Transcripts For CNBC The Profit 20171230

Patrick, youre a lucky guy. I know im lucky. But i would do anything for them, too. My initial deal was to infuse 200,000 into the business to clear some of the payables and to reinvest that money into a broader inventory. I like this as a lightweight hoodie. So its like a tshirt. Yeah. Lemonis but, throughout the episode, im really struggling with patricks willingness to change willingness to listen. How much would this retail for . What would you pay for it . 75 . I cant believe you said 75 for that were not at forever 21 anymore. And theres one particular moment that i never revealed. I have an artist friend named rolland berry. And one day rolland called me, and rolland said, theres a history between patrick and i. I actually am the one who started the business. Im telling you this as your friend. Walk away now. I was shocked to hear this. So i brought patrick to rollands warehouse. Through my experience with him, ive felt like i didnt always get the whole story. And then, also, i wasnt comfortable with the flow in, flow out of money and how that worked. I personally wouldnt do business with him again personally, i wouldnt. I think what pissed me off most about it is, i understand that people have business dealings in the past that dont work out. But, why wouldnt you tell me about those things . The fact that rolland was never mentioned, ever, seems like a really calculated omission from patrick. You never thought to say anything about other people, other businesses, not even for a second . No, honestly, not really. Okay. I mean. Then that lets me know what your logic is like. Right, i mean. And so im telling you, that logic doesnt work for me. So, that was one bad thing one red flag. But then i found out patrick wasnt honest and he wasnt transparent about things, especially when it came to money. I ended up being personally sued by one of his vendors that he did not tell me about. I had to write a 36,000 check. So now i have 236,000 invested. In the end, i said i just cant get taken advantage of anymore. So patrick is no longer associated with dilascia. The money that ive invested, i had to take it as a writeoff, and. Its gone. It was a really terrible experience for me, one of the worst that ive had in the history of this show. And he didnt even have the courtesy to apologize. Oh, my god, you guys unfortunately, thats not the only time that i made a mistake and misjudged somebody. Another disaster for me blues jean bar. The blues jean bar was a retail chain of Fashion Stores that predominantly sold denim, and it was owned by lady fuller. Im lady. Im marcus, how are you . Nice to meet you. Lady had started the business with her deceased mothers inheritance. And she was determined to create a cool shopping atmosphere to honor her memory. You know, my mother passed away when i was nine, and she took her own life. She left me money and i wanted to do something with her money that paid homage to her. And i think on some much deeper level, prove to myself that my life was going to be different than hers. While her original intentions were right, she definitely got lost along the way. At its height, the blues jean bar had 13 locations. When i walked in, it had three. I walked into a very pleasant staff, but a very confusing business model. All right, the basic premise of the store is that you cant, you know, touch the jeans without us. Do they actually say to people, you cant touch the jeans without us . Yeah. Mmhmm. They cant walk behind the bar. Okay. The deal that i made with lady was that i would put 900,000 in the business for 50 of the business. To you, the both of us and dont forget, im 100 in charge. I know you are. And i wanted to really renovate the concept and start over. What im looking to do is change the entire store. Lady can we step back for a second . And can i ask you, if we take the bar out, then were just gap on steroids . Were just a white box. And i feel like the reason why this store is so cool is because we have the bar. But it didnt work for this business. You opened up 13 of them, and they didnt work. Through the process, i had to really work through poor inventory choices. This is basically a room full of mistakes and desperate buying without a plan. And more importantly, an owner who was really never visiting the stores. I havent seen lady in six years. Ive never met lady. In the end, i ended up changing the entire concept the shopping experience, the look, the feel, and i even changed the name to denim soul. Well, you didnt take the soul out of the business. We unveil it, ladys happy, everybodys hugging, its superemotional. Oh, my god oh, my god it doesnt even look like the same store. Everybodys excited about the relationship. If you havent met marcus, which many of you have, major thank you to him because without him, you know, a lot of peoples dreams, not just mine, wouldnt come true. And, so thank you. And, so this is really where things started to get weird. Little by little, we started to uncover these things. What i ended up finding out is that a number of the vendors she had on her books, she never paid them. None of that was disclosed. And what happened was i went back to a number of these vendors and said, hey, id like to grow my business with you. And their comment back to me was yeah, wed like to grow our business with you, too, but were not crazy about lady fuller being involved because her business still owes us money. For a brief minute, i had other vendors questioning me and my integrity was at risk. And i had to work hard to clean that up. So, after the issues with the vendors, i decided that it was best for lady and i to part ways. I ended up signing a note with lady fuller to buy her interests for 500,000. So i invested about 900,000 to acquire three denim stores, then i invested another 500,000 to buy lady fuller out. And throughout the process, i had to eat different bills that uncovered themselves. So i have probably almost 2 million invested in what i bought from lady, which was three stores. The reason thats a big deal for me is that denim soul today is one of my most successful Retail Businesses that i have. It does unbelievably well. Its awesome i think one of the reasons that i categorize this as one of my biggest losses is, in the end, i realized that i didnt even need to do business with lady fuller to open these stores and then feel taken advantage of. I have a feeling you and i are going to. [ laughs ] giddy up but i dont want anybody to feel bad for me because my entrance into the fashion business has turned out to be wildly successful. And that brings me to one of my biggest wins in profit history courage b. It was a chain of Retail Stores that predominantly dealt with womens fashion. Look, all the detail inside lemonis noemi was the chief designer and her kids, stephanie and nicolas, ran the business. Did you make the labels for these yet . They did about 5 million or 6 million in sales, but they still were losing money. Who designed, like, these two things right here . Stephanie noemi did. Well, we probably could pick a hundred things like that. And then produce liquidate that. It doesnt matter if it liquidate dont try and justify it. It wasnt correct. Nicolas was a hothead. You want all of the accolade without doing any of the work. And stephanie it was interesting maybe the smartest one of the three of them, but she always took a back seat. Youre not liable. So theres absolutely. Stephanie stop. Lemonis there were a lot of issues and a lot of personalities and a lot of things to fix. But there was way more to like. My initial investment was 800,000 for 30 of the business. In the first year, it was really about changing the product, renovating the stores, and understanding how the Family Dynamics would work. You guys are a dangerous trio. Im just trying to keep up with you guys. And right out of the gates, it was going pretty well. I think youve grown amazingly in the last eight months. And i have to give you a lot of credit. But, as i dug into the business, i essentially realized that the real asset in that deal was the people. Nicolas ended up really becoming a trusted partner, and hes grown a lot as an individual. And stephanie shes blossomed like no other person ive seen. There you go, enjoy everything. Thank you. So, heres how things have transformed. Courage b doesnt exist anymore in name. I converted all five stores into other brands. What does exist is a Fashion Holding Company Called ml fashion, which consists of all the other fashion brands ive invested in throughout the profit, like susana monaco, siloett, flex watches, inkkas. We have seven brands and 29 stores. Most have done pretty well. Only one hasnt worked out siloett. But overall, business is doing fantastic. And you know who runs it . Stephanie. Im proud of you. Thank you. And nicolas is actually now helping run gander outdoors, which is a business i acquired out of bankruptcy. And he still has equity in ml fashion. Whats ironic about all of this is that what started out as an 800,000 investment in five womens Fashion Stores, has turned into an 18 million venture into the fashion business. And im not going to stop anytime soon. The true definition of a raw deal. Perfect flavor. One of my most promising investments ends with a major beef nobody saw coming. And later, i reveal my biggest win of all. Both youre bull[bleep]. Im not bull[bleep]. You are bull[bleep]. Email me the [bleep] schedule just do it you need to cut the [bleep]. You know, when i go back and i watch some of the original episodes i mean i hate to admit it, but in every case where a deal went bad, i ultimately have to look back at myself. Did i pick the wrong partners . Did i enable them too much . Did i make a business calculation that was just wrong . I mean, i really feel like i have to own all of them. Are there people that took advantage of me and screwed me . You bet. But did i let them . Yeah, i did. One of the most surprising examples of that. Nice to meet you. Pleasure to meet you. Lemonis . Is Brooklyn Burger and stein meats. This one definitely goes in the loss category. This is how i would have started my infomercial for Brooklyn Burger. I would have started by telling you about the weight of the burgers and the quality of the beef, this beautiful brooklyn bridge. Problem is, this isnt my business. I thought it was, but its not. You see, i started by going to this business in brooklyn called stein meats. Wow. A legendary meat house in new york, they would supply people like peter lugers and wolfgangs some of the best steakhouses in america. Walk me through the process of how it works. Howard this is the receiving area. We get all out fresh meat through here. Owners alan buxbaum and howard mora had taken over a. Stein from their fathers who founded the company. And their hamburger, the Brooklyn Burger, was the staple at new yorks three biggest sporting venues. Good burger. Its the best. It was a 50 million business, but something didnt smell right. So the money that the customers owe us those are the receivables. Correct. How much is our total receivables right now . Couple hundred thousand . Almost 4 million on the street. Are you kidding me . So, based on that information, the offer i made was to put 1 million in and own 50 of the business. And the way i arrived at the 1 million offer was the receivables and liabilities the assets and the liabilities were off by about 1 million. And that my Million Dollars would essentially fill that hole, i would tighten the expenses, keep the revenue going, and over time for a million bucks, i would own a 50 million business. Seemed like a good idea, right . About 3 4 of the way through the episode, i brought in an accountant to really dig into the numbers. So, does this break out how much youre paying in payroll . No. Does it interface into your system . No. Do you have an aging of your payrolls . No. And in the end, what i learned is that it was a much worse picture than they had painted. Their payables are about 3. 8 million. Thats several million more than i thought it was. Theyre almost bankrupt. Wow. I would run. Hey, guys, we got to talk. We got a problem. Theres a 3 million hole that you cant explain, and you have 30,000 in the bank. Guys, this is bad. This business is two weeks away from closing. Howard i know it doesnt look good. I dont want you to think that we knew it and were hiding something from you. This is new to us also. Things are way worse than you think they are. Where do we go from here . I explained to them that i could no longer move forward on my milliondollar deal because it wasnt 1 million, it was going to be, like, 2 million or 3 million. And i just couldnt make the numbers work. From a business standpoint, right now, i dont think this is a good investment for me. I need some time to think about this. Fast forward. I got a call from them. [ cellphone ringing ] hello . And they told me that they were not going to be able to make payroll. Alan we got a little problem. Whats the problem . Today, we found ourselves a little short in the bank. You know, we dont want to bounce any checks, so i was wondering if theres anything you could do to help us. And i was with my crew that shoots the show. And i was ready to leave, and they all looked at me and said, those two guys theyre like our dads. Marcus, you have to save them you have to help them. Look, so i decided to help them out, but its not charity. I have to protect myself. How much do you need . About 200,000. You know, i cant just give you the money. I cant just write you a check and give you a gift, as much as i like you guys. And so, in order for me to give you that money, im going to need to get a return on my money. And the only other thing that i can think of is that i buy Brooklyn Burger from you. And ill repackage it and ill get it back on its feet. Were willing to do whatever it takes. Episode ends, right . Im starting to make plans for Brooklyn Burger. They said to me, weve decided were not going to transfer you the intellectual property. Weve thought about it after, and we feel like we were under pressure. Were not giving it to you. I said, okay, well, then, you at least need to give me my 200,000 back, and the interest associated with it. We dont have the money. I was, like, okay. You dont have the money and you dont want to give me the brand. No problem. Im going to sue you. And so i filed suit, and the judge said, sorry, do you have any paperwork to prove it . I said, well, i have the footage from the show. His comment was, its on a Reality Television show. I dont know whats real and whats not. So, today, i now sit here 200,000 plus 150,000 in legal fees 350,000 out. And the Brooklyn Burger happens to be sold in Grocery Stores around the country. Thats a problem, right . The reason that i put this in one of my biggest losses isnt because of the dollar amount, its the lost opportunity. If Brooklyn Burger is sold in walmart, publix, kroger, target, i mean, could it be a 20 million business . Yeah. And thats what i was banking on. Thats why i put it in as one of my biggest losses. Perfect flavor. Another business where people really disappointed me was coopersburg sports. Coopersburg was a homegrown, pennsylvania Small Company that really focused on the licensing of majorleague baseball marks onto products that would be sold through sportinggoods stores and the stadiums themselves. This is a 18inch miniature bat with a fullcolor, heattransfer logo going to the mariners. And what i liked about it was that it was truly a family business. This is my daughter, jackie. Ill call you back. Hi thats my wife, wendy. Thats benjamin back there. How you doing . Im marcus. Nice to meet you. I think the challenge that existed at coopersburg was over time, larger competitors had come into the space. And, obviously, what that meant was their revenue started to dwindle and so did their morale. I never wanted to quit or give up anything, and i really feel like this is one of the toughest things ive ever gone through in my life. Scott appeared to be someone who was very earnest. Lot of stress. Im tired of it. A good family man, great salesman, great pitchman at least i thought he was. So i agreed to put in 630,000 for 30 of the business. Started paying off some of the debt. Started building new inventory. Went out and rented a new warehouse. Its amazing, isnt it . Its gonna be great. Its gonna turn out nice. Unfortunately, what happened after the cameras stopped rolling is that scott just continually called me for more money. We need more inventory. Sent him money. We want to try these new products. More inventory. It was almost like the rope that pulled me in. And then nothing would develop. Every time that phone call comes, right, its, we got to get an order out. This is burning down. Thats burning down. But im not sure where the end of the hole is. So, a year into it, i have 1. 4 million invested. The calculator told me that i couldnt just keep spending money. I needed to take my losses and cut them, and i had a couple choices to make sell my interest or foreclose as the lender. This is a big dilemma for me. And scott knew that, and he used it against me cause he would say to me, people wont like the fact that you foreclosed on us. Its almost like emotional blackmail. Like, if you dont do this, the worlds going to know this deal went bad. Its, like, okay, the deal went bad. I have no problem admitting when i screw up none. And i wont get embarrassed. I know you about want to shoot me right now. I do kind of want to shoot you. I do, because i feel like it just never ends. But in the end, was i really willing to foreclose . I wasnt. And i ended up probably being softer in that situation because i didnt like what it was bringing out in me. Holy [bleep], scott. I feel like youre hustling me. And so i sold all of my shares back to them for 80,000 in product. Theyre still open today. Im happy theyre still open. Im happy their familys all working together. Im not happy about the fact that i lost 1. 4 million, and i have 80,000 worth of crap sitting in a warehouse. But heres the thing. They think some people would have changed their business practice or stopped doing deals on handshakes or stop trusting people. But thats part of my secret sauce. Yeah, i know that people take advantage of me. But my single biggest lesson is im not going to change who i am or the way i do it because in the overall picture, it works. It really has for me. I hand two Small Businesses the opportunity of a lifetime. Find out which on transformed into a 15millionayear success story, and which one blew it. [ glass shatters ] man [bleep]. Costing me some major cash. Can this much love be cleaned by a little bit of dawn ultra . Oh yeah one bottle has the grease cleaning power of three bottles of this other liquid. A drop of dawn and grease is gone. Over the years, youve seen me invest nearly 60 million in all kinds of businesses. I think the biggest misconception that some of these Business Owners have that continues to frustrate me is that people expect me to do the work. You dont look like you want to get in there. Come on. Iim so i. Let me show you how to clean the toilet. Woman okay. You got to get down. I think in some of the ones that have really worked, they take the bull by the horns, and they clear their own path, and they move forward. A great example of that is Precise Graphix definitely one of my greatest wins. Precise graphix is in emmaus, pennsylvania, and what they specialized in is making displays for Grocery Stores. This is typically what id see, a wall graphic. Dean correct. This is something that you designed by yourself . Yes. The concept. Yes. Brothers keith and dean ran the place and their employees loved them, but were rightfully concerned because the business was on shaky ground. I dont want to go look for a job. I love my job. But i want to feel like im gonna have a job for a long time. The opportunity for me was that precise can make designs and signs for all of my businesses, so its a winwin they make money and the businesses get the benefit. We have a deal . We have a deal. My original investment in precise was to invest 270,000 for 33 of the business. And as we went through the episode, i gave them a couple of jobs. I gave them camping world to renovate a store. I gave them auto match, which was athens motors. As soon as you walk in, youre pretty much grabbed with a collage of color. And, for the most part, the episode ended with them executing on a couple of jobs and them coming up with creative things. I would say it was a decent win. All right. [ laughs ] what happened in the months following was that after the episode aired it was like a telethon on their phone. Every business that i could think of wanted to do business with them. The phones ringing a lot more. Ill say that much right now. More business. Oh, absolutely. My investment there today is still only 270,000. And today what we have is a 15 million business that lays across probably 13 or 14 different industries. They went from being mildly profitable to wildly profitable really quickly. Now, it is true that part of their success was because they were able to secure business with some of the businesses that i owned. But i want to be clear they still had to pitch it, they still had to execute it, they still had to install it, and they still had to run their business. Success story . Yeah. Keith 1, 2, 3. All team, family, pride and so when i looked at other businesses or other industries that would benefit from my existing businesses, i thought lighting would be a perfect one. So, vision quest is a Lighting Company in long island that applied. And i thought to myself, okay. I own hundreds and hundreds of businesses with tons of locations. They all need lights. This seems like a pretty good idea. How bad could this be . Now that i look back on it. Bad very bad. Vision quest was owned by a guy named larry as i called him larry the lighting guy. Oh, my god how you doing . Bring it in, man how you doing . Oh, my god youre here and it started out like a lot of the companies i go to the place was a mess, there was no process, and there wasnt machinery that actually worked. But the one thing that was good is that larry really understood the intricacies of lighting. I was a theatrical lighting guy. I like light. So, any place you go in, youre looking right away at the lights. I just thought everyone did it, but ive come recently to understand i got a little unhealthy thing with lighting. Get to light therapy. I need light therapy. My original deal was to invest i think it was 375,000 for 50 of the business. I ended up spending close to another half a Million Dollars on equipment and another 150 grand after the episode to pay off debt that larry forgot to tell me about. But still, i assumed that i could do what i did with precise put money in their business, fix their equipment and their process, and then line them up with businesses that i was affiliated with, and then everything would be fine. Were ready to get to work . So i got him involved in the sweet petes business and then said, redo the lighting. And i want you to be honest about whats here, whats not working, what you like, dont like. Youre not gonna hurt my feelings. I know its a disaster. Thats okay. Ill give you some candy at the end. Okay. [ laughs ] look, it was a bumpy road, but eventually the job got done. Youre looking at 3,500 gummy bears. Little gummy bears. Is the light changing on top there . Yeah. You did a great job with this light. Visually, the guy makes amazing stuff. I was blown away by what i saw. What i wasnt happy about is how much time it took and how expensive it was. Larry . Yeah. You realize that people are coming at 7 00 . I made the assumption in that moment that there was inefficiencies in that execution because he was nervous, because the timeline was short. But there were some red flags there that should have told me that i was going to have a problem with the process. [ glass shatters ] [ bleep ] unlike precise, vision quest never rebounded. They never got their act together. They never figured out how to integrate with all my other companies and capitalize on that relationship. Every business i brought there could not do business with them. No followup, no execution, never hitting a deadline. Its our numberone problem, is deliveries. But why, though . Because we started constraining. I broke the company. You were right. I ordered a light for my house and i didnt even get it. I just couldnt continue. So about nine months into the deal, i said larry, youre on your own. I sympathize with you, but i kind of dont give a [bleep] anymore. In the end, i lost over 1 million on my bet on larry. Hes not a liar, hes not a thief, he doesnt lack integrity he lacks followthrough. That doesnt make him a bad person. That makes him a wonderful employee and a terrible owner. Sorry. One of my biggest financial wins also turns out to be one of my biggest nightmares. When i first started the show, i didnt really know what to expect. I knew that it was going to be a great source of deals. We have a deal. Im good. Lemonis but i knew that along the way i was going to have to be ready for some bumps and bruises for sure. You stepped way the [bleep] out of bounds. Shut up for a minute, shut up im done. Believe it or not, one of my most painful processes that ive gone through on the profit has turned out to be one of my biggest financial wins my big fat greek gyro. Now, theres this terrible misnomer in the marketplace that im greek. My last name is greek. I was adopted by a greek man, and so everybody assumes that everything i do is greek. Im actually lebanese. But i decided to go into this business called my big fat greek gyro. What can i get for you . The gyro, fries. I really went there because i liked the concept of fast casual. Chipotle has done it really well, and a number of other businesses have done it well. I thought my big fat greek gyro was going to be fast, casual greek. What i walked into. Was an oldfashioned euro stand you got the meat, the fries coming out of the freezer. You buy it frozen . Kathleen yes. You had mozzarella sticks. I was gonna take a trip to greece this summer, and im looking for tater tots, cheese sticks, cheddar balls, mushrooms. Hummus isnt greek. But what baffled me even more is that the owners, mike and kathleen, were able to convince five other people to buy into this concept. And all these franchises were really struggling. We have yet to make money. The only help we ever got from them was on the first of the month, they came and picked up their royalty check. Im a single mom. I cant support my family. The original deal was for me to invest 350,000 and own 55 of the business. And so the goal was to help out the franchisees and come up with a whole new concept. Now, let me be brutally honest about it. I really didnt use anything from their business. We started over completely, and we created a fastcasual, quickservice concept, and i changed the name to the simple greek. I can one day come and have a pita sandwich, another day come and have a rice bowl, another day come and have a salad. And so the goal would be to increase the frequency of visit. For sure. Do you guys starting to get the idea of what im looking for . Absolutely. Absolutely. Lemonis when the episode aired, we had taken one of the locations, the one in mount lebanon, and we had come up with the skeleton of a concept. Lemonis when i walk in the door, it feels like a different place. Mike i think that this change is gonna be well, well worth it. Heres to mr. Lemonis, and heres to the simple greek. [ cheers and applause ] andreas opa today, theres almost three dozen open with many more coming. My original investment was about 350,000, but to date, its about 4 million and growing as we continue to expand. And its well worth it for me financially because the simple greek is doing great. Did you find the ordering process to be kind of easier . Very nice. But guess what, theres been a lot of heavy lifting on my part and the franchisees part, because these socalled partners that have equity, theyre mia. And if you remember i was very clear with mike and kathleen that they needed to lead this process and to contribute. You know, i cant be here every day. I know. And these people want a leader. And i dont know if you have what it takes. Oh, im ready. And im more than capable of carrying the load. I want to tell you that im convinced, but im not. Heres a news flash they didnt really do anything. To be candid, were in a lawsuit together. I have nothing to hide. Its public information. You can go look at it for yourself. So its not all roses, but what is good is that theres a viable concept with a real process and a real plan and a number of franchisees around the country who are making real money, who wake up in the morning, they make the food, they take care of the customers, they market their business, and they do it pride and they do it with great execution. Im gonna put as much money as i have to to make sure youre successful. Those are who the Real Partners are. All opa if all financial returns came with that level of drama, i couldnt withstand it. There also are deals that come with great financial return, theyre amazing to work with, and its a lot of fun, like sweet petes. Sweet petes is a candy business, and it was in a very quiet neighborhood. And it was made up of two people that, quite frankly, couldnt be any nicer, pete and allison behringer. You look like youre a Mad Scientist with that lab coat. I guess you could say i am a scientist of sorts. I was a little surprised at where the place is located. Its, like, in a neighborhood. When we started this business, we had maybe a couple hundred dollars in our pocket or something crazy. We were not in a great financial position, and so someone offered us this place, and were putting everything we have into building this. So, the deal i made was to invest 750,000 for 50 of the business new equipment, new distribution, new products. Oh, my god but that was really step one. Instead of investing 750,000, i ended up investing 3. 5 million within the first 12 months. We bought an old, dilapidated building in downtown jacksonville. It feels like im going into a haunted house. And today, theres a 22,000squarefoot candy store. Whats up, pete . This place looks great. This is kind of like what you see in the movies. Lemonis now this location that they had originally only did about 400,000 a year. In their last 12 months, the primary location in jacksonville would do about 6. 5 million. Its a little different. Is it going to make 100 million . No. Do i have a nice business thats something im passionate about that makes money, with partners that truly respect the business and their partner . Yeah. And its hard to find that. [ allison laughs ] how do i look . Perfect. Lemonis and if thats not great enough, i have a key to my own candy store. And its funny because allison one day said to me, do you ever go to the store late at night . And i wasnt sure if she saw the security camera, but the answer is no but yes. Ill update you on the biggest success in profit history and the reason i do this show. So, in nearly 70 episodes, its been interesting for me to watch how people handle opportunity and how they handle trust and how to bring back the good, oldfashioned handshake. And theres one business that really sticks for me and thats bentleys possibly my biggest win to date. I went into bentleys, which was a fourstore pet chain in chicago. Its owned by a married couple, lisa and gio. How are you . Im marcus. Lisa. Nice to meet you. Hi. Giovanni. Nice to meet you. And they were all over the place. And the stores all looked different, the product was everywhere, there was no real process to it. But what was there was a heart and a belief in a business idea. Trader joes for pets. Were like the trader joes or whole foods for pets. We do allnatural food, no byproducts, corn, wheat, or soy in our foods. And they did a pretty good job all kidding aside. I mean, they had four stores. They werent making any money, but the effort was there. Never a dull day at the barkery for lisa and i. I call lisa and gio like the boy scouts and girl scouts of america they rub two sticks together with very limited resources to make a fire. How many do they need . Just one . And in the end, i decided to take a chance on them. Now, there was a couple nuggets of things that definitely propelled me through it. They had adopted a young boy i was adopted. Do you want to say hey to marcus . And what is your name . Giovanni sebastian, say hi. Hi, buddy. Give me five. There you go. There you go. So they got a little extra nugget for that. And they were in an industry that Everybody Loves pets. And i rarely trust people who dont like animals. And who is this . Luke. Luke my original offer to lisa and gio is that i would invest 400,000 for 40 of the equity, and i would loan them an extra 1. 3 million to make this one acquisition in chicago. We have a deal. Thank you. Lemonis fast forward. When we we made this acquisition, we went from four stores to like 11 stores. And then gio went on this, like, crazy tear of, like, signing up every acquisition that hes sort of, like, a deal junkie. 37,600,000 later, we have a business that does 100 million of revenue with 82 or 83 locations. And the business will make about 4 million or 5 million in profit. Most people dont have the courage to do what you do, you should be very proud of yourself. I dont say this out of disrespect to lisa and gio, but when i met them, they did not have their own home, they were struggling, but they always had a smile on their face, and they always put their son and their business in front of everybody. In seven years, people got bonuses. We didnt get paid. Which is probably why i fell in love with them, okay . Today, they own their own home, their familys all together, theyve adopted another son. How do you not just. I dont know. Like, i definitely get choked up when i talk about this business not because of the money that were going to make. [ voice breaking ] i think whats crazier for me is. They want to take that money and start an adoption foundation. And for them, they tell me every single day. Giovanni wow. Every day and then this is not an exaggeration i get a text from gio. I just want you to know how grateful. Lisa [ voice breaking ] seriously, thank you. I cant tell how much this has helped our family. [ voice breaking ] you know, thats a big deal for me. Its business is always about the money for most people. And for me, its largely about the money, but its how business can transform peoples lives that i think is more important. Im willing to take the leap with you. All right . Im willing to take the leap. For me, business was the great neutralizer. If you havent had a great life, you can change your life by starting a business. And i think what i realize today that i didnt know early on is that there are going to be different characters and Different Things that go bad. Does it suck . Yeah. Should you feel bad for me . No. Dont feel bad for me. Weve done just fine especially with the good ones. Thank you. No, are you kidding . Thank you. Congratulations. I answer the one question im asked all the time. Four or five years, ive gone into almost 70 businesses more than 70 now. Is this marcus . How you doing, sir . I feel like i know you. How are you . Its like, have you been to my theme park . I have fantasyland, when people think im just gonna fix their business and theyre not gonna have to do any work. Theres liarville, where they forget to tell me stuff. Theres fraud town, where they try to be something theyre not. And then theres happily ever after, which are the ones that work out. You really have your act together. Im telling you, just cause im not with you and hes gorgeous, isnt he . Okay, very good. All right. These are real businesses with real people. People get fired, people quit, businesses close, businesses grow, profits are made. Like, all the things that happen in real business, it happens here, because it is real business. If he cant do the job, you fire him. I never expected two older men who are like your father to take advantage of me. I never expected that one of the best salesmen ive ever met really couldnt sell anything. And i never wouldve expected that a guy who was handed a silver platter with a ton of business in front of him, all driven by my companies, couldnt even plug in a light bulb and actually make money doing it. But with all of that, and the sting that those losses created for me, both financially and emotionally, it still doesnt damper my spirits to want to keep going, because there are plenty more good things that clearly outweigh that. Were ready. Lets move it. Look, at the end of the day, when you go into business,