May 29, 2026

INTERVIEW | Make Money by Scaling Smarter with Richard Harpin

28 minutes

Richard Harpin is the founder and former CEO of HomeServe, the home emergency repair company that grew from a struggling startup into a business that sold for more than $4.1 billion. He’s also the founder of Business Leader and author of How to Make a Billion in 9 Steps. In this episode, Richard shares the hard-earned lessons behind building a billion-dollar company, why copying successful models is underrated, and how entrepreneurs can scale sustainably without losing focus.

On this episode we talk about:

Richard’s first entrepreneurial ventures selling rabbits, fishing flies, and “hookers” earrings

How a frustrating plumbing problem led to the creation of HomeServe

Why “copy and pivot” became Richard’s foundational business strategy

The importance of proving your model before scaling aggressively

Lessons learned from giving up 52% of the company for early funding

How direct mail still outperforms many digital marketing channels

Why recurring revenue and customer retention drove explosive growth

Expanding internationally while staying true to the core business model

The operational systems that helped HomeServe scale successfully

Why entrepreneurs should focus on evolution instead of revolution

Building a personal brand as a founder and business leader

The value of curiosity, mentorship, and peer groups in scaling companies

Top Takeaways:

Start small and start early — every business attempt teaches valuable lessons.

Don’t be afraid to copy successful business models and improve them.

Validate profitability before aggressively scaling or raising large amounts of capital.

Customer retention and recurring revenue can dramatically increase company value.

Focus beats complexity — avoid chasing too many ideas at once.

Direct mail marketing still works extremely well when executed properly.

Strong founders eventually need to work on the business instead of in it.

International expansion works best when the core model stays mostly unchanged.

Personal branding is one of the most cost-effective growth tools available to entrepreneurs.

Resources Mentioned:

How to Make a Billion in 9 Steps

Connect with Richard:

Instagram: @richard_harpin

Podcast: Business Leader Podcast

A Word from Our Sponsors:

https://invest.modemobile.com/travismakesmoney

- Are you ready to start your own creator
journey and make it big? Visit
www.fanvue.com today and launch your
career!- To learn more about Mode Mobile and its investor community, go to
-Travis Makes Money is made possible by High Level – the All-In-One Sales & Marketing Platform built for agencies, by an agency.
Capture leads, nurture them, and close more deals—all from one powerful platform.
Get an extended free trial at gohighlevel.com/travis

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

...more

View all episodes

By Travis Chappell

4.3

384384 ratings