Franchise with Meineke (Video Transcription)
Ben LaFell: My name is Ben LaFell, I’m partnered with Colin Farrell and Gordon McCarthy, and together we run Morningside Texas Holdings. Morningside Texas Holdings owns and operates 10 Meineke franchise locations across Dallas, Fort Worth, and Austin.
Colin Farrell: We wanted to work on the business and not in the business, and I think you need that initial scale to give you the ability to sort of focus on the bigger picture and the growth going forward.
Ben LaFell: When we first came up with the idea that we wanted to invest in automotive, we were trying to figure out who the right partner would be, and we were really impressed with driven brands, and more specifically the team at Meineke. We thought that was the type of people we wanted to partner with.
Colin Farrell: We saw that there was a lot of opportunity and we thought we could add a ton of value, both for ourselves, our investors and our employees. And I think we’re both extremely excited. We see a ton of room for more Meinekes.
Colin Farrell: A Meineke business successful, just like what makes any other business successful. And we found that it’s the people. So that’s where our largest focus on, is ensuring that we get the best people around us.
Gordon Mccarthy: I’m having the most fun in my life, to be honest with you. It’s building it into something that’s seen as sustainable for a long time.
Ben LaFell: What differentiates Meineke from the other competitors is the management team. The people there are very data-driven, they’re looking to build automotive shops for the 2020s, not the 1990s.
Gordon Mccarthy: The best thing I see about working here is the future. And I got two great partners, and we’ve partnered up with Meineke, it was a great company. It was set up to help us grow, and it’s going to allow us to get to many, many more locations than 10, and build an amazing, amazing business.
Ben LaFell: It’s pretty neat to run a business that you have so many people that are dedicated to, and be a part of creating jobs for hardworking people.