Blue Collar Ballers

Tim Lovett is one of the most intriguing new voices in home services — a former WeWork and ResiBrands exec who walked away from corporate success to help build America’s #1 artificial turf brand. Today, Waterloo Turf is expanding nationally with 36 territories, elite unit economics, and a playbook built on speed, stewardship, and the “Groundhog Day Principle.”

In this episode, Tim breaks down the rise of Waterloo Turf, why artificial turf is one of the most overlooked opportunities in home services, and how he’s building a national brand in a category no one else saw coming. From faith and family to risk and reinvention, Tim shares the story behind launching a premium turf franchise that’s quietly becoming one of the fastest-growing concepts in the country.

00:00 – Intro — Meet Tim Lovett

02:00 – Early influences, family life, and discovering home services

05:30 – The WeWork chapter: innovation, risk, and a career-resetting demotion

09:30 – Why he left corporate to pursue ownership and equity

12:00 – The double date that sparked the Waterloo Turf partnership

14:30 – Why artificial turf is the most overlooked home-service category

17:00 – High-ticket jobs, subcontracted crews & fast cash conversion

19:30 – The “My Pleasure Mindset” and building a true customer experience brand

22:00 – Faith, stewardship, and overcoming fear of failure

25:00 – What he learned scaling franchise operations at Resi Brands

28:00 – Who succeeds as a franchisee (and who doesn’t)

31:00 – The Groundhog Day Principle: three metrics that drive everything

34:00 – Betting big on YouTube and owning the turf category

37:00 – Waterloo Turf’s national vision and what’s coming next

Connect with: Tim Lovett

Visit: Waterloo Turf

Meet The Host: Faiez Rana

Brought to you by: Offshore Launch 

We help home-service & trades companies (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, and more) hire elite offshore operators and build delegation systems that scale.

Roles we place for trades

• Executive Assistant / GM Assistant — calendar & inbox control, vendor/contractor management, KPI dashboards, CRM hygiene
• Production Coordinator — job staging, materials ordering, permits/inspections, sub scheduling, close-out packs
• Payroll & Bookkeeping — timecards, payroll runs, AR follow-up, QBO reconciliation, job costing
• Dispatch & CSR — after-hours answering, chat, call booking, capacity-based scheduling
• Service Coordinator — ServiceTitan / Housecall Pro / FieldEdge boards, technician routing, data hygiene
• Marketing Ops — reviews, CRM upkeep, offer calendars, PPC/social coordination

What we do

• Pre-vetted, full-time offshore talent matched to your role
• Role scorecards, SOP templates, and 30/60/90 onboarding plans
• Trained to leverage AI + SOPs so owners get out of low leverage tasks and back on growth

Ready to buy back your time with a virtual assistant and redeploy payroll to field techs who drive revenue?

👉 Learn more at Offshore Launch

Rick Maffezzoli has seen every angle of the franchise world — as a gym owner, consultant, and multi-unit operator. After three business exits, including sales to Gold’s Gym and Palm Beach Tanning, he’s now building a franchise portfolio with his wife Lisa. In this episode, Rick shares hard-earned lessons from 30 years of wins, losses, and comebacks — and what it really takes to build wealth through franchising.

00:00 – Intro — Meet Rick Maffezzoli

02:00 – Life at Home: Boston Terriers, Family, and Early Lessons

09:30 – Rick’s Kids, Career Beginnings, and the First Spark of Entrepreneurship

16:00 – Starting Out in consulting and the Leap into Gym Ownership

18:30 – Building His First Gym in Baltimore in the 1990s

20:15 – What the Fitness Industry Looked Like Before Planet Fitness

22:00 – The Expansion Mistake: Opening a Second Gym Too Fast

25:00 – Selling Both Gyms to Gold’s Gym — and What He Learned About Acquisitions

27:30 – Joining Gold’s Gym Corporate: Inside the Franchise Consultant Role

31:00 – The Tan Company Era — Recurring Revenue and a Smaller Box Model

33:30 – How He Sold His Tanning Salon to Palm Beach Tanning at 2x EBITDA

36:00 – 2017: When the Landlord Went Bankrupt and the Bank Took Over

38:30 – Selling His Membership Base to Planet Fitness

40:30 – The 24-Hour Rule for Handling Business Setbacks

43:00 – Updating His Résumé for the First Time in 20 Years

45:00 – Why Working for Someone Else Never Felt Right

47:00 – Convincing His Wife to Leave Corporate and Start a Franchise Together

50:00 – Launching Fitness Machine Technicians in 2019 — and Then COVID Hit

55:00 – Pivoting from Commercial to Residential Clients During the Pandemic

59:00 – Learning to Work with His Spouse (and Why It Works)

1:03:00 – The Power of Relationships in Business Deals

1:07:30 – Discovering Virtual Assistants and the Value of Delegation

1:10:00 – The Dumbest Thing He Ever Spent Money On (Hint: a Yellow Hummer)

1:14:00 – What He Wishes He’d Known About People, Profit, and Growth

1:18:00 – Discovering the Trades and the Power of Low-Capex Franchises

1:21:00 – Why He Chose Pink’s Window Services (and What’s Next in 2026)

1:26:00 – His Blueprint for Scaling and Hiring the Right GM

1:31:00 – Favorite Gym Equipment — and His Functional Training Philosophy

1:35:00 – Closing Thoughts: 30 Years, Three Exits, and the Real Franchise Lessons

Connect with Rick. 

Visit: Fitness Machine Technicians 

Meet Your Host: Faiez Rana

Brought to you by: Offshore Launch

We help home-service & trades companies (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, and more) hire elite offshore operators and build delegation systems that scale.

Roles we place for trades

• Executive Assistant / GM Assistant — calendar & inbox control, vendor/contractor management, KPI dashboards, CRM hygiene
• Production Coordinator — job staging, materials ordering, permits/inspections, sub scheduling, close-out packs
• Payroll & Bookkeeping — timecards, payroll runs, AR follow-up, QBO reconciliation, job costing
• Dispatch & CSR — after-hours answering, chat, call booking, capacity-based scheduling
• Service Coordinator — ServiceTitan / Housecall Pro / FieldEdge boards, technician routing, data hygiene
• Marketing Ops — reviews, CRM upkeep, offer calendars, PPC/social coordination

What we do

• Pre-vetted, full-time offshore talent matched to your role
• Role scorecards, SOP templates, and 30/60/90 onboarding plans
• Trained to leverage AI + SOPs so owners get out of low leverage tasks and back on growth

Ready to buy back your time with a virtual assistant and redeploy payroll to field techs who drive revenue?

👉 Learn more at Offshore Launch

Florida-based entrepreneur Angelica Negrete shares how she turned Royal Gardens FL from a side hustle with no truck or equipment into a seven-figure landscaping company—and how she’s redefining what it means to be a woman leading in the trades.

We cover what it really takes to build a reputation-driven business in a male-dominated industry: how Angelica’s obsession with learning helped her go from immigrant and bank employee to business owner, why she chooses integrity over “race-to-the-bottom” pricing, and how systems and transparency became her foundation for scaling.

Angelica opens up about rebuilding her life after her husband’s kidnapping in Colombia, finding purpose through work, and using discipline, education, and faith to build a company that does things right—not fast.

What you’ll learn

• How Angelica grew Royal Gardens FL into a seven-figure landscaping firm rooted in reputation and trust

• Why doing things right—even when it costs more—became her unfair advantage

• How women in the trades can earn respect without losing themselves

• The systems, software, and processes that separate profitable landscaping companies from chaotic ones

• How faith, discipline, and purpose fueled Angelica’s reinvention and success

  
  

  Chapters
  00:00 From Colombia to Florida: rebuilding after tragedy
  10:00 Starting Royal Gardens with no truck, no equipment, and $5K
  20:00 Turning reputation into recurring revenue
  30:00 Saying no to bad-fit clients and “race-to-the-bottom” pricing
  40:00 Systems, transparency, and the software behind growth
  50:00 What women in the trades need to hear
  01:00:00 Faith, family, and doing things right—not fast

  
  

  
  

  Connect with Angelica.

  Visit: Royal Gardens

  At Royal Gardens, we provide professional landscaping solutions for both commercial and residential properties across South Florida.

  
  

  Meet Your Host: Faiez Rana

  Brought to you by: Offshore Launch

  
  

  We help home-service & trades companies (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, and more) hire elite offshore operators and build delegation systems that scale.

  Roles we place for trades

  • Executive Assistant / GM Assistant — calendar & inbox control, vendor/contractor management, KPI dashboards, CRM hygiene

  • Production Coordinator — job staging, materials ordering, permits/inspections, sub scheduling, close-out packs

  • Payroll & Bookkeeping — timecards, payroll runs, AR follow-up, QBO reconciliation, job costing

  • Dispatch & CSR — after-hours answering, chat, call booking, capacity-based scheduling

  • Service Coordinator — ServiceTitan / Housecall Pro / FieldEdge boards, technician routing, data hygiene

  • Marketing Ops — reviews, CRM upkeep, offer calendars, PPC/social coordination

  What we do

  • Pre-vetted, full-time offshore talent matched to your role

  • Role scorecards, SOP templates, and 30/60/90 onboarding plans

  • Trained to leverage AI + SOPs so owners get out of low leverage tasks and back on growth

  Ready to buy back your time with a virtual assistant and redeploy payroll to field techs who drive revenue?

  👉 Learn more at Offshore Launch.

Nebraska-based CEO Tony Hulbert shares how he helped grow Horsepower Brands—a home-service franchising platform spanning nine brands and 400 business owners—from a single $800K roofing startup into a $275 million system in just five years.

We cover what it really takes to build people who build businesses: how Tony’s “all-in” mindset shapes franchise selection, how his seven dimensions of life framework keeps founders from burning out, and why Kaizen and continuous improvement power both his leadership style and the company’s culture.

Tony explains how Horsepower is using AI to reinvent the customer journey, from smart call-center agents to in-home sales coaching tools—and how every innovation ties back to one mission: making a positive impact on entrepreneurship.

What you’ll learn

• How Horsepower Brands scaled from one roofing shop to $275M in system-wide sales

• Why franchise success starts with awarding, not accepting, owners

• The “all-in” mindset that separates top operators from the rest

• How AI is transforming call centers, sales coaching, and the home-service experience

• Tony’s seven-dimension life audit—and how to build a business that serves your life, not the other way around

  
  

Chapters
00:00 From CPA to CEO: Tony’s unconventional path to franchising
06:00 Building Horsepower Brands and scaling to $275M
13:00 Awarding vs. accepting: how to pick the right franchise owners
21:00 The all-in mindset and resilience as a success factor
28:30 The seven dimensions of life: balancing growth and meaning
38:45 Kaizen, continuous improvement, and building better leaders
49:10 AI and the future of the home-service customer journey
59:30 Leaving a positive impact on entrepreneurship

Connect with Tony.

Visit HorsePower Brands.

At HorsePower Brands®, we empower entrepreneurs to achieve their goals by simplifying business ownership. Our brands are built on the foundation of successful home service companies.

Meet Your Host: Faiez Rana

Brought to you by Offshore Launch.

We help home-service & trades companies (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, and more) hire elite offshore operators and build delegation systems that scale.

Roles we place for trades

• Executive Assistant / GM Assistant — calendar & inbox control, vendor/contractor management, KPI dashboards, CRM hygiene

• Production Coordinator — job staging, materials ordering, permits/inspections, sub scheduling, close-out packs

• Payroll & Bookkeeping — timecards, payroll runs, AR follow-up, QBO reconciliation, job costing

• Dispatch & CSR — after-hours answering, chat, call booking, capacity-based scheduling

• Service Coordinator — ServiceTitan / Housecall Pro / FieldEdge boards, technician routing, data hygiene

• Marketing Ops — reviews, CRM upkeep, offer calendars, PPC/social coordination

What we do

• Pre-vetted, full-time offshore talent matched to your role

• Role scorecards, SOP templates, and 30/60/90 onboarding plans

• Trained to leverage AI + SOPs so owners get out of low leverage tasks and back on growth

Ready to buy back your time with a virtual assistant and redeploy payroll to field techs who drive revenue?

👉 Learn more at Offshore Launch

Austin-based entrepreneur Ashleigh Barcuch shares how she and her husband built Mobile Auto Clinic, a $1.2 million hybrid shop and mobile-mechanic fleet redefining what it means to serve customers—and each other—in the automotive trades.

We cover the real human side of running a business with your spouse: growing up together in the trades, turning crisis management into a culture advantage, and transforming repair work from a dreaded errand into an experience built on empathy, trust, and genuine connection. Ashleigh explains how handwritten notes, VIN-birthday surprises, and deep vendor relationships replaced paid ads—and why humility, not hustle, has been the secret to long-term growth.

What you’ll learn

• How a Round Rock couple turned driveway repairs into a $1.2 M shop and mobile-fleet operation

• The Doer vs. Fixer mindset that keeps their marriage—and business—balanced

• Why automotive repair is really the crisis-management business

• How to build referral momentum through trust, culture, and “surprise-and-delight” touches

Former IT security consultant, Randy Hurtado, shares how an unexpected career pivot led him from a job in IT to co-owning DT Companies—a $30M roofing and construction group—and now serving as COO of The Good Contractors List, a nationwide platform protecting homeowners with a $25,000 job guarantee.

We cover the inflection points that shaped his path: from early faith and family struggles to building a referral-driven sales engine, scaling through moral-character hiring, and multiplying into multiple trades. Randy explains how values, relationships, and culture—not just lead gen—turned DT Roofing into a regional powerhouse.

What you’ll learn

• How a 24-year IT career ended overnight—and why Randy chose roofing as his second act

• The referral playbook that turned realtors and insurance agents into a “secret salesforce”

• Why he stopped selling as the #1 rep and tripled company revenue by training others

• Building multiple businesses (gutters, garage doors, construction) without diluting brand trust

• How moral character beats prior roofing experience in building a high-performing sales team

• The Good Contractors List model: vetting, guarantees, and why it’s scaling nationwide

Chapters
00:00 From the barrio to business: Randy’s early story
08:20 IT career, Texas move, and an unexpected pivot
16:40 Joining DT Roofing: first deals and early lessons
23:30 The referral system: realtors, insurance agents, and $6.5M in a month
32:10 Scaling past burnout: leaving sales to grow leaders
40:00 Building new companies: gutters, garage doors, construction
48:30 Culture, turnover, and why values drive revenue
55:45 The Good Contractors List: protecting homeowners at scale
1:02:00 Faith, family, and entrepreneurship as legacy

Connect with Randy:

Linkedin: Randy Hurtado

Website: Good Contractors List

Host: Faiez Rana

Brought to you by Offshore Launch.

We help home-service & trades companies (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, and more) hire elite offshore operators and build delegation systems that scale.

Roles we place for trades

• Executive Assistant / GM Assistant — calendar & inbox control, vendor/contractor management, KPI dashboards, CRM hygiene

• Production Coordinator — job staging, materials ordering, permits/inspections, sub scheduling, close-out packs

• Payroll & Bookkeeping — timecards, payroll runs, AR follow-up, QBO reconciliation, job costing

• Dispatch & CSR — after-hours answering, chat, call booking, capacity-based scheduling

• Service Coordinator — ServiceTitan / Housecall Pro / FieldEdge boards, technician routing, data hygiene

• Marketing Ops — reviews, CRM upkeep, offer calendars, PPC/social coordination

What we do

• Pre-vetted, full-time offshore talent matched to your role

• Role scorecards, SOP templates, and 30/60/90 onboarding plans

• Trained to leverage AI + SOPs so owners get out of low leverage tasks and back on growth

Ready to buy back your time with a virtual assistant and redeploy payroll to field techs who drive revenue?

👉 Learn more at Offshore Launch.

Former commercial banker Greg Bruns shares how he used entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA) to buy Allied Hydro Mulch—a Houston-based erosion control and hydromulching/hydroseeding subcontractor—and what he’s learned operating in the construction trades.

We cover the real day-to-day after the deal: cash conversion cycles, net-30 realities, seasonality, keeping crews busy, and why he’s leaning toward a second acquisition to scale faster than organic growth.

What you’ll learn

• How a W-2 banker used SBA financing to acquire a million-revenue blue-collar business

• Why erosion control (not landscaping) can carry strong margins—and the Texas sales-tax nuance owners should know

• Managing AR, AP, payroll, and vendors when checks get “lost in the mail”

• When to buy vs. build: the case for buying a competitor to double capacity, customers, and equipment

• Hiring your first virtual assistant (VA) to tighten invoicing, collections, and back-office ops

• The deeper “why”: exposing kids to entrepreneurship and creating optionality without a four-year degree

  
  

Chapters
00:00 Banking to business owner: the mindset shift
08:50 Discovering ETA: podcasts, books, and the first search
20:20 The Allied Hydro Mulch deal: size, structure, and fit
29:00 What erosion control actually is (and isn’t)
35:30 The hardest part: cash flow & the net-30 chain
43:45 Sales motion: recurring customers without recurring revenue
46:40 Scale strategy: organic growth vs. acquisition
51:10 Legacy, family, and why blue-collar work matters

Connect with Greg
LinkedIn: Greg Bruns
Website: Allied Hydromulch

Host: Faiez Rana

Brought to you by Offshore Launch: We help home-service & trades companies (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, and more) hire elite offshore operators and build delegation systems that scale.

Roles we place for trades

• Executive Assistant / GM Assistant — calendar & inbox control, vendor/contractor management, KPI dashboards, CRM hygiene

• Production Coordinator — job staging, materials ordering, permits/inspections, sub scheduling, close-out packs

• Payroll & Bookkeeping — timecards, payroll runs, AR follow-up, QBO reconciliation, job costing

• Dispatch & CSR — after-hours answering, chat, call booking, capacity-based scheduling

• Service Coordinator — ServiceTitan / Housecall Pro / FieldEdge boards, technician routing, data hygiene

• Marketing Ops — reviews, CRM upkeep, offer calendars, PPC/social coordination

What we do

• Pre-vetted, full-time offshore talent matched to your role

• Role scorecards, SOP templates, and 30/60/90 onboarding plans

• Trained to leverage AI + SOPs so owners get out of low leverage tasks and back on growth

Ready to buy back your time with a virtual assistant and redeploy payroll to field techs who drive revenue?

👉 Learn more at  Offshore Launch

Thinking of buying a business? Learn exactly how to use SBA 7(a) financing—from LOI to close—with Matthias Smith of Pioneer Capital Advisory.

In this Blue Collar Ballers episode, we go step-by-step on how to buy a business with an SBA loan. Guest Matthias Smith, founder of Pioneer Capital Advisory, breaks down SBA acquisition financing—from securing term sheets to underwriting, closing checklists, timelines, and pitfalls first-time buyers miss.

You’ll learn:

• SBA 7(a) basics: who lends (banks) vs. what SBA guarantees, typical spreads, and why banks can be stricter than SBA rules.

• Qualifications that win approvals: target 680+ credit, six-figure liquidity, credible P&L/people leadership, and post-close cash buffers.

• Deal math & working capital: sources/uses, lines of credit, seller WC, and how much cash cushion to keep after closing.

• Process & timeline: engagement → data room → term sheets → underwriting (≈3–3.5 weeks) → closing; typical cradle-to-grave average ≈ 78 days (~11 weeks) with best cases near 6–8 weeks.

• Sourcing & equity realities: why finding the right business and raising equity are often harder than the loan itself.

• Broker vs. bank direct: what a specialized SBA loan broker actually does, how they’re paid (by banks post-close), and how lender “personality fit” impacts speed.

• Risk & fall-throughs: where deals die (working capital, reps & warranties, timelines) and how to de-risk.

• Action plan for “acquisition-curious” operators: what to build in the next 24–36 months to become a bankable buyer.

Who this is for:
First-time buyers, searchers, and operator-owners exploring SBA business acquisition loans, plus roll-up/add-on acquirers who want faster, cleaner closes.

Guest:
Matthias Smith, Founder & CEO, Pioneer Capital Advisory — former SBA bank closer turned broker; team of analysts and closers helping buyers go from LOI to funded with minimal friction.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro & what Pioneer Capital Advisory does
03:20 From bank closer to SBA broker—why the leap
07:44 The “oh-wow” moment of going out on your own
09:14 First revenue & early traction
12:48 Hardest parts: sourcing deals & raising equity
13:55 Pre-reqs: 680+ credit, six-figure liquidity, P&L leadership
16:58 Post-close cash buffer & working capital
18:41 How to prepare 2–3 years out to be bankable
20:55 Corporate vs. small-biz management experience
24:29 The end-to-end loan process & term sheets
34:59 Average timeline: ~78 days from engagement to close
37:31 The closing “team sport” and roles
39:07 Top SBA misconceptions & expectations to set
43:22 Biggest lessons from messy and smooth deals
48:28 Building a scalable broker team & systems
52:24 Where to find Matthias / Pioneer Capital

Host: Faiez Rana

Brought to you by Offshore Launch: We help home-service & trades companies (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, and more) hire elite offshore operators and build delegation systems that scale.

Roles we place for trades

• Executive Assistant / GM Assistant — calendar & inbox control, vendor/contractor management, KPI dashboards, CRM hygiene

• Production Coordinator — job staging, materials ordering, permits/inspections, sub scheduling, close-out packs

• Payroll & Bookkeeping — timecards, payroll runs, AR follow-up, QBO reconciliation, job costing

• Dispatch & CSR — after-hours answering, chat, call booking, capacity-based scheduling

• Service Coordinator — ServiceTitan / Housecall Pro / FieldEdge boards, technician routing, data hygiene

• Marketing Ops — reviews, CRM upkeep, offer calendars, PPC/social coordination

What we do

• Pre-vetted, full-time offshore talent matched to your role

• Role scorecards, SOP templates, and 30/60/90 onboarding plans

• Trained to leverage AI + SOPs so owners get out of low leverage tasks and back on growth

Ready to buy back your time with a virtual assistant and redeploy payroll to field techs who drive revenue?
👉 Learn more at Offshore Launch and book a discovery call.

From Corporate to Blue-Collar Operator: Eric Cunningham shares how he left National Instruments and tech startups to buy a 25-year-old residential plumbing company in Austin, TX.

We unpack acquisition entrepreneurship, the “learning/stupid tax,” and the shift from sales ops and engineering leadership to running a home-services trades business day to day.

Eric gets specific on recruiting and retaining plumbers, building trust and culture in a blue-collar team, improving CSR booking conversion, and growing lead generation beyond word-of-mouth.

We also cover family dynamics, risk tolerance, and why Main Street ownership beats corporate politics.

You’ll learn:

• How to evaluate and buy a plumbing business

• What changes in the first 90 days actually move the P&L

• Tactics for technician hiring, onboarding, and performance

• Turning service calls into long-term customers with education and empathy

If you’re exploring buying a service business or scaling a plumbing company, this episode is your field guide.

Eric's Business: Good Clean Plumbing

Guest: Eric Cunningham

Host: Faiez Rana

Brought to you by Offshore Launch: delegate to elite remote talent with experience in your trade.

What happens when a private equity exec walks away, gets sober, and builds one of the top residential solar companies in America?

In this episode of Blue Collar Ballers, Faiez Rana sits down with Bret Biggart, the Founder & CEO of Freedom Solar — a company that’s grown into a $200M+ powerhouse, ranked #5 residential solar installer in the U.S., and named one of the Best Places to Work in Austin and Houston.

But this isn’t just about solar.
It’s about sobriety, identity, and building a business rooted in trust.

Bret got sober at 35 — the same year he founded Freedom Solar. And what followed wasn’t just professional growth — it was a total transformation in how he leads, makes decisions, and shows up for his people.

If you're building a home service company, navigating leadership in recovery, or simply trying to grow without losing yourself — this episode will speak to you.

Inside, we talk about:

• How to attract and retain top talent

• The power (and pressure) of open book management

• Why letting go of control builds real leadership trust

• Setting goals without getting trapped in outcomes

• Letting go of old identities to scale to new levels

Host: Faiez Rana

Guest: Bret Biggart

Freedom Solar  is a top-rated solar & battery backup provider for homeowners & businesses. Claim $10,000 in solar tax credits before they end in 2025.

Brought to you by Offshore Launch.

Delegate to elite talent with experience in your trade.