Shows / The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
You've fought hard for your business. Growth was earned, not given. Maybe you've scaled, maybe you've sold, but who have you become in the process? This isn't another podcast obsessing over multiples and deal structure. We get to the heart of what you're actually going through. Hosted by Kory Mitchell, CEO of Iconic Founders, we sit down with blue-collar business owners who've built something real, businesses like HVAC, landscaping, pest control, construction. These are honest conversations…
Episodes
- The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
She Sold a $129M Company Without Running a Sale Process
Theresa Eaton bought a dusty-diamond electrical distributor, put her own name on the debt, and grew it to a business she describes at roughly $129M. In Part 2…
- The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
She Had Never Run a Company. She Bought One and Grew It From $32M to $129M.
Theresa Eaton spent 14 years in private equity meeting 3,000+ founders. Then she bought one of the businesses herself: a 40-year-old medium voltage cable…
- The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
From 2 Million-Dollar Jobs to Dozens: How He Scaled a Fence Company
In Part Two, Brenden Van Buren picks up where Part One left off: running Pro Max, the commercial fencing company he bought in 2018. He gets candid about his…
- The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
He Left a Billion-Dollar Family Business to Buy a Fence Company
Brenden Van Buren grew up inside a fifth-generation heavy highway construction business that was just shy of $1 billion in sales. By the time he left, he was…
- The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
He Sold in Two Years. He Says He Probably Shouldn’t Have.
Once you take the check, you lose control. Baxter Fain learned that the hard way. He built Trinity One Group from a HELOC and 4:30 a.m. mornings during the…
- The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
He Helped Build a Billion-Dollar Company That Could Run Without Him
Integrating acquisitions under private equity pressure will break an unprepared team. Former Blue Sky CEO Drew Bisping unpacks his journey taking the…
- The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
He joined as employee 20 and scaled it to $1 billion
Scaling a construction business from $10 million to over $1 billion demands ruthless operational discipline. Drew Bisping joined Blue Sky as employee 20 or 21…
- The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
What does it take for a family member to actually earn the top job?
Blood ties don't guarantee business competence. In part two of our conversation, Erik Guggenheim unpacks the messy mechanics of buying out his parents and the…
- The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
He Sold His Parents' Paving Company in 30 Days, Then Called to Tell Them
Family businesses are messy, and adding private equity to the mix often creates a powder keg. Erik Guggenheim shares his journey of scaling his family’s…
- The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
He Sold 40% of His Company but Never Gave Up Control
Hitting $75 million in revenue isn't a finish line; it is a shark tank where companies go to die. Bret Biggart built a massive solar operation, taking it from…
- The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
Stuck at Five Million a Month, He Closed the Deal in a Deer Blind
Hitting rock bottom rarely acts as the blueprint for building a $300 million enterprise. Bret Biggart shares how he used the discipline of addiction recovery…
- The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
His Sale Number Was Fixed Before the Deal Ever Started
Growth can be a silent killer if the systems underneath it crack. When a business scales too quickly, top-line revenue might skyrocket, but profit margins and…
- The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
$500k in Profit. His Dad Said Stop. But He Kept Going.
Being a penny-pincher works on day one, but it will inevitably choke your operations as you scale. In a landscape where well-funded competitors are constantly…
- The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
The Warehouse Lease Details Most Owners Never Think to Fix Before Selling
Selling a business isn't just about a clean balance sheet; sometimes, the dirt sitting underneath your warehouse dictates the terms of the deal. With private…
- The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
Fired From the Family Business, Then He Built the Exit on Purpose
Tying your entire personal identity to a company is the fastest way to lose yourself when the business is gone. In a market where founders are constantly…
- The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
$40M to $90M Twice: His Secret Was Making Himself Replaceable
Stagnation is the silent killer of middle-market businesses. Scaling past the $40 million revenue mark requires a fundamental shift in infrastructure and…
- The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
They Didn't Buy His Customers. They Bought His Culture.
Phil Cooper joined the family pest control business in 1984. He got handed the title of commission-only door-to-door salesman, and went to work. His brother…
- The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
Most Owners Are Terrified to Do This. He Did It Anyway.
Chris Lee's mom called him with a U-Haul in the driveway. He'd already accepted a job in Little Rock. The U-Haul went to Texas instead. He joined his family's…
- The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
They Grew to $40M and Destroyed the Family Doing It
Seth Zeller's dad and uncle started an electrical contracting company in the early eighties on a handshake and a work ethic. No succession plan. No operating…
- The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
12x EBITDA—and Still Regrets Selling
What if you got exactly the number you dreamed of—and it was still the wrong decision? Danny Namerow built Farryn Electric from scratch on lessons his…
- The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
Didn't Want to Sell. Then Life Changed.
Jay Maier started a tree service company in Rochester, Minnesota at 29. No business background. Parents were educators. He paid himself $36,000 a year on…
- The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
Started Over at $3M, Built to $200M
Jerry Schill spent 20 years building a landscaping business with his brother. Design-build, residential, creative work—chasing every shiny object along th way…
- The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
Family Business to $410M Exit
Tony Mallinger joined his family's roofing products manufacturing company in 2001. His dad bought it in the late eighties for about $2 million. By the time…
- The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
15 People to $50M in Profit
Bryan Carruthers started his first company in the middle of the 2008 financial crisis, right after college. A tiny consulting firm called Consilium. He sold it…
- The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
Bootstrapped to Over $70M
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…
- The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
Measure Value, Not Revenue
Tom Heaviland bought a one-truck landscape company with his dad in 1985. They each put up $11,000. Thirty-five years later, he sold it to BrightView—the…
- The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
Two Exits. Totally Different Outcomes.
Kris Birch started working in his dad's lawn and snow business in 2005. Fifteen years later, he sold it to a national brand. The deal looked good on paper, but…
- The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
The Hardest Part Comes After the Exit
Today’s guest is Adam Mopsick. Adam started a construction business in Miami in 1996. Twenty-five years later, he sold it to private equity for life-changing…
- The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
Introducing The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions
Welcome to The Turn. Host Kory Mitchell sits down with blue-collar business owners who've built something real—businesses like HVAC, landscaping, pest control…