Parham Parastaran is the founder of Left Lane Auto, an automotive service company operating 40 brands across 90 locations in 20 states. His career began in his family’s Car-X shop while he attended the University of Illinois. He later expanded the business into a 17-location portfolio that included independent tire stores.

After selling the company he had built over 24 years, Parastaran watched nearly every employee leave within a year. That experience shaped his approach to employee retention after acquisition: preserve the local identity, protect established working arrangements, and earn the team’s support before introducing change.

In this episode…

Multi-location operators buy shops for their revenue, reputation, and experienced teams. The first push toward standardization often puts those assets at risk. Pay changes alter household income. Schedule changes disrupt family routines. A fast rebrand removes a familiar name that employees and customers already trust.

Each additional location increases the pressure to impose a single operating model. That is the central challenge behind employee retention after acquisition. Left Lane Auto protects continuity while its leaders learn how each shop works. Operational changes begin after the local team understands the reason and supports the direction.

Parastaran also explains how this philosophy shapes conversations with sellers. Owners receive flexibility in how they exit, remain involved, or retain a financial interest. The business follows strong shops and structures the transition around what keeps each operation stable.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

[01:03] Parham Parastaran and Left Lane Auto

[01:37] Building an automotive career from one family shop

[07:40] Preserving local businesses after an acquisition

[13:16] Lessons from losing a long-standing team

[21:19] Balancing tire sales with mechanical service

[23:27] Evaluating shops and speaking with sellers

[26:10] Structuring flexible transitions for former owners

[27:38] Expanding deal options through Bertram Capital

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Parham Parastaran on LinkedIn
• Left Lane Auto LLC Website
• Tread Partners
• Gain Traction Podcast on YouTube
• Gain Traction Podcast Website
• Mike Edge on LinkedIn

Quotable Moments:

• “It’s the blessing of having nothing, so you have no choice.”
• “You know, you’re going to go backwards when you lose people.”
• “The things that I learned from the failures was that I don’t ever want to put ourselves in a cash position where we’re going back.”
• “We’ll follow good stores.”
• “We’ll find a way to say yes.”

Action Steps:

1. Build an employee retention checklist after an acquisition that records each person’s pay plan, regular schedule, tenure, and responsibilities before the handoff.
2. Pause proposed compensation and scheduling changes until their effects on employees’ lives and store performance are documented.
3. Meet with the store manager and longest-tenured employees to identify the routines, relationships, and local practices customers depend on.
4. Keep the acquired shop’s local name while reviewing its customer recognition and community value with the existing team.
5. Write the former owner’s post-sale role, decision authority, and exit timeline into the transition plan before announcing the acquisition.