Former Maryland Tech Exec Turns a Layoff Into a New Start With Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions Franchise

Grant Liddle was just another professional waiting for a train at D.C.’s Union Station, killing time at a newsstand. At the time, he was building a career in tech sales and would eventually spend nearly a decade with Oracle, but the idea of owning a business had been sitting quietly in the back of his mind for years. While flipping through a magazine, he came across a feature about an entrepreneur who had built a commercial kitchen filtration business. The article stuck with him and became one of those lingering "what if" moments he never completely forgot.

When Liddle was forced to consider a career change last fall, he did not immediately start looking for another tech role. He had been thinking about business ownership for years, and the timing provided him a chance to take that idea seriously. Instead of treating the moment as only a career transition, he used it to think through what he wanted the next chapter of his life to look like.

Rather than jump into a random franchise opportunity, Liddle chose a deliberate life reset. Today, he owns three Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions locations across Delaware and Maryland’s Eastern Shore. While the daily work of recycling and collecting commercial fryer oil happens behind the scenes, the career pivot gave Liddle exactly what he was looking for: a way to create independence, protect the planet and have a lasting impact on the local communities he serves.

Liddle sat down with 1851 Franchise to discuss how he flipped the script on a corporate crisis and used it to finally build a dream life on his own terms. Here’s what he had to say:

1851 Franchise: Frame your personal story for us. What do you want us to know?

Grant Liddle: I’ve been wanting to start my own business for quite some time, probably within the last 10 years. It was always in the back of my mind, but I never made the leap until recently. If I could pick one thing for people to know about me, it is my genuine interest in others. I am very curious about what makes a person tick and about how they view the world. I was actually born in England and lived there for a gap year between high school and college, and those experiences traveling and being exposed to different cultures really shaped my perspective. I am the kind of person who likes to skip the shallow icebreakers and get into deep conversations to hear your story and understand how you look at the world.

1851: What did you do before franchising, and how did you decide franchising made sense for you?

Liddle: My entire career has been in high tech. I started in software development as a programmer and eventually moved into sales at Oracle, where I spent nearly nine years selling back-office SaaS applications. After being laid off last September, I realized I wasn't enthusiastic about just jumping into another sales job. I have a family — three kids and a wife — plus a mortgage, so I had to be reasonable. I knew that starting a business from scratch has its allure, but choosing a franchise felt like a better starting point in the race. It gave me a support system and proven systems already in place, which shortened the path to success and profitability, allowing me to continue to take care of my family.

1851: What was your perception of franchising prior to becoming a franchisee, and what do you want people to know about franchising now that you are in it?

Liddle: I had a very rudimentary and ignorant view of franchises. When I thought of them, McDonald's was the first thing that came to mind. Just getting more into it, I realized that being successful in business requires a whole different set of skills beyond the technical work. Franchising basically gives you that business expertise in a box. It provides the documentation, processes and partnerships — from recruiting to accounting — that allow you to scale. It makes the transition to ownership much simpler than trying to figure out every single detail on your own.

1851: What made you pick this brand? What excites you most about this company?

Liddle: I was at Union Station in D.C. in November 2024, perusing magazines, and an article about Keri Gardner, a Filta franchisee, in Entrepreneur magazine jumped out at me. She came from a similar background to mine. I think she worked at Deloitte before and I was working at Oracle, so it was a very similar background in the high-tech industry. When I started reading about Filta, I was really curious because I remember, about 10 to 15 years ago, picking up a newspaper article that talked about a big craze over cooking oil being converted into biodiesel. I was like, 'Wow, this is amazing. You can actually make it into something that people will need in large volumes.' The big difference I liked about Filta was its recurring revenue model. It would be like the difference between flipping houses and buying and holding.

1851: What do you hope to achieve with your business? What are your plans for growth? 

Liddle: My opening day was Jan. 5 of this year. I purchased three territories. One was in southern Delaware — Dover and the beaches. And then the other one was Anne Arundel County in Maryland. What Filta did was include a territory between them. They call it the Eastern Shore. Hospitals are great. I have three of the four hospitals in southern Delaware. I got a no earlier this week, but to me, a no is just a no for now. It's not a no forever, so I’ve just got to keep working it. Hospitals are great because no matter what happens, they’re always open 24/7, 365 days a year.

1851: Is there anything else about your story you want us to know?

Liddle: This is probably the second time I've been laid off. The first time, back in 2010, there was a lot of fear and anxiety, and it was just a lot more panic-driven. This time, I had more savings and I started thinking, 'Wait a minute, I was thinking about leaving anyway.' I knew that if I just went to another job, I’d get sucked in because I want to do the best possible job I can, and it’s hard for me to pull back and move to something else. I decided to use the time that was thrust upon me to actually figure out what I really wanted to do, rather than just rushing to the next job out of fear.

1851: What advice do you have for other people thinking about becoming franchise owners?

Liddle: Talk to existing franchise owners. I know 1851 also recommends this. It's huge. The franchise disclosure document is great. It gives you a lot of information, but it doesn't give you all the information and you need to supplement that with talking to real people and hearing their story. Find out how they got started. What were some of the challenges they had? Because there are always challenges. There isn’t a smooth road from start to success. It’s always filled with challenges and obstacles. And you know what? People are willing to share their story. I just really liked the personalities. They're just very approachable, easy to talk to, and they share information. They're very candid. They don't try to hold things back.

About Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions

Since its inception in 1996, Filta has positioned itself as the pioneering leader of active fryer management and environmental kitchen sustainability across the food and hospitality industries. Brought to North America in 2002 as a franchise concept, Filta is part of United Kingdom-based Franchise Brands (AIM: FRAN). The cornerstone of the company’s offering is FiltaFry, the complete fryer management service incorporating on-site micro-filtration as well as the removal, recycling and replacement of cooking oil. Furthermore, the brand provides humidity control in cold storage devices through FiltaCool, prevents drain blockage through its grease-free drain foam brand FiltaDrain, and deep cleans entire commercial kitchens through FiltaClean. Visit www.gofilta.com for more information and www.filtafranchise.com for franchise development opportunities.