Bootstrapped to Over $70M

The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions · Mar 17, 2026 · 35m

Chris Meyer didn't stumble into entrepreneurship—he trained for it. Two and a half years at Ernst & Young, 400 business plans reviewed, and a clear list of criteria for what he wanted. In 2006, he found it: a $5-6 million materials company called Mintech that specialized in turning industrial byproducts into construction and environmental solutions. He was 27, had never worked in the industry, and put everything on the line to buy it.

What happened next sounds insane on paper. Take-or-pay contracts where he paid for materials whether he had buyers or not. Expanding into markets where he had…