Peter Kourounis has seen franchising from almost every angle: business owner, franchisor, franchise development leader, and now founder of Patch It Up Drywall Repair and Chief Growth Officer at Elevate Franchise Brands.

In this episode, Peter walks through his unlikely start in the sign and graphics world, the lessons he learned franchising his first business (including what went wrong with partnerships), and how a bold move, showing up in person to apply for a job, led him into the 1-800-Plumber plus Air ecosystem and eventually the creation of Patch It Up.

We unpack how Patch It Up was built using proven home service fundamentals, why Peter obsessed over making onboarding simpler (including a startup bundle approach), and what he believes separates franchisees who win from franchisees who stall. Peter also shares his “3 year runway” framework for home services, why semi-absentee ownership is usually a trap, and how Elevate is investing in automation and follow up to help franchisees capture more of the leads they already pay for.

If you are exploring business ownership and want a real, no fluff take on what it actually takes to succeed in franchising, this one is for you.