Why This Technology Professional Made the Move To Franchising With Anchored Tiny Homes

Mario Mascioli, a corporate executive with more than 40 years in the technology industry, made a significant career shift by purchasing an Anchored Tiny Homes franchise in Lancaster/Chester Counties, Pennsylvania. Mascioli's decision to buy into the accessory dwelling unit (ADU) concept was fueled by his desire for stability and independence after decades in corporate roles, especially in the wake of being downsized after the software company he had grown into a profitable business with many years of accelerated growth was sold to a large private equity firm.

Mascioli meticulously researched over 60 franchise brands and engaged with hundreds of franchise owners before choosing Anchored Tiny Homes. Key factors influencing his decision included the franchise's strong financial performance, its mission to address the affordable housing crisis and the minimal capital requirements, which aligned with his investment and profit goals. Excited by the societal impact of providing affordable housing solutions and the potential for high returns, Mascioli felt Anchored Tiny Homes was the right fit. 

Mascioli is a strong believer in the importance of personal growth and society contribution. By transitioning to franchising, Mascioli hopes to leverage his extensive experience and build a successful business that contributes positively to his community.

1851 Franchise spoke to Mascioli to learn more about his franchising journey with Anchored Tiny Homes and his plans for the future. 

1851 Franchise: Frame your personal story for us. What did you do before franchising, and how did you decide franchising made sense for you?

Mario Mascioli: I have been in the technology industry for 40 years, working as a corporate executive. I started my career in the mid-80s with IBM, which was the top computer company in the world and heralded its sales training and customer service. After a couple of years at IBM, I moved to Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), where I became a national account manager during the minicomputer wave.

In 1990, I joined Microsoft just as the PC wave was beginning. I spent nearly 11 years there, advancing into senior roles in sales leadership, channel leadership and IT software professional services, working closely with industry leaders like Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer.

Most recently, 10 years ago, I was recruited with other executives by the private equity firms KKR and Evergreen Coast Capital to turn around this really distressed enterprise software company. We were able to do that on a dime and accelerate growth year after year after year. About two years ago or so — because we had turned the company around and it was now worth a ton more than when they had bought it — those private equity investors wanted to take their profits. They sold it to Bain Capital, a very large private equity firm with a big portfolio of companies. Bain Capital merged us into another software company in their portfolio that was bigger. Well, that company already had an executive team, so our executive team was basically given packages and we left. 

Fast forward to the beginning of 2023, and that's when I said to myself, “No more. I'm not exposing myself to working really hard, being successful and being rewarded with ultimately being downsized, right?” It was at that point, I said to myself, “I'm committed to owning a franchise.” So, I really spent a full year, full time, conducting deep due diligence, rigorously analyzing over 60 brands. I talked to 230 to 240 owners of various franchises in in-depth conversations, and visited a number of them.

I had very specific goals for the franchise that I was going to buy, right? So, I did all that for a year before I ultimately laid the foundations for my own wealth creation by buying four territories of what I consider to be a really promising franchise, Anchored Tiny Homes. 

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?

Mascioli: I really didn't have a lot of knowledge about it at all. I focused on franchising as opposed to buying a business because I knew I was a first time business owner and that if I had the support of the right franchise in terms of sales support, marketing support, operational support, etc., that I could be in business for myself, but I wouldn't be necessarily completely by myself. And so that's really all I understood about franchising.

When I thought of franchising, most of my thoughts were of retail-type establishments, quick-service food places or, you know, Great Clips* or all the things you see as a consumer. I didn't really understand that it goes way, way beyond that.

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

Mascioli: I had very specific financial goals for what I am trying to accomplish three years after opening the franchise. And the financial performance in Anchored Tiny Homes’ franchise disclosure document [FDD] was very strong for the corporate location, as well as the initial franchisee that was included.

That was number one. Number two, I'm very tuned into the fact that there's a significant affordable housing problem in the United States and that there's a significant supply crunch of houses that can't meet the burgeoning demand for housing. So, there's a societal problem that Anchored Tiny Homes is squarely in the middle of alleviating.

So, I like that. Nine states in the U.S. have mandated, because of affordable housing issues, that no homeowner can be denied the ability to build an accessory dwelling unit or a tiny home on their property, assuming they meet the codes and zones in their municipality. I hope that that type of mandate happens in Pennsylvania where I'm located, but it hasn't happened yet.

So, I think there's a great kind of purpose behind the business, which I really liked. The third thing that I liked about this business was the investment compared to the return potential. I have to prove that return, so I can't speak specifically about what I've accomplished because I haven't opened my doors yet. But the potential ROI in terms of the amount to invest versus the return is very strong compared to a lot of other brands at which I looked at. 

The other thing about this brand, which dovetails on the ROI, is that this is a business you can start within three or four months of signing. It is a business you can do from your home. It is a business that is primarily driven by the brand itself, from a marketing and a call center perspective, and third parties in terms of the actual building of these homes, the permitting required to get the homes approved by municipalities, etc. So, it's a very light model in terms of employees and operations.

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

Mascioli: I hope to make a ton of money. That's just about as squarely honest as I can be. And my plans pre-launch have been very much focused on four mantras. One is to attract demand. Two is to sell. Three is to deliver the homes successfully with high quality. And four is to do all of those things at an operationally cost-effective level. So right now, I've spent an inordinate amount of time and research and I've actually commissioned people to help me do this on Upwork to identify the market demand within my four territories, where it is specifically, where it isn't, etc. We’re looking at all kinds of factors — whether ADUs are legal in those townships, what the stipulations are around building them, if they are legal, what the home values are, what the income is, etc.

And I'm really targeting a subset of those four territories at the municipalities that represent what I learned at Microsoft to call the true customer opportunity — those customers within your larger territory that are the most predisposed for specific reasons to doing business with you and your company and buying your product today. So, I'm spending a lot of time on that, I'm hiring a lot of good people, and of course, I’m learning constantly about this business and the operations of it. 

1851: What is the one thing about your story you want us to know?

Mascioli: I'm really just a regular guy that's trying to do something I've never done before, which is own my own business and prove to myself and my family that I can be successful doing that like I was in corporate America. It's a whole new journey, it's a whole new way of being, it's a whole new way of thinking, it's a lot of growth and that's really way more about it than money or anything. I mean, doing something like this is a complete change. It means getting out of your comfort zone to go achieve something for yourself and, more importantly, for your family that they can be proud of — feel secure in — and that provides a great life. It could be a business that, if I am successful, my children will get involved in. I want to be a good presence in the community, building quality products, delivering great service and being available. 

I also found out after buying this business was that the three founders are Christians. I spoke to [owner and co-founder] Scott [Paulhus] about the comany’s logo when I was at training, and he told me that the Anchored in Anchored Tiny Homes means anchored in Christ. I'm a Christian, so that made me feel even better about being a part of this whole thing.

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

Mascioli: I think you're going to have a ton of fear. You're going to have a ton of uncertainty. You're going to have a ton of doubt. You're not going to really know what to do or feel like you know what to do. Every day is going to be a battle with just not feeling comfortable. You've been in the corporate world for 40 years. You're in a zone. But when you step out of that, and it's just you, there's all those kinds of forces that hit a human being. However, what's on the other side of that, if you face all that, is you as an individual expanding and growing and changing and evolving, and you become this person that is more alive and in some way more magnanimous and hopefully more valuable to people around you.

There's a ton of personal growth in this and there's a ton of opportunity to build significant wealth for yourself that just doesn't exist inside of corporate America. If you're able to face all those things, really work hard — probably harder than you've had to work in your job — and not give up. And if you keep doing all that, I think you're going to find success. Because I learned so much about franchising through my year of diligence, I became trained and certified as International Franchise Professionals Group Certified Franchise Consultant and started Franchise with Mario, a free consulting service to those individuals interested in franchising (franchisewithmario.com).

ABOUT ANCHORED TINY HOMES

Anchored Tiny Homes (ATH) is on a mission to solve the housing crisis in the United States. Created by the Paulhus family, who hold over 40 years of combined construction experience, ATH is the only accessory dwelling unit (ADU) franchise on the market. 

With hundreds of completed and active projects in multiple states and growing daily, the ATH business model makes it easy for anyone to join this surging industry without a construction background and generate some of the best numbers shown in franchising!