Hugues: He Ran a Law Firm. Then Built a $3M-Per-Location Swim School Empire.

He spent 20 years as a business lawyer, went to Australia for a client who backed out, and kept the idea for himself. Ten years later he opened Kids Can Swim in Kanata — six weeks before COVID. They closed and reopened eight times. Today it's three Ottawa locations, 175 team members, thousands of kids a week, and a national expansion plan.

In this conversation: why the pools are shallow and heated to 32°C, the "active learning time" metric that took kids from 4 minutes of practice to 18, how a free trial converts at 67%, the real numbers behind a $3M build-out, EBITDA multiples by location count, and the mentor who asked him "are you going to do it, or just shut up?"

⏱️ Timestamps
00:00 Cold Open
00:38 What Kids Can Swim Actually Is
01:23 Why Swimming Lessons Are Broken in Canada
02:30 Active Learning Time: 4 Minutes vs. 18 Minutes
03:16 The Australia Trip That Started It All
04:23 Opening Six Weeks Before COVID
05:00 Makeup Tokens & the Learning Guarantee
06:40 Twenty Years in Law, Then This
07:00 "It's Been Hell" — the Part Nobody Sees
07:54 Not Knowing Where Payroll Comes From
08:27 The Three Pillars: Mission, Environment, Giving Back
10:34 Systemizing Everything During COVID
11:13 Why This Is a Life Skill (David's Pool Anxiety)
12:00 175 Team Members and 35 Hours of Extra Training
13:47 Researching 100 Swim Schools Worldwide
14:32 The Market: 60 in Canada, 600 in Australia
15:14 "People Thought We Were Completely Nuts"
15:32 $500K Just for the HVAC
16:31 The Demand Was Never the Question (64,000 on a Waitlist)
17:40 Being the Farm Boy of Learn-to-Swim
18:16 De-Risking the First Location
19:36 The Break-Even Math: 70 People a Day = 10 an Hour
21:02 Parents Refer Parents: 30,000 in the Community
23:15 How They Got the First Customers
24:09 The Six-Month Construction Delay (and the Honest Video)
25:00 Facebook Ads, 40,000 Views, and Word of Mouth
26:44 The 67% Free Trial Conversion — and Exactly Why
29:02 The Outsider Advantage
31:01 "Which Business Are We In?" — The Answer He Wants
32:16 Selling Maple Syrup at Seven
33:33 Law in Argentina: The First 20 Minutes Are Personal
34:53 Hazlo = "Do It" in Spanish
35:00 Being a Better Lawyer After Being an Entrepreneur
40:38 What's Next: Barrhaven, Ontario, Quebec
44:51 The Real Estate Parallel: Pay the Debt, Fund the Next One
46:43 EBITDA Multiples by Location Count
48:05 Why 65% of Businesses Break at Three Locations
50:00 "If You Knew How Hard It Was, You'd Never Do It"
51:29 Sensitivity Testing: Can You Survive Losing 30%?
52:42 The Metrics He Watches (Churn, Not Enrollment)
54:14 One Corporation Per Location
56:32 Working With Your Spouse
58:34 Asking Customers What You're Doing Wrong
59:00 The Birthday Email That Changed How He Takes Feedback
01:01:31 The Mentor Who Said "Do It or Shut Up"
01:02:34 "I Was Scared It Wouldn't Work" — Everyone Told Him No
01:06:34 Ottawa's Business Community Is Changing
01:10:14 Ask Customers, Not Advice-Givers
01:11:40 The Sticky Note: "Just Do It"

Connect with Hugues: kidscanswimcanada.com

📬 Get in Touch with David
Instagram: 📸 instagram.com/davidrdinardo
LinkedIn: 💼 linkedin.com/in/davidrdinardo
Website: laidoffto8figures.com
Email: me@daviddinardo.com

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Educational purposes only — not financial, tax, or legal advice.