that and came back to franchising. I started a consulting business and met the founders of Spray Foam Genie. The brand had the bones of a franchise system but needed someone to scale it. I joined my dad at Phoenix Franchise Brands, and we brought on Spray Foam Genie. Now, I run the home service division of Phoenix.  

Powills: That's awesome. A few follow-up questions. Most people don't grow up in franchising, so when I ask how you accidentally fell into it, they chuckle. For you, growing up in it, you had a different viewpoint. You saw it through different lenses as an owner, then left and came back. Do you feel like somewhere in the educational world, like in business school, franchising should be more of the curriculum?  

Longe: I do. It should be more touted in the educational system. My dad helped start a franchise degree at Northwood University, where I went. I wish there was more of that because it teaches people — especially young people — how to become entrepreneurs, scale a business and the benefits of signing up with a franchisor that will support you every step of the way.  

Powills: Your dad getting franchising into the curriculum is an important step. The broker or consultant world wins the majority of deals, in my opinion, because franchise buyers are intimidated by the term “franchise.” They understand they can grill a burger at home, but they don't understand what franchising is. Franchise websites go into the sale without explaining how to flip the franchise burger. This gap in education means most people don't understand what an FDD [Franchise Disclosure Document] is or what the items are in it. They're intimidated by a 200-page document and don't realize they're signing a 10-year agreement that can be hard to exit. If universities put franchising into their curriculum, it would help close that gap. Otherwise, you'll have cold leads that get intimidated and walk away. Do you have any thoughts on this gap in franchising education?  

Longe: One hundred percent. Franchisors don't want to give away proprietary secrets before signing the dotted line, but I agree more education would help, especially for those who haven't owned a business. Franchising gives you a blueprint to follow. You don't have to go through the startup phase alone. You have other franchisees in the system to learn from and collaborate with.  

Powills: Let's flip into the brand. You're a holding company, so tell us about the brands in your portfolio and the backstory on them.  

Longe: Sure. I run the home service division. We have two franchises in home service. We're looking to add more, possibly launching before 2025. I can't speak to them just yet. Right now, we have Spray Foam Genie, a spray foam insulation company with 79 franchisees nationwide. We also have Door Renew, a door refinishing company with 33 units. We have a pet division with two brands: Furry Land Mobile Grooming, a mobile grooming service, and Fetch Pet Care, a pet care franchise with about 138 franchisees.  

Powills: Do you have franchisees that buy into Phoenix, meaning they start with one brand and diversify their portfolio?  

Longe: We do. We have several franchisees, especially on the home service side, with both Spray Foam Genie and Door Renew. On the pet side, we have some that own both Fetch and Furry Land.  

Powills: When franchise buyers try to understand the point of differentiation between brands like dog walking, grooming or door refinishing, is it hard to create that point of differentiation?  

Longe: It all comes down to delivering a local feel. For example, with Furry Land, instead of driving your pet to a brick-and-mortar grooming facility, we pull into your driveway and take care of everything. With Spray Foam Genie, our state-of-the-art equipment ensures quality by shutting down if the foam mixture isn't right. For Fetch, we use locally owned operators, we're insured and bonded, and we add that extra level of safety and comfort for customers.  

Powills: For organic leads coming directly to you instead of through brokers, is it hard to find those people?  

Longe: We are heavily involved in the broker networks across the country. We do get some owners organically through our marketing, but most of our leads and franchisees come through brokers.  

Powills: Let's get into the investment. How do you answer questions about cost and ROI for each brand?  

Longe: I tell people to look at the FDD, especially Item 6 for obligations like royalties, and Item 7 for a blueprint of your first three months of expenses. You can annualize that for your pro formas. While we can't get into ROI specifics, I encourage people to focus on Item 19 for historical sales.  

Powills: What's the investment range for each brand?  

Longe: Spray Foam Genie is the highest investment, around $350,000 to $400,000. Door Renew is about $250,000 to $300,000. Furry Land is around $250,000 to $300,000. Fetch is the lowest, around $75,000 to $100,000.  

Powills: Does it make sense for candidates to come to Phoenix first, then figure out which brand makes sense for them financially?  

Longe: Absolutely. We host group calls that are more about Phoenix than specific brands. Once prospects come through the broker networks, we can recommend the best brand for them.  

Powills: What's the vision for the business?  

Longe: The overall vision for Phoenix Franchise Brands is to grow. We want to be one of the most well-recognized, multi-branded franchisors in the country. We plan to grow to 12 to 15 brands over the next five years, focusing on home services and possibly expanding into other industries like early childhood development.  

Powills: I like the concept of a holding company with shared resources. That shared intel across brands is valuable for franchisees. As you add more brands, the more resources come into the holding company and the more you can support your franchisees, increasing their odds of success. Thanks for sharing your story today.  

Longe: Absolutely. At Phoenix Franchise Brands, we're all about the relationship. Our goal is to build a legacy business for you and your family. Funny story, I had a franchisee in Spray Foam Genie who realized after four months that they had been using Furry Land and didn’t even realize both were part of the Phoenix family. It can be pretty exciting.  

Powills: Great. Thanks, Kevin. For Kevin, I'm Nick. This is another episode of the Franchisor Hot Seat. Take care. Thanks.

Watch the full interview above or on YouTube.