After the Tech Layoffs of 2022, Brian Stack Found His Way to Entrepreneurship With Footprints Floors

For years, Brian Stack considered business ownership, but nothing ever felt quite right. In late 2022, alongside tens of thousands of other tech employees, Stack was laid off and began the job hunt. After about seven months of job searching, Stack came to the conclusion that he was too experienced for many of the open roles and considered an alternate path.

He reconnected with a high school friend, a franchise broker, and discussed his interests and passions. When Footprints Floors* was brought up, the franchise quickly rose to the top of his interests. While the concept checked all of the boxes in theory, meeting CEO Bryan Park and the rest of the team in person sealed the deal.

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

Stack: Out of college, I started on Wall Street. I was on the floor of the stock exchange for about four years, which I enjoyed. I decided that it really wasn’t something that I wanted to do after watching two young men die from heart attacks. That ultra-stress, ultra-fast-paced environment — I realized that probably wasn’t the career path I wanted to go down.

I moved toward the tech space and worked at Bloomberg for about six years in an account management and sales capacity. I enjoyed that. Then, I was asked by a previous colleague to join them at Salesforce, so I was there and part of the initial financial service vertical team. I did that for quite some time. Afterward, a previous colleague asked me to come over and help build out the customer success team.

I joined a dot-com company and shifted more into the startup environment. There, I was really in a customer success capacity, running and designing their customer success teams. I was also a general manager of one of their product lines. I was there for a number of years, but I ended up being a part of the big round of tech layoffs that took place in late 2022. 

After a number of months being laid off, nobody was hiring — especially someone with more senior experience like myself. That pushed me in the direction of entrepreneurship. I always wanted to work for myself in some capacity, but it was always a matter of “What is my skill set?” The job hunt really provided a great opportunity to explore that.

While I was on LinkedIn looking for opportunities, I noticed that one of my previous friends from high school became a franchise broker. He owned a residential floor-cleaning business and really enjoyed the franchise model, so he moved into helping other people into the space. I called him, thinking he could help me better understand the franchise world and what opportunities were out there. He introduced me to Footprints Floors.

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?

Stack: I had a high-level understanding of the concept. Obviously, there’s a business model that was successful for whoever the franchisor is. I’d read a couple books as I was digging my teeth into this idea. I understood what it was about, but I didn’t know what to look for and what to stay away from as far as franchise models.

The advice I would give is for people to really understand the Franchise Disclosure Document; the devil’s in the details there. Take the time to have an attorney look over all of the documents. There will be expenses that you have to be mature enough to justify. If you can’t get over the fact that you might have to invest a couple thousand dollars for a service that will help you in the long run, franchising probably isn’t the way to go.

You’re going to be spending money on the front-end, and that will continue with marketing costs and royalties. Understand what your regular fixed costs are and what your variable expenses are. That can help you project how much you’ll need in reserves to keep the business afloat for three to five months until you get everything built up.

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

Stack: Footprints Floors really checked all of the boxes in terms of how I like to run my day-to-day and conduct myself. I liked the fact that it was home-based and that, if I had to, I could do the work myself. It was a relatively low cost of entry, so that mitigated risk a little bit. When I got out to meet the Footprints team in person, I really enjoyed the folks. That, coupled with the infrastructure, really sold me on the concept.

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

Stack: What I hope to achieve is financial stability. Obviously when you’re out of work, there’s a bit of added stress there. My wife is a Spanish teacher, and she loves it. But she had to take on a second job. I want to make sure she doesn’t have to do that. I don’t want her to get burnt out.

Beyond that, it would be great to just continue this business on. One of the things I do like about Footprints Floors specifically is that it is something you can do in your late 60s or early 70s. It’s something you can do later in life. As long as you have your mental faculties with you, you can do this job. This is also something that, if any of my kids wanted to join, we would be able to grow to develop a true family business with a place for everyone.

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

Stack: My story is one of good and bad timing. Bad timing in that I was a part of the tech layoffs, with tens of thousands of other people. But, if we take that negative and turn it into a positive, that gives me an opportunity to take the risk.

When I was younger, I had a friend whose father would always say, “Don’t work for somebody else. Invest in yourself.” As we grow up through our 20s and 30s, we have good and bad jobs, but sometimes you start to reflect on why you’re doing what you are. That saying always bounced around in my head, and now I’m finally doing it. I will have financial and personal freedom. I don’t have to ask for a week off. As silly as that sounds, those little freedoms add up. There’s something to be said about working for yourself.

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

Stack: You need to be able to have blind faith that you’ve made the right decision. Think, “I’ve done all the research I can possibly do. I’ve talked to a number of people, and now it’s up to me.” Not all feedback is going to be encouraging, but that’s why you ask. There’s value there, too. That calls for some self-reflection. Criticism can be a good thing if delivered subtly, but ultimately, you should trust yourself and your decision. Take the plunge. Don’t look back. Don’t question yourself.

ABOUT FOOTPRINTS FLOORS:

Upon his return to Littleton, Colorado, after serving in the U.S. Air Force, Bryan Park noticed that Denver’s flooring industry lacked a higher level of customer service and sophistication. So, in 2008, he founded Footprints Floors, which today specializes in installing hardwood floors, tile floors, backsplashes and laminates. With more than 160 territories, Footprints Floors offers franchisees a robust support system, including a call center, flexible hours for work-life balance and a low cost of entry with outstanding economics. For more information about the Franchise Times Top 500 brand, visit footprintsfranchise.com.