Erik Skaalerud

About Erik Skaalerud

I’m an entrepreneur, operator, and business strategist with a career centered on building, scaling, and strengthening businesses in franchising, finance, and customer-driven experiential brands. Over the past two decades, I’ve worked across business finance, franchise development, site strategy, operations, and growth execution. My background began in commercial finance and startup advisory, where I supported more than 1,500 franchisees and business owners with financing, lease negotiations, site selection, working capital strategy, startup planning, and operational best practices. That experience gave me a deep understanding of what separates businesses that simply open from businesses that scale successfully. From there, Wendy and I went on to build and operate businesses ourselves. As Area Developers for Orangetheory Fitness Colorado, we helped grow and support a high-performing regional operation that included 7 owned and operated locations and oversight supporting 12 franchise groups across 30 units during our tenure. Our work focused not only on revenue growth and studio performance, but also on brand consistency, culture transfer, operational refinement, and long-term sustainability. Along the way, we were honored with recognition for top-performing studios and area development leadership within the system. Later, we became owners of the first franchised Big Blue Swim School location in Centennial, Colorado. Under our leadership, the business achieved a presale of 2,400 weekly lessons, became cash-flow positive within its first 30 days, and went on to rank among the top-performing locations in the system. The school operated at approximately $500K EBITDA for three consecutive years, earned the top national position in average weekly lessons and NPS, and was ultimately sold in September 2024. In February 2024, Wendy and I were honored to be recognized by the International Franchise Association as Franchisees of the Year. Today, I’m focused on building Grid City VR — a next-generation entertainment concept designed to merge immersive technology, premium social experiences, and operational excellence into a truly differentiated brand. Grid City represents the next chapter in a career built around identifying opportunity, creating strong business foundations, and delivering experiences people remember. I’m especially passionate about growth strategy, operational excellence, brand development, customer experience, and building businesses that are both financially sound and culturally strong.

Experience

1. Owner

   Capital Lending Solutions, Inc

   Apr 2005 — Present

Education

• University of Denver

  BSBA, Finance, Marketing

  1989 — 1993

Skills

• Marketing
• Strategic Planning
• Franchising
• Customer Service
• Coaching
• Business Planning
• Real Estate
• Team Building
• Sales Management
• Small Business
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Budgets
• Finance
• Business Development
• Financial Analysis
• Negotiation
• Business Strategy
• Due Diligence
• Start-Ups
• Loans
• Leadership
• New Business Development