Junk King : Junk King Owner of the Year Ed Fogarty Built From One Truck to Three Territories

This Junk King profile features Ed Fogarty, the brand's Franchise Owner of the Year and operator of three territories — Junk King Minneapolis, Junk King St Paul, and Junk King Maple Grove. Fogarty's prior career was as a CFO at a commercial construction company, with an earlier path through a CPA audit role and manufacturing CFO work — a deliberately analytical background. The trigger for ownership is a personally specific moment. In 2011, Fogarty donated a kidney to his sister Mary, and during recovery he had time to research, talk with people, and eventually visit Junk King in San Francisco. He decided he could work with the team, came back, and started with a single truck. A few months later he added a second truck — but he frames the real growth phase as starting in year four when he had enough confidence to add two more. Hiring is the discipline he attributes to the multi-territory growth. He has grown people from inside the company into leadership positions, with daily contact with the crews, mentoring along the way, and constant coaching as the cultural foundation. The brand's marketing infrastructure — websites and lead generation — is something he describes as extremely valuable, especially in the early years. Ten to eleven years in, Fogarty describes being able to take afternoons to watch his daughter play soccer — the lifestyle outcome that the early, harder years have unlocked. His advice to other owners is plain: enjoy the progress, reflect on it even when the year doesn't land exactly where you wanted. This watch page is part of the Junk King content series on Franchise Direct.