Veterans in Franchising: Kiel Asensi

Veterans tend to succeed in franchising due to the fact that they’re trained to follow an existing process or system and develop a determined work ethic. Kiel Asensi is one of those military veterans who’s found success through the franchising business model — he’s a military veteran who served our country from 2012 to 2016. After retiring from the military, he met his future business partner, Jeff Destache, at a CPR practicing company in Colorado Springs and the two decided to open their own local business, Code U CPR, to teach others CPR instruction.

With the passion to continue educating others through business ownership, Jeff and Kiel decided to take over ownership at the Sylvan Learning* in Colorado Springs. 1851 Magazine recently sat down with Asensi to learn more about his military background and how he’s applied skills he learned while serving in the military to franchise ownership.

1851: Why did you decide to join the military?

Asensi: I decided to join the military because I wanted to experience what being a soldier was like, expand my knowledge and explore another part of the world.

1851: What was the most valuable thing your military experience taught you?

Asensi: The most valuable thing that the military taught me was the importance of trust in your fellow team. You have to give 100% of your capability and get 100% from your team as that trust is vital to the success of any mission.

1851: How did your military service prepare you for franchising?

Asensi: The way the military prepared me for franchising was in understanding that we are part of a whole and learning to have the tenacity to push through and overcome any obstacles.

1851: What is it about Sylvan Learning that attracted you to the brand?

Asensi: It is a well-known brand for helping children in one of the most important values I respect, education.

1851: What advice would you give to veterans who are looking to get into franchising?

Asensi: Make sure that if you are going to have a business partner, you know them well and have a proper partnership agreement in place. Understand that it is not easy, and that you should take good care of your employees as well as your clients (in our case, students).

1851: What does franchising mean to you?

Asensi: That I am joining a team, a message and a goal that aligns with mine in order to contribute to making a change or delivering the best quality of services that I support.

1851: What would you like to achieve in franchising within the next 5 years? In 10?

Asensi: In the next 5 years, I would like to own multiple franchises. And in 10, I would hope to be a franchisor with a powerful message that gains support from both those that I would service and others who want to be a part of that dream.