The Crazy Ones

How the Founder of 1-800-GOT-JUNK Built His $700M Empire

Episode 8: Today, host Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) is solo again for another special episode of The Crazy Ones, this time featuring founder and CEO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK and 02E Brands, Brian Scudamore (@BrianScudamore). Brian bought a used truck and started 1-800-GOT-JUNK in 1989 as a college dropout. Today, 1-800-GOT-JUNK makes $600 million in revenue, and Brian has also created the parent company 02E Brands which brings in an addition $100 million with its other businesses. Listen to hear Brian explain how he grew 1-800-GOT-JUNK from the ground up with a mixture of brilliant publicity tactics and smart hiring, as well as how Brian thinks about his role as a leader as his company grows.

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00:43 - Intro
03:12 - How Brian started 1-800-GOT-JUNK
05:37 - 02E Brands’ reach and annual revenue
06:40 - Brian’s passion and what keeps him motivated
10:50 - How Brian got onto the Ellen Degeneres Show
14:37 - Brian’s opinion on PR to promote your business
16:20 - Brian’s decision to lay off his whole team in 1994
19:23 - Why Brian places a high importance on hiring for culture fit
21:44 - The most important decisions Brian made to allow his business to grow
25:54 - How 02E’s brand franchising works
29:53 - How Brian determined the price of services for 1-800-GOT-JUNK
32:07 - The systems Brian implements so that his ADD doesn’t derail him
34:48 - How Brian’s management of the business has changed as the company has grown
41:13 - Brian’s transition to being less hands-on with the day-to-day operations as his company grew
42:48 - Startup AMA: How do you think about what to do with the cashflow of your business?