Home Industries Business Services URI graduate’s home services business expanding nationally after partnering with major franchise...

URI graduate’s home services business expanding nationally after partnering with major franchise developers

By

Matthew McNulty

-

05/12/2025

Surv — SURV workers in Newport moving furniture as a part of the company’s home services. Surv, started by Little Compton native Patrick Brown while he was attending URI, announced a franchise partnership with Cornerstone Franchise Brands and BrandONE Franchise Development on May 1. / COURTESY OF COREY FAVINO

LITTLE COMPTON – Patrick Brown never expected his college leaf-raking business to become a long-term career. He started Rent Sons in 2010 at the age of 18, trying to make some money to pay for school while studying communications at the University of Rhode Island. A one-person operation, Brown went door-to-door looking for business, usually

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LITTLE COMPTON – Patrick Brown never expected his college leaf-raking business to become a long-term career. He started Rent Sons in 2010 at the age of 18, trying to make some money to pay for school while studying communications at the University of Rhode Island. A one-person operation, Brown went door-to-door looking for business, usually providing services for busy homeowners and seniors who couldn't do their own lawn work. Now 15 years later, his local company now called Surv, which has employed more than 1,000 people in Rhode Island alone and has helped more than 20,000 homeowners in the state, is growing nationally. On May 1, Surv announced a franchise partnership with Cornerstone Franchise Brands and BrandONE Franchise Development, a consulting agency that partners with franchisors to drive sustainable growth. "The business was originally never meant to grow," said Brown. "To go from knocking on doors in my small coastal town, helping seniors with yard work to earn money for college, to now partnering with leaders who've built brands like ServiceMaster, The Home Depot, CertaPro Painters, and Re-Bath–it feels surreal." Brown said the company's growth is the result of a chance encounter five years ago, when he was living out of his van in Newport. "One day, I struck up a conversation with a guy from BrandONE who was doing some franchise development in the area, and he became a mentor of mine," he said. That mentor eventually connected Brown with Cornerstone. "Now, [Surv] is growing into a national movement." Cornerstone, a private equity-backed company that acquires and manages service-oriented franchise brands, initially bought a majority, multi-million-dollar equity interest in Surv in February. Brown said the company began growing from there with four franchises outside Rhode Island - Raleigh, N.C., Grand Rapids, Mich., Nashville, Tenn., and Birmingham, Ala. As a part of the new franchise development partnership, Brown will be stepping down as Surv's CEO and transitioning into a founder position and a member of the company's board of directors. A new CEO is already being vetted amongst "high-level home industry names" to replace him, Brown said. Brown said through this new partnership with BrandONE and Cornerstone, he plans on seeing an additional 10 to 20 Surv franchises open this year. He hopes to have 100 locations by the end of 2026. The partnership with Cornerstone and BrandONE will provide Surv with back office and franchise systems as well as capital and strategic infrastructure, Brown said. What began as a simple door-to-door leaf-raking service, Surv is a now membership-based platform connecting young adults with seniors and homeowners for help around the home, from landscaping and power washing to moving furniture and beyond. Essentially, a work crew would become a Surv franchisee, with the company providing training, uniforms, the name value of the company's brand and more. All franchise workers will be Surv employees and not independent contractors, Brown added. "We're creating a new category in the home service space," he said. "The concept of the business is to be communal. That's why we made Surv into a franchise." Matthew McNulty is a PBN staff writer. He can be reached at McNulty@PBN.com or on X at @MattMcNultyNYC.