When it comes to construction, David Bitan has done it all. He’s worked in heating, ventilation, air conditioning, kitchen remodeling, solar roofs and more, he said. His newest venture is Bumble Roofing, which Empower Brands, the home services umbrella company, acquired this month.
With only one open territory, Bumble Roofing is the first independent roofing company to have acquired Empower Brands since its inception last year. Bumble serves the Southern California region. Bitan co-founded the AID Home Remodeling brand, which he sold to a private buyer in 2019.
This acquisition makes Bumble the 10th brand for Empower, following Lynx Franchising’s acquisition of Outdoor Living Brands in 2021. In April, Empower added Koala Insulation and Wallaby Windows to its portfolio.
“The reason for joining and working with Empower Brands is that we can open more territories and locations across the US,” Bitan said.
Other Empower brands include Jan-Pro, Superior Fence & Rail, Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, Intelligent Office, Archadeck Outdoor Living, FRSTeam and Conserva Irrigation.
In March, Empower CEO Scott Zide told the Franchise Times that one of Empower’s goals is to nurture brands by “finding a category that we believe is ripe for franchise and a brand of.” Starting from scratch, perhaps taking over a local, company-owned operation and building. “the franchise all around” and using it as a “pilot site”.
Bitan founded Bumble in 2019. He has been involved in franchising for about a year and a half and originally intended to hire a third party to handle it. He found out about Empower through a broker last year, and it was “kind of love at first sight,” Bitan said. “They really felt like the best contenders to take this brand to places I wanted it to go, which I just couldn’t do on my own.”
Bitan remains brand president. “I will help the first franchisees get started with training and any help they need,” he said.
His goal for Bumble after the acquisition remains the same as before: “I wanted to be the Tesla of the roofer,” Bitan said. “There are some big names out there that might be big in a state or 10 states, but nobody really has a big national presence.”
Bumble takes a technology-driven sales approach, Bitan said.
“We’re not taking a sell-push approach at all,” he said. “So, everyone who walks through our door – well, everything is online these days, but everyone who visits our website and requests their quote, we know we have no bias.”
Bumble also has a no-pressure philosophy. “We’re really waiting for our customers to come back to us,” he said.
For customers unfamiliar with roofing jobs, Bumble has implemented its version of an Apple Genius Bar, Bitan said.
“These guys are roofing geniuses. They know everything about Bumble and everything about the roofing products we sell,” Bitan said. “They’re basically there to let all of our potential customers know … from the moment they walk in the door.”
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