Nick Friedman did everything by the books: He went to college, got good grades and set himself up to land an office job after graduation.

Then, a beat-up cargo van turned his plans upside down. The summer before his senior year, he and his best friend borrowed a van and started doing moving jobs. That’s when his venture, College Hunks Hauling Junk (CHHJ), was born.

Nearly two-and-a-half decades later, CHHJ is a multimillion-dollar company with more than 350 franchises nationwide.

As the keynote speaker at ASI Fort Worth, being held at the Fort Worth Convention Center from March 9-11, 2026, Friedman will be sharing his insights on how he built his successful moving truck empire, and why trust and relationship building are key to success.

“Clients want to trust who it is that they’re working with,” he told ASI Media Editor Tara Lerman on an episode of Promo Insiders. “To me, trust is a combination of competency and care, meaning A) is the person that I’m engaging to help me capable of actually helping me? Do they know what the heck they’re doing and talking about? And B) do they actually care about helping me and my business?”

Friedman compares a trusted vendor in business to a primary care doctor in healthcare.

“You may look at WebMD, but you ultimately want to talk to that real-life human with the bedside manner who is going to help talk through your strategy,” he says. “And I think the same holds true in business.”