Ross Franklin was helping struggling gyms stay open when he kept seeing the same gap. People were trying to eat better and the food around them tasted bad or felt untrustworthy.

He did not have the money to open Pure Green. He says the first store took about $500,000. The offer he made to consulting clients was simple: invest in the shop and he would help grow their gyms too.

That first store is what he points to on the way to a chain he says reached dozens of locations, on the order of 75. The episode is about one product line repeated, not a new concept every city.

A store paid for by the client list

On Upflip he walks through raising the first build from people who already paid him for advice. The relationships were the bank.

The store count and the opening cost are his account. The business is a healthy-food counter he could not have funded alone.