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 $180,000 in revenue and reinvested everything else into equipment and people. He scraped, clawed, and grew—slowly and conservatively. The real shift came around 2005 when Jay stopped doing the work and started developing the people who did it. He realized his best value wasn't trimming trees—it was making sure everybody knew exactly what to do. That mindset change took him from a self-employed tradesman to a business owner. By 2013, he was doing $2 million, had no debt, and genuinely didn't want to sell. Then his wife was diagnosed with stage four cancer. That changed everything. Jay sold to a national company, completed a three-year earnout, and walked away. But he wasn't built to sit still. He started consulting blue-collar businesses, then took a GM role at a 50-year landscape company in his hometown—no ownership, just a third of the profits and a chance to follow someone else's vision. Six years later, the business had grown 75%. He's still there, still fulfilled, still building. Here's what we discuss: • Starting from scratch at 29 with no business background and no financial head start • Why he paid himself $36K on $180K in revenue—and why that discipline made the difference • The moment he stopped doing the work and started developing the people who did it • Why people development is your "future ticket" — and what happens when you forget that • The difference between producing work and building a business that does work • How a leader's ability to see five years out changes everything about their day-to-day decisions • Selling at $2M in revenue, debt-free — and why he almost didn't sell at all • His wife's stage four cancer diagnosis and how it changed the calculus entirely • The three-year earnout and what it felt like to let go of his life's work • What he learned about money, ownership, and fulfillment on the other side of the deal Running a blue-collar business? Wondering how to think about value or selling? Iconic Founders Group helps founders like you explore what's next. If you're doing over $2M in profit, check us out at iconicfounders.com or send us a message at theturn@iconicfounders.com. Iconic Links: • Learn More: https://www.iconicfounders.com • Connect: theturn@iconicfounders.com • Production: Lower Street https://lowerstreet.co

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. But then they split.  Jerry took the maintenance side and rolled back to $3 million. He'd admit that he was scared. But he got laser-focused. And from 2012 to 2019, he took the business from 0% recurring revenue to 93%.  He ditched residential entirely, built a "business in a box," and grew to $16.5 million before partnering with Argon Capital. Four years later: 37 locations, 1600 employees, eight states, nearly $200 million in revenue, and best-in-class EBITDA margins. The lesson? Focus and discipline beat chasing shiny objects every time. Here's what we discuss:  • Starting with his brother and why they eventually split  • Rolling back to $3M and being scared to start over  • Going from 0% to 93% recurring revenue  • Why he eliminated the entire residential division in one year  • Building the "business in a box" model  • Joining Vistage and surrounding himself with smarter people  • Why his bank said no—and how he found PE instead  • Partnering with Argon Capital and what they taught him  • The difference between an expense and an investment  • Imposter syndrome at 1600 employees  • Growing from 4 locations to 37 in four years  • Recapitalizing with TruArc Partners  • Why every business should be built to sell Running a blue-collar business? Thinking about selling? Iconic Founders Group helps founders like you explore what's next. If you're doing over $2M in profit, check us out at iconicfounders.com or send us a message at theturn@iconicfounders.com. Iconic Links:  • Learn More: https://www.iconicfounders.com  • Connect: theturn@iconicfounders.com  • Production: Lower Street https://lowerstreet.co

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 Tony led the first sale in 2020, it was doing $62 million. Four years later, after two acquisitions under private equity, they sold again—for $410 million. But this isn't just a growth story. It's a family business story. Three brothers, a father who wanted to treat everyone the same, and years of misalignment that made the success feel hollow. Their best year ever? Everyone was miserable. That's when Tony knew it was time to sell. He pushed for a fiduciary board, hired the best M&A attorney and banker, and signed the purchase agreement two weeks before COVID hit. The family relationships got rough after the first sale. The good news They're better now. But the lesson is clear (and it's a rather common one): you can win the deal and still have wounds to heal. Here's what we discuss:  • How his father—an accountant—bought a $2M manufacturing company  • Growing from $10M to $62M through strategic accounts and speed-to-market  • Working with two brothers and a father—and why alignment was the hardest part  • Setting up a fiduciary board with real governance  • How his father transferred 90% of equity to the kids early  • The moment everyone was miserable after their best year  • Signing the purchase agreement two weeks before COVID  • Staying on as CEO and buying their #2 competitor six months later  • Going from $62M to $130M in four years  • The second exit at $410 million Running a blue-collar business and wondering how to think about value or selling? Iconic Founders Group helps founders like you explore what's next. If you're doing over $2M in profit, check us out at iconicfounders.com or reach out to theturn@iconicfounders.com.

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 to a publicly traded business a few years later. Then he went the private equity route—got backing, bought a 15-person shop, and built it into a national $50 million EBITDA business in under five years. Then he sold it to one of the largest consulting firms in the world. Most founders are obsessed with ownership percentage. Bryan was obsessed with acceleration. He gave away two-thirds of his first company to partners who knew more than he did. He took 5-10% in a PE-backed roll-up because he knew he could build something bigger, faster. He called it "ignorance as a superpower"—jumping before he knew what he was doing, then bringing in the pieces to make it work. Three exits. Each one bigger than the last. And he never owned more than a third of any of them. Running a blue-collar business? Wondering how to think about value or selling? Iconic Founders Group helps founders like you explore what's next. If you're doing over $2M in profit, check us out at iconicfounders.com or send us a message at theturn@iconicfounders.com. Iconic Links:  • Learn More: https://www.iconicfounders.com  • Connect: theturn@iconicfounders.com  • Production: Lower Street https://lowerstreet.co

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 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 no customers. Signing liabilities before he had revenue. But Chris wasn't gambling—he was calculating. Exclusivity clauses before he signed anything. Relationships with suppliers so deep that when 2008 hit and his suppliers went offline, they worked with him instead of against him. He turned crisis into opportunity, figured out logistics on the fly, and kept his customers whole even when it cost him. Sixteen years later, he sold to a strategic partner—a supplier he'd known for over a decade—for $72 million. Majority cash upfront, three-year employment agreement, and a piece of the upside. He and his wife shared part of the exit with the entire team. Now he's reprioritizing: time with family, giving back through the Boys & Girls Club, and staying open to whatever's next. Here's what we discuss: * Growing up with entrepreneurial parents and learning business at the kitchen table * How he reviewed 400 business plans before finding the right one * Buying a $5-6M company at 27 with seller financing and bank debt * Why he did nothing for the first six months after acquiring the business * Take-or-pay contracts: the calculated risk that fueled explosive growth * How the 2008 crisis forced him to expand geographically—and why that was a good thing * Treating suppliers, carriers, and customers all like customers * Building storage infrastructure to smooth out the highs and lows of construction * The oil and gas boom and how customers pulled him into new markets * The two-to-three year courting process that led to the sale * Why he took majority cash instead of rolling equity * Sharing the exit with his team—and why it mattered * Reprioritizing life after the deal: family, community, and what's next Running a blue-collar business? Wondering how to think about value or selling? Iconic Founders Group helps founders like you explore what's next. If you're doing over $2M in profit, check us out at iconicfounders.com or send us a message at theturn@iconicfounders.com. Iconic Links: Learn More: https://www.iconicfounders.com Connect: theturn@iconicfounders.com Production: Lower Street https://lowerstreet.co