WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:03.920 All right. So today, as I mentioned, we are  going to be getting into the pet services   00:00:03.920 --> 00:00:09.040 space once again here. You know Ryan and I have  definitely interviewed a lot of the folks that are   00:00:09.040 --> 00:00:13.840 at different aspects of this but never before have  we interviewed somebody who focuses on this part   00:00:14.480 --> 00:00:18.880 of the pet market within franchising. I'm  really happy to have on the CEO of Zoom Room,   00:00:18.880 --> 00:00:24.480 Mark Van Wye. Mark, thanks for joining us. Thank  you so much. It's great to be here. Absolutely. So   00:00:24.480 --> 00:00:28.080 you know I would love for you just  to kind of create some context here   00:00:28.080 --> 00:00:31.600 into the brand itself and just tell me  a bit about the humble beginnings and   00:00:32.160 --> 00:00:36.960 how you – i know that you've been around for quite  a while within the brand – just talk to me about   00:00:36.960 --> 00:00:41.680 in the beginning of it all, how the idea came to  be and you know why you guys decided to focus on   00:00:41.680 --> 00:00:49.280 such a niche part of the pet services space. Of  course. Zoom Room is an indoor dog training gym   00:00:49.280 --> 00:00:57.280 and our emphasis is on socialization and that's  been our sole focus from the very beginning. And   00:00:57.280 --> 00:01:02.720 what we do therefore is put the attention really  on the dog owner. We're not a drop off. We can   00:01:02.720 --> 00:01:07.840 kind of describe the business very much in  all the things it is not, which really leads   00:01:07.840 --> 00:01:12.320 to the founding story because this business  was created through an act of subtraction.   00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:18.240 My original business partner was the head of the  American Boarding Kennel Association at the time   00:01:18.240 --> 00:01:23.920 and knew there were so many entrepreneurs who  loved dogs wanted to get into the space, but the   00:01:23.920 --> 00:01:30.560 only businesses around were very top-heavy,  expensive to start, huge operational costs,   00:01:30.560 --> 00:01:35.600 and just lots of headaches. Not to say they're  not good businesses, but the idea that you're   00:01:35.600 --> 00:01:41.200 going to have fun and make friends and play with  dogs all day was very very far from the reality.   00:01:41.200 --> 00:01:47.040 And so we got out the old whiteboard and put down  a list of every one of those headaches: you know,   00:01:47.040 --> 00:01:52.480 phone calls at three in the morning because a  dog got sick or was in a fight – well, we won't   00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:59.200 be open 24 hours; we won't have any boarding; and  so on down the line. And what we came up with was   00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:05.440 Zoom Room. And initially, from the get-go, we made  dog agility – that's the thing you see on ESPN,   00:02:06.080 --> 00:02:11.920 you know, fun obstacle course stuff with dogs  – we made that sort of the splash, the sizzle,   00:02:13.120 --> 00:02:18.560 and that's something that nobody else was really  doing. I mean clearly the fastest growing dog   00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:26.160 sport, on ESPN, while the WNBA was relegated to  ESPN2. But no one was really creating something   00:02:26.160 --> 00:02:30.800 that was replicable. And so we designed  this as a franchise from the very beginning,   00:02:30.800 --> 00:02:36.800 and that was how we got started. I love that.  Very very cool, because I think you know it's   00:02:36.800 --> 00:02:40.880 something that really nobody else is doing at the  current moment which is kind of why I like it and   00:02:40.880 --> 00:02:44.480 you know I think that as i kind of mentioned  at the top there that you know Pet Supplies   00:02:44.480 --> 00:02:49.360 Plus just recently made an acquisition into Wag  'n Wash. And I'm sure you've been seeing that   00:02:49.360 --> 00:02:54.480 and been getting many calls yourself.  Yes, we are very popular at the ball.   00:02:55.360 --> 00:02:59.840 Your guess was right. We get a lot of  that in our inbox, and I'm happy to say   00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:04.800 we can politely decline. We're growing just  fine on our own right now. Yes, absolutely.   00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:10.480 And I'm sure that you will be continuing to get  those, and I'm sure this podcast won't help. But   00:03:10.480 --> 00:03:14.640 I think that you know. At the end of the day, I am  kind of curious. I know you guys obviously have a   00:03:14.640 --> 00:03:19.680 very well established niche, but you know how are  you seeing when folks are starting to get into dog   00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:24.480 training and adding it into the arsenal I know  that a lot of the bigger players have done that   00:03:24.480 --> 00:03:29.360 but it's obviously not quite to the same extent  what you guys are doing. Talk to me a bit about,   00:03:29.360 --> 00:03:34.960 you know, how you're differentiating from others  in the pet services space today. Our motto is:   00:03:34.960 --> 00:03:40.240 "We don't train dogs. We train the people who love  them." And it's great as a motto, but it really is   00:03:40.240 --> 00:03:45.360 our business plan. I mean that is legitimately  what we do and how we differentiate and so much   00:03:45.360 --> 00:03:50.800 comes with that. It means that everyone else  in the pet space is dictating everything to   00:03:50.800 --> 00:03:57.600 pampering dogs. We are very rational. We use only  scientific methods; we do positive training only;   00:03:57.600 --> 00:04:04.720 and we are so good at being diagnosticians that  like your child's best teacher we can't just,   00:04:05.360 --> 00:04:10.160 you know, help you, but we can say, "Hey, we've  noticed your dog's doing this and here's why,"   00:04:10.160 --> 00:04:16.560 and they can learn something from it. It means  that we cater our entire experience to the human.   00:04:16.560 --> 00:04:22.160 They're the ones who are coming in; they're the  ones making friends. And the first thing that we   00:04:22.160 --> 00:04:27.200 really chipped away at was just this myth that  dog training is something you're obligated to   00:04:27.200 --> 00:04:32.320 do. You go to some big box for six classes  when you first get a dog and you're done.   00:04:32.320 --> 00:04:37.440 If I said to you, "Hey, next Wednesday i've got  yoga, and then they give me my certificate, and   00:04:37.440 --> 00:04:43.120 I graduated, and now I'm a yoga graduate," that  would be ridiculous. Same with the gym. Same with   00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:49.040 so many other of our pursuits. And yet that was  the myth I wanted to bust with dog training. That   00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:54.560 it is actually something that you do every day.  And you can do it at our place where you don't   00:04:54.560 --> 00:05:00.000 have to worry about getting permits at a dog park  and having people doing tai chi next to you and it   00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:06.080 raining and snowing and everything. You've got a  reliable place that always is climate controlled,   00:05:06.080 --> 00:05:10.080 that knows what they're doing, and that we're  going to give you the skills to have a better   00:05:10.080 --> 00:05:15.600 life together with your dog year-round. So give  me a sneak peek into the curriculum and kind of   00:05:15.600 --> 00:05:20.880 how you guys do that because I think I'm just  I'm curious to see because you know dog training   00:05:20.880 --> 00:05:28.160 generally speaking as a broad term is something  that hasn't you know it's historically not   00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:32.720 brick-and-mortar-based as as you kind of alluded  to and you guys are really taking a bit of a   00:05:32.720 --> 00:05:37.600 different spin to it but you guys have definitely  caught fire quite a bit because of it and I think   00:05:37.600 --> 00:05:42.320 I personally believe just anecdotally that it's  probably the right direction to go because I   00:05:42.320 --> 00:05:47.280 think it must seem stickier to me but talk  to me a bit about the curriculum and why you   00:05:47.280 --> 00:05:51.440 know when a franchisee is looking at this  you know it would be worth the investment   00:05:51.440 --> 00:05:56.720 of having a brick and mortar to be training the  people behind the dogs and the dogs themselves   00:05:57.440 --> 00:06:02.640 versus just doing it in the park as you mentioned.  I'll answer it in reverse. Why they should do it   00:06:02.640 --> 00:06:07.520 from an investment is they should just look at  our Item 19 which is as detailed as you can find.   00:06:07.520 --> 00:06:12.640 And so you're seeing that our stores have a  40% profit margin. And you look at the net   00:06:12.640 --> 00:06:19.120 profits that we report. Even the stores that are  brand new are hitting last year 27% net profit   00:06:19.120 --> 00:06:24.960 margin in their first year. And you look at the  lifetime revenue from customers who come back.   00:06:25.920 --> 00:06:30.720 If you go on our website and you pick a location  you'll see leaderboards of just how many classes   00:06:31.520 --> 00:06:37.120 dogs have attended in the last year. And as people  come in, it changes that anchoring point. They'll   00:06:37.120 --> 00:06:42.160 see that like way down on the leaderboard  dogs who are coming 60 times in just the   00:06:42.160 --> 00:06:46.880 last year – that's more than once a week – and  it really shows that we've broken that model,   00:06:46.880 --> 00:06:52.080 and you can see that we are able to guarantee  that. Take any other pet business and what do   00:06:52.080 --> 00:06:57.120 you have? A drop-off. When you drop your dog or  your child off somewhere and you go pick it up;   00:06:57.120 --> 00:07:01.120 your expectation is you kind of pick  up your dog the same way you left it;   00:07:01.120 --> 00:07:06.320 you have everything to lose as the business owner.  If you don't return that dog in exactly the right   00:07:06.320 --> 00:07:11.840 shape and form and all of that then you have  very negative expectations. For us, people come   00:07:11.840 --> 00:07:17.760 in with a dog, a puppy they've just gotten, a dog  they've just rescued, and when they come in and   00:07:17.760 --> 00:07:23.840 they spend time with their dog and the trainers  in this positive environment, they have positive   00:07:23.840 --> 00:07:30.400 experiences. So for us, we have a sky-high ability  to delight customers instead of being afraid of   00:07:30.400 --> 00:07:37.520 all the potential liabilities. So it's really  sticky in that sense. And because of what we can   00:07:37.520 --> 00:07:42.800 do to bring down acquisition cost and drive up  that lifetime revenue, we end up with a pretty   00:07:42.800 --> 00:07:50.000 gorgeous Item 19 and our year-over-year growth  you know we report there is you know 10 times   00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:56.080 that of the pet industry itself. Yeah, I mean that  that certainly does speak for itself, and so why   00:07:56.080 --> 00:08:01.200 I mean just talking about the pet industry just  generally and kind of positioning you really as   00:08:01.200 --> 00:08:05.840 you know a thought leader in that because you guys  really are inventing a new category I kind of want   00:08:05.840 --> 00:08:09.520 to take this from two angles. I think the first  one being you know why now? For pets, you know,   00:08:09.520 --> 00:08:14.480 what are what are you hearing? What are you  saying to prospects when they're deciding between   00:08:14.480 --> 00:08:18.240 you know a pet services brand versus you know  food and beverage, you know, what are some of   00:08:18.240 --> 00:08:22.880 the stats or some of the things that you know  you can speak to that might kind of detail why   00:08:23.440 --> 00:08:29.760 getting into a business that has to do with dogs  makes sense as currency? I will say that that in   00:08:29.760 --> 00:08:36.080 the franchising space we haven't really had almost  anyone looking at us and like something in QSR.   00:08:37.520 --> 00:08:42.080 They typically are really focused; they may be  looking at us and elder care, something in that   00:08:42.080 --> 00:08:48.720 services space, but people have probably – they  came to a franchise consultant or they went to   00:08:48.720 --> 00:08:53.520 Google something online or heard about us through  a friend; they have a passion for animals and   00:08:53.520 --> 00:08:59.040 for dogs; and they found us, and no one else is  doing what we're doing. Or, it is a larger-scale   00:08:59.040 --> 00:09:03.680 investor who's going to become a multi-unit, and  they want to see what are the emerging brands   00:09:03.680 --> 00:09:10.480 that have caught fire, have proven financials, and  where there still is so much availability in prime   00:09:10.480 --> 00:09:16.240 territories that they could actually snatch up.  So that's really i think that people are grabbing.   00:09:16.240 --> 00:09:21.920 But the pet space in general: Covid has certainly  driven up dog ownership, and I think an awareness   00:09:21.920 --> 00:09:29.760 of just what a huge – you know, 110 billion plus  dollar industry it is – and so I think there is a   00:09:29.760 --> 00:09:35.840 growing awareness, and any time we start hearing  about depressions and recessions and inflation,   00:09:35.840 --> 00:09:42.000 I think that among savvy investors there's a  common understanding that time and time again the   00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:47.680 pet industry has done very well. There's countless  studies you can find out there about people   00:09:47.680 --> 00:09:52.320 cutting back on coloring their own hair but not  cutting back on taking their dog to the groomer   00:09:52.320 --> 00:09:59.600 and so on down the line. So it's a wonderful,  recession-resistant business. And you know we   00:09:59.600 --> 00:10:07.040 were born during one of them during around  2008-2009 and it I think has a lot of strong   00:10:07.600 --> 00:10:12.960 appeal on the financial side. But when people  come in and they see how much fun it is,   00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:20.560 and just the smiles on everyone's face that it  clearly has a lot of curb appeal that way as well.   00:10:21.280 --> 00:10:28.240 Yeah, I mean the pandemic puppy you know epidemic  or whatever through the pandemic or whatever you   00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:32.160 want to call it really did make a difference  for pet services brands I think that that really   00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:37.360 kind of vaulted the growth and why a lot of M&A  has been starting to happen and why you know the   00:10:37.360 --> 00:10:42.080 interest from a franchise perspective has you  know skyrocketed even in comparison to being   00:10:42.080 --> 00:10:45.840 one of the higher performing categories year  over year over the past five years regardless,   00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:49.840 and before the pandemic. So I think  it's only going to increase. And   00:10:50.400 --> 00:10:54.800 I think that you mentioned something in there  is that when you're kind of diving deeper into   00:10:54.800 --> 00:10:59.120 if you are a pet services brand, you guys are  unique and I think we've talked about that a bit   00:10:59.120 --> 00:11:04.000 today, but how are you educating people of  that? I think that that's really the big thing,   00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:09.040 is that there is a slight barrier because you  guys are inventing a new category and with that   00:11:09.040 --> 00:11:13.520 comes responsibility. Is there any methodology  that you're using from a marketing perspective   00:11:13.520 --> 00:11:18.560 that's really helping to move the needle to  really educate people a little bit more about   00:11:18.560 --> 00:11:22.720 why you guys are different? And not only from a  franchise development perspective, but also from   00:11:22.720 --> 00:11:28.320 a consumer perspective, too? That is such a great  question. I'm really glad you asked it. Because   00:11:28.320 --> 00:11:35.440 you know you identified right away what our secret  plan is in the back room, which is: we have found   00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:42.000 a category that not just in the U.S. but worldwide  has no ownership and even at our current size we   00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:47.200 are in pole position to own an entire  category. There are so many great businesses,   00:11:47.200 --> 00:11:53.200 but very few who are in position to own an entire  category and become absolutely synonymous with   00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:59.120 it. And everything we do is driven to make Zoom  Room synonymous with dog training. So to answer   00:11:59.120 --> 00:12:06.320 your question: in 2020 we came out with our book  on puppy training. I don't even know of another   00:12:06.320 --> 00:12:12.080 franchise that has published a book in their field  of expertise. That was the number one dog training   00:12:12.080 --> 00:12:19.200 book in America in 2020 and continues to bop  around the top two slots right now. That was one   00:12:19.200 --> 00:12:24.880 fantastic way to demonstrate ourselves as thought  leaders. Did we invent puppy training? It's   00:12:24.880 --> 00:12:30.400 positive reinforcement! No! I mean we can't claim  that no one else knows how to train a puppy. We do   00:12:30.400 --> 00:12:36.400 it incredibly well; we do it methodically; and we  do it with so much fun and our own special spin on   00:12:36.400 --> 00:12:42.080 it. But that said, what we are incredibly good  at doing is teaching. And so what people loved   00:12:42.080 --> 00:12:48.160 about the book, it was a little taste of that Zoom  Room experience. No nonsense. No going into long   00:12:48.160 --> 00:12:53.680 anecdotes about "Oh I used to have this dog  and blah." It's just a manual. Here's what   00:12:53.680 --> 00:13:00.480 you do. No nonsense. Very direct. Not getting all  schmaltzy about it. And people really really love   00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:05.440 that. They love to get answers, and they love  to be in a community of other like-minded people   00:13:05.440 --> 00:13:09.440 who are going through the same issues just  like you'd see in a mommy and me group.   00:13:09.440 --> 00:13:15.920 And so something like that book, we followed it  up with a dog training book for kids, and we have   00:13:15.920 --> 00:13:21.040 another one, another brand extension coming out.  Things like that I think really really help to   00:13:21.840 --> 00:13:27.280 position us that way within that world. Yeah, I  mean I think that that's definitely helpful is to   00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:32.880 not only to allow the media to say that you're  a thought leader but also to put the pen in   00:13:32.880 --> 00:13:37.200 your hand and go and write a book. I mean not  everybody has that luxury, I suppose, but I think   00:13:38.480 --> 00:13:43.280 that especially during 2020, which I don't  anticipate you really planned from a timing   00:13:43.280 --> 00:13:47.680 perspective, but i mean or rather I don't  think you planned to have happen what happened,   00:13:47.680 --> 00:13:52.480 but I think it certainly helped that people were  sitting at home, and they were adopting dogs at   00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:57.840 a higher rate than we'd ever seen in the world  ever during that time, so that obviously helped.   00:13:59.360 --> 00:14:05.440 Talk to me a bit more about as it relates  to people and how you guys are trying to   00:14:05.440 --> 00:14:10.400 socialize people and the owners of said dogs  you know how did the pandemic play a role in   00:14:10.400 --> 00:14:15.040 that and how did that really kind of further your  cause because obviously I would imagine it was   00:14:15.040 --> 00:14:19.680 difficult because you guys couldn't have people  come in for the first couple months but then again   00:14:19.680 --> 00:14:24.320 you know they wanted their dogs to be able to get  outside and they wanted to get outside themselves   00:14:24.320 --> 00:14:28.800 and talk to me a bit about how the pandemic may  have played a role in kind of forwarding your   00:14:28.800 --> 00:14:35.200 methodology of you know socializing people in  addition to the dogs that they own. We were   00:14:35.200 --> 00:14:40.800 incredibly fortunate. There's no other way to  say it. When we started Zoom Room, if you had   00:14:40.800 --> 00:14:45.200 come in when we first started the first thing you  would have learned is what we call "the six foot   00:14:45.200 --> 00:14:50.240 rule," not because we have a crystal ball and we  knew that the pandemic was coming years later, but   00:14:50.240 --> 00:14:56.080 that's the length of an average dog leash. And so  every Zoom Room is literally built to spec around   00:14:56.080 --> 00:15:01.680 the concept of small group classes in a space that  gives you enough room to run a full agility course   00:15:01.680 --> 00:15:08.080 while keeping six foot distance from every  other person there. And we specialize, all the   00:15:08.080 --> 00:15:14.880 veterinarians in town know to send puppies to Zoom  Room because we train puppies who don't yet have   00:15:14.880 --> 00:15:20.480 all their vaccinations. We have all of the right  procedures for sanitation with hospital-grade   00:15:20.480 --> 00:15:26.320 germicides down, so that they have a safe place  to come and do that. We don't schedule them like   00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:30.320 right after an adult dog class or anything;  they're in the first thing in the morning.   00:15:30.320 --> 00:15:36.400 And so we had all of the tools to handle Covid  there. And the people who knew us, they already   00:15:36.400 --> 00:15:43.760 knew that even though this is – we're talking a  3,000 square foot facility – it feels very open   00:15:43.760 --> 00:15:49.600 and lots of space inside. So the moment that state  by state we were allowed to be open, people were   00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:56.880 very comfortable coming in. And adding masks was  the only real special change we had to make to the   00:15:56.880 --> 00:16:04.400 business. Otherwise we were already ready to go.  Very lucky. The six foot rule before there even   00:16:04.400 --> 00:16:09.600 was a six foot rule for people was definitely...  – We even had the signs already printed from from   00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:15.360 a decade earlier! But actually I would say the  biggest difference was on the economic side – the   00:16:16.080 --> 00:16:20.480 great resignation or whatever they're calling  it, the instability of financial markets.   00:16:21.520 --> 00:16:27.200 What really changed was the flood of our  development pipeline. I mean we went into 2020   00:16:27.200 --> 00:16:35.840 with nine locations. Today as I'm talking to you  we have 63 total after not that much time of which   00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:41.520 by this summer we'll have 25, and they're  opening fast. We just signed eight more leases   00:16:41.520 --> 00:16:48.560 and so we'll have 25 of them open by this summer.  We should be at 100 by probably at least the fall   00:16:48.560 --> 00:16:56.400 if not late summer in total including the ones  signed but not open and open. And unlike the   00:16:56.400 --> 00:17:02.720 smile of California, Texas, Florida, now we're  opening all through the midwest, the northeast,   00:17:02.720 --> 00:17:09.680 we're in 17 different states, and it is a complete  – I mean our development team we've doubled and   00:17:10.640 --> 00:17:16.480 the demand has just been incredible including  lots of multi-units that I really do think owes a   00:17:16.480 --> 00:17:23.120 great debt to the fact that so many people had to  rethink, "Do I really want to go back to my job?"   00:17:23.120 --> 00:17:28.880 And when we read the applications, they are  so passionate, from people who you know were   00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:32.880 not dog professionals; they were something  completely different, but very impressive,   00:17:33.520 --> 00:17:37.440 and they just don't want to do it anymore,  and they want something that they can own   00:17:37.440 --> 00:17:43.440 and something that can make a real difference in  their community. Yeah, that's amazing growth. I,   00:17:43.440 --> 00:17:47.440 you know, I'm not surprised because I know that  you guys were definitely kind of a bubble that   00:17:47.440 --> 00:17:52.640 was waiting to burst so to speak as it relates to  all those folks that you had in development and I   00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:59.520 suppose you had the time to catch up because the  demand certainly didn't hurt, so you kind of lit   00:17:59.520 --> 00:18:04.320 a fire under your butt a little bit. But I think  that's definitely really cool to hear that you   00:18:04.320 --> 00:18:09.840 guys have kind of reached that point. I want to  ask and go down the technology route for a second   00:18:09.840 --> 00:18:13.680 because it's something that's really the bedrock  of this podcast, and I would be remiss if I didn't   00:18:13.680 --> 00:18:19.680 ask how are you guys using technology to really  gain an edge over other folks, as i'm sure you   00:18:19.680 --> 00:18:24.640 will be getting more entrants getting into  your space eventually because I think that   00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:31.760 there's no better form of flattery than I suppose  repetition or competition. So talk to me a bit   00:18:31.760 --> 00:18:36.000 about how you guys are using technology  to kind of stay nimble and to stay ahead.   00:18:37.280 --> 00:18:42.320 It's one of our greatest strengths. And I  mean we could just do a full tech talk. It   00:18:42.880 --> 00:18:48.480 would make me personally very happy. This  is one of my personal areas of expertise.   00:18:49.360 --> 00:18:54.800 We from the beginning, I mean, if we just go way  back to set the stage, we got lots of national   00:18:54.800 --> 00:18:59.680 and even international press for being the first  business in the world to use an iPad in business.   00:19:01.120 --> 00:19:06.320 That is quite a designation, but you know that's  old but kind of gives a sense of looking ahead.   00:19:07.120 --> 00:19:12.640 Later on we were one of the first businesses to  get rid of flash. Catching up more to the present,   00:19:13.200 --> 00:19:18.880 going back a few years before the first really  major change in Facebook's algorithm, in how the   00:19:18.880 --> 00:19:25.280 feed worked, we had actually anticipated that was  coming six months ahead of time, and we started   00:19:25.280 --> 00:19:32.160 writing our own machine learning algorithm for our  own ad tech that has been a real game changer. All   00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:37.200 of our predictions came true, and we can empower  our franchisees, even brand new ones. Someone   00:19:37.200 --> 00:19:42.960 opening in Orlando or in Arizona where there's  no brand recognition can use this technology to   00:19:42.960 --> 00:19:49.440 within five days, at the most minor spend, have  their entire grand opening weekend packed. We   00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:54.400 just did the same thing again in Reno, Nevada, in  Bakersfield, and all these places where we had no   00:19:55.600 --> 00:20:00.320 real presence. We didn't say, "Oh Zoom Room's  coming to town," but just using our ad tech.   00:20:01.920 --> 00:20:08.480 And the thing I'm most excited about that's coming  up is we've completely overhauled our entire   00:20:08.480 --> 00:20:16.000 franchisee and trainer training program to use  new technologies. Covid of course brought remote   00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:21.600 learning into the worldwide – there's been so many  advancements and although there are so many great   00:20:21.600 --> 00:20:28.240 platforms, we decided to build our own. So we  actually have our own technology for that, and   00:20:28.240 --> 00:20:34.000 that's to me the biggest change that's coming this  year. Wow. Well, I mean I think that we can kind   00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:37.920 of just go right into it you know what else you  guys have planned for the rest of the year that's   00:20:37.920 --> 00:20:41.760 really exciting. I know you mentioned openings.  I know you mentioned some new tech you're rolling   00:20:41.760 --> 00:20:46.560 out. Anything else that you haven't mentioned that  we want to get into kind of in conclusion here?   00:20:47.680 --> 00:20:52.000 The training one is actually I think worth  saying a little more about because I think   00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:56.720 this is something for people listening that are  in totally different fields, the one thing we all   00:20:56.720 --> 00:21:04.400 have is the need to train new franchisees or  to train new employees and that I thought was   00:21:04.400 --> 00:21:10.240 what we were the best at was training people to be  dog trainers to train owners to train their dogs.   00:21:10.240 --> 00:21:15.280 And it just was this wonderful thing. But when  it was all in person you know you maybe would   00:21:15.280 --> 00:21:20.160 come to training today, and then by the time your  build-out's done and you open, you want to go back   00:21:20.160 --> 00:21:25.760 and relive that, but it's not there, or you know  you maybe wanted to bring your dog to come be part   00:21:25.760 --> 00:21:32.640 of training but it was a little distracting. So by  taking all of our assets and making it searchable,   00:21:32.640 --> 00:21:37.680 accessible, something you can go back, something  when you hire your own trainers in the future they   00:21:37.680 --> 00:21:43.520 can go through the same thing, and everything is  right there at your disposal. It's really improved   00:21:43.520 --> 00:21:50.000 that learning experience and works – I mean of  course it also scales infinitely – but our ability   00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:57.120 to nimbly extend and provide continuing education  and streamline that onboarding in that richer way,   00:21:57.840 --> 00:22:03.680 I'd say that's the one thing I'm most excited  about besides opening all these new stores. Yeah,   00:22:03.680 --> 00:22:07.520 you have quite a few that you're going to be  opening this year, hopefully some in Chicago to   00:22:07.520 --> 00:22:13.360 come, because I know I have a lot of friends who  will love that. We do! We've got Chicago coming,   00:22:13.360 --> 00:22:20.960 and all up around you know into Wisconsin  and Michigan and Ohio. And right in Chicago.   00:22:21.520 --> 00:22:26.000 Very nice. Well, I'm certainly looking forward  to it. I have many friends that would love to   00:22:26.000 --> 00:22:31.120 tucker out their dogs a little bit by letting  her at one of your locations. And you know,   00:22:31.120 --> 00:22:35.360 Mark, I really appreciate you hopping on today for  a little bit just to talk to us a little bit more.   00:22:35.360 --> 00:22:39.040 For folks who are interested in learning a bit  more about Zoom Room and potentially becoming   00:22:39.040 --> 00:22:45.520 a franchisee, where can they go to learn a little  bit more about that? zoomroom.com. And if you want   00:22:45.520 --> 00:22:51.600 to jump right to the page, zoomroom.com/franchise.  Awesome. Well, I love to hear it. I'm going to ask   00:22:51.600 --> 00:22:56.720 you one more question before we go. You know the  pet services space obviously has been getting   00:22:56.720 --> 00:23:01.920 a lot more popular as we've kind of hinted at.  Any new trends that you kind of have your finger   00:23:01.920 --> 00:23:08.560 on the pulse of, that you think might be coming to  fruition at some point in the next couple years as   00:23:08.560 --> 00:23:15.200 it relates to the pet services space? I think a  backlash. A negative one. I think the – clearly,   00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:21.360 you and I share a love of technology and a love  of dogs. And I think there is misspent energy   00:23:21.360 --> 00:23:27.360 in trying to to abruptly bridge those two,  that they belong together. People ask me   00:23:27.360 --> 00:23:34.400 where will Zoom Room be in the metaverse? Even  though I am a technologist, I am someone who   00:23:34.400 --> 00:23:41.360 believes the Zoom Room to be future proof, because  the difference between dogs and humans is dogs   00:23:41.360 --> 00:23:46.880 absolutely require socialization; they require the  physical presence of other dogs; and they require   00:23:46.880 --> 00:23:56.880 the sense of smell. And there is no Peloton or  Zoom version of truly having your dog become a   00:23:56.880 --> 00:24:02.160 great member of your family, able to go to your  work with you, go to dog-friendly pubs and trips,   00:24:02.160 --> 00:24:07.760 without having an actual place where you don't  have to depend on the weather, anything like that,   00:24:07.760 --> 00:24:13.147 where you can be physically in presence. The UK  just came out with a great research study by van   00:24:13.147 --> 00:24:18.640 der Linden last month where they looked at  how dystopic and unhappy dog owners were by   00:24:18.640 --> 00:24:24.480 the use of some of these so-called technologies  to remote treat your dog, remote train your dog.   00:24:24.480 --> 00:24:30.720 The ones that people loved were like things that  make picking up poop easier. So yay on picking   00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:36.960 up poop using technology to improve that, but when  you try to get a machine or an app to stand in for   00:24:36.960 --> 00:24:41.760 the human-animal bond, you're missing the whole  point on why we have dogs in the first place.   00:24:41.760 --> 00:24:46.880 And so I think some of the technologies  being leveraged in the pet services space   00:24:46.880 --> 00:24:55.040 will get rejected by some of the early adopters as  being dystopic. Very interesting. I appreciate the   00:24:55.040 --> 00:25:00.560 parting words. I was honestly just curious to  just to hear it. I always have an opinion! So   00:25:00.560 --> 00:25:04.720 happy to answer! Well good. Well, Mark, we really  appreciate you hopping on and for folks that do   00:25:04.720 --> 00:25:08.400 want to listen to more episodes just like the  one we just had with Mark here from Zoom Room,   00:25:09.520 --> 00:25:12.960 please check out all and really anywhere  that you listen to podcasts. It's M-O-D-R-N   00:25:13.760 --> 00:25:19.040 Business. That's Modrn Business. M-O-D-R-N.  Folks, thanks so much for listening. And Mark,   00:25:19.040 --> 00:25:28.840 thank you again for another awesome episode  and looking forward to coming back to   00:25:39.200 --> 00:25:39.930 you very very soon.