Brian Scudamore

In 1989, Scudamore was waiting in line at a McDonald's drive-thru when he noticed a gritty pickup truck advertising a junk removal service.[10][11] Scudamore, thinking he could haul junk to pay for college, invested $700 from savings to purchase a truck and started his own business.[11] Calling it The Rubbish Boys (tagline: "We'll stash your trash in a flash!"[3] ), he would go door-to-door and patrol alleyways for junk that the city wouldn't take.[12] The business took off faster than he expected, often requiring Scudamore to duck out of class to take calls.[3] Because he felt he was learning more about business through experience instead of school, he dropped out to focus on the company.[13]

The Rubbish Boys hit $1 Million in revenue in 1997, but Scudamore realized his team of employees did not share his vision for the company, and as such, laid-off the entire staff roster. He adopted a new motto that states "It's All About People" and hired staff who shared his goals and vision for the company.[14]

Scudamore decided that if he was going to professionalize a fragmented industry, the company needed a name that was catchy and easy to remember.[3] He settled on '1-800-GOT-JUNK?',[15] but the number was already owned by the Idaho Transportation Department. Scudamore persisted and they eventually released it to him at no cost.[6] Since 1998, the organization has experienced considerable growth. It currently services over 150 locations in three countries.[16]

Scudamore wanted to see his business grow, but declined to seek or accept offers of external funding so he could continue to move forward with his vision.[10] Even after being advised that his company and industry could not be franchised,[17] he decided to test the markets by launching operations in Victoria, British Columbia and Seattle.[3] After seeing success, Scudamore entrusted his friend Paul Guy to open the first 1-800-GOT-JUNK? franchise in Toronto in 1999,[18][19] which is still the largest and most profitable location today. The first US franchise opened in Portland, Oregon the following year, opening the door to 100 franchises throughout North America by 2004, and expanding into Australia in 2005.[20]

Brian Scudamore was quoted on 10 million Starbucks cups as part of their 'As I See It' program.[21]

When Scudamore was looking for a company to paint his house, he saw an ad from a company claiming to paint an entire house in a day. Skeptical but curious, Scudamore decided to hire One Day Painting. He was so surprised and pleased with the results that he decided to approach the previous owner about franchising the company. Scudamore bought the majority stake and set out to apply the same principles and infrastructure of 1-800-GOT-JUNK? to another customer-focused, service-based business,[22] which became WOW 1 DAY PAINTING (he'd initially renamed it 1-888-WOW1DAY! Painting).[11][18] Scudamore launched the first franchise in Vancouver in late 2010, followed by the first US franchise in Seattle.[11] Since then, the franchise has grown to service over 50 locations in Canada and the United States.[23]

The latest home-service brand from Scudamore is Shack Shine, launched in January 2016. Shack Shine is a franchised company that provides gutter-cleaning, power washing, and window washing. Shack Shine services 11 locations in Canada and 5 in the United States.[24]