38. Corporate M&A Exec Builds $4M Bath Franchise
Mike Sarfity left Big 4 consulting to own Five Star Bath Solutions — despite zero handyman skills. He generated $4.3M in year two. This is his playbook.
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🎙 Episode #38 - Mike Sarfity was grinding 60 to 80 hour weeks as a Mergers and Acquisitions Director at a Big Four consulting firm, chasing a partner track that kept moving the goalposts. One night, working at 1 a.m. after his daughter's seventh birthday party, his father-in-law walked in and asked a simple question that changed everything. He had no background in home services. He freely admits he can barely screw in a light bulb. And yet in less than two years, he built Five Star Bath Solutions of Orange County into a 26-person operation generating $4.3M in his second full year.
In this episode, Mike shares how he found the right franchise, why he deliberately chose a "boring" business, what the Five Star system gave him that he couldn't have built on his own, and how his background in wrestling and marathon running shaped the way he leads.
⏱ Video Chapters
0:00 - The Wake-Up Moment That Made Him Walk Away from Big Four
1:16 - Life at PwC: Mergers, Acquisitions, and 80-Hour Weeks
2:29 - Looking for a "Boring" Business: Laundromats, Food Trucks, and Franchising
3:33 - How He Found Five Star Bath Solutions
4:19 - Why the Franchisor's Honesty Won Him Over
6:32 - Admitting He's the World's Least Handy Person
7:07 - What the Franchise Playbook Actually Gave Him
10:17 - Jumping Off the High Dive: The Fear of Starting
13:00 - B2C vs. B2B Sales: The 90-Minute Sales Cycle
17:03 - Hiring a Production Manager Early (And Why It Was Worth It)
19:04 - Owner vs. Operator: How Mike Thinks About His Role
20:39 - What Five Star Bath Solutions Actually Does
24:34 - The Biggest Surprise Coming From Corporate America
28:57 - The Revenue Numbers: $1.9M, $4.3M, and Counting
30:15 - Installing Bathrooms for 242 Customers in One Year
31:58 - Giving Back: The Project That Reminded the Team Why They Do This
34:29 - Wrestling, Marathon Running, and Mental Toughness
39:03 - Advice for Anyone Sitting on the Fence
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