Hi everyone,
HoldCo War Stories #4 is here. Hope you've been getting value from the series so far.
Today's story comes from Connor Groce's presentation at HoldCo Conference 2025. Connor's built a multi-unit, multi-brand franchise portfolio in just six years—and he's helping others do the same.
His approach flips the script on how most people think about franchising.
Let's dive in.
The conference, your room, your meals, and all-inclusive access to resort amenities — all included with your ticket. Reserve your spot today.
The Franchise Fast Track to Empire Building
How One Operator Built Multi-Unit, Multi-Brand Wealth in 6 Years
From Connor Groce's talk at HoldCo Conference 2025
Connor Groce didn't set out to become a franchise evangelist.
In 2018, he was working for a franchise ownership group in boutique fitness, and just wrapping his head around the franchise “north star":
"Before I knew what a holdco was, I knew about this North Star that a lot of people in franchising talk about, which is building a multi-unit multi-brand portfolio," Groce explains.
Six years later, he owns units in home services and mobile trash compaction, plus he consults for other operators and would-be buyers on franchise acquisitions.
He’s discovered that franchising isn't just another business model. It's a faster path to the holdco structure that so many operators struggle to build from scratch.
The 90% Problem (And Why It Doesn't Matter)
Groce opens with a sobering statistic: "There are over 4,000 franchises in America today, 90% of which can be characterized by the proper academic term of hot garbage."
But, he continued, this isn’t an indictment on franchising in general. "Of the 3.5 million small businesses in America today, nobody in this room would touch 90% of them with a ten foot pole either."
The lesson? Bad opportunities exist everywhere. The key is systematic filtering.
Groce focuses on what he calls the franchise "sweet spot": businesses that combine proven systems with roll-up potential. Think home services, business services, and specialized B2B concepts. Not food (too complex) and not hyper-local retail (limited scalability).
Three Paths to Franchise Empire Building
1. Buy Existing Units
Acquire underperforming or owner-tired franchises at below-market prices. The catch: understand why units are available. "You have to understand that you're up against that headwind and make sure you validate, hey, why is this opportunity available to me and why hasn't it already been gobbled up?"
2. Secure New Territories
Get development rights for untapped markets. Higher risk but better long-term positioning. Perfect for operators who want to build from the ground up with proven systems backing them.
3. Hybrid Approach
Buy a few new territories to "pay the toll" and get inside the system, then use acquisitions as the primary growth lever. Most sophisticated operators choose this path.
PRESENTED BY HOLDCO CONFERENCE 2026
The next HoldCo Conference is Feb 9–12, 2026. Get your ticket today.
The Information Advantage
Here's where franchising gets interesting for holdco builders: the community effect.
"The bigger multi-unit franchise owners all talk," notes one conference attendee. "There's a massive amount of information sharing and helping, and everybody wants to help each other because you're all trying to be successful for the same reason."
Groce confirms: "The community in franchising is very strong. I made a Dunkin' Donuts franchisee friend, and we have no industry adjacency or anything, but somehow we still have value we can add to each other because of the franchise model itself."
Plus, multi-unit economics improve dramatically. Marketing spend covers overlapping territories. Operational efficiencies compound. Vendor relationships strengthen.
The Misalignment Nobody Talks About
Groce doesn't sugarcoat the downsides. The biggest issue: "Royalties are almost always against gross revenue... everybody runs their business differently, and you are misaligned in that way."
Franchisors optimize for top-line growth. Franchisees care about cash flow and enterprise value. This creates inherent tension, especially for sophisticated operators focused on capital efficiency.
His advice: factor this misalignment into your ROI calculations and choose franchisors who understand the difference between revenue growth and wealth building.
Franchise operators thinking in decades, not quarters—exactly the mindset you need for sustainable empire building.
Takeaways for Your Business
Treat franchising as a holdco accelerator, not a small business strategy. Look for multi-unit, multi-brand potential from day one. The systems, community, and deal flow advantages compound rapidly at scale.
Focus on deal flow potential over perfect unit economics. Legacy brands offer fragmented ownership to consolidate. Emerging brands offer geographic expansion opportunities. Both paths work if you choose systems aligned with empire builders.
Leverage the franchise community for operational intelligence. Multi-unit operators share information freely because they succeed together. This network effect is impossible to replicate in independent businesses.
Thanks for reading.
The HoldCo Conference Team
P.S. Nuts and bolts conversations like these happen all week at HoldCo Conference. Join us Feb 9–12, 2026.
P.P.S. Questions about the conference? Reach out to our team and we’ll be happy to help: [email protected].
Editor’s note: Any factual errors or misunderstandings in the article are ours, not the presenter’s.
