The Blue-Collar Twins sit down with Scott Nelson, founder of Central-Jersey’s iconic Oceanside Service—the turquoise-truck HVAC firm he bootstrapped for 36 years before handing the keys to private equity earlier this spring. Scott unpacks the branding bets, “golden-handcuff” culture, and 20 %-margin playbook that turned a $600 van into a top-1 % contractor (and a life-changing buyout).Buzz EP 203 Scot N Mix …

You’ll hear:

• Branding on Wheels – why he painted every truck Caribbean blue (and wrapped the last two).
• 25-Minute Rule – slashing windshield time to keep service profit-positive.
• Earn While You Learn – duct-cleaning crews as a talent farm for techs and installers.
• Golden Handcuffs – split-dollar life insurance that locked managers in for 15 years.
• Pricing for 20 % Net – escaping the HVAC industry’s 1.5 % average.
• PE Negotiations – walking from the table until the acquirer funded his staff’s benefits.
• Life After the Sale – why he turned down a six-figure consulting gig to just be “Grandpa Scott.”

Stick around for Dylan’s quick CTA to Paul Giannamore’s Private-Equity Masterclass playlist—then audit your own “billable hour” before the next heat wave hits.

From PE Teachers to Pest Control Owners: The Julio Twins Share Their POTOMAC Experience

https://youtu.be/HAx9noqsqTo

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulgiannamore

www.potomaccompany.com

https://bluecollartwins.com

Produced by: www.verbell.ltd

Timestamps (podcast.co-ready)

00:00 – Cold-open: “I never worried a second about competition—just do me.”

00:35 – Jason & Jeremy welcome 36-year HVAC veteran Scott Nelson of Oceanside Service

01:40 – One-man startup to 24 trucks & 32 staff: the scale story

03:00 – Turquoise trucks, spotless wheels: branding that sells before you speak

04:50 – The 25-minute territory rule and killing windshield waste

06:20 – Community roots: firefighter networks & word-of-mouth growth

08:15 – Mindset: “The world’s easy—people make it hard.”

10:30 – Relationship > transaction: serving three homeowner generations

12:00 – Air-duct crews as a paid training academy (“Earn while you learn”)

14:20 – Recruiting from vo-techs; achieving near-zero turnover

16:25 – Golden Handcuffs: $500 k split-dollar life policies for key managers

19:10 – Overpaying staff & investing in real estate instead of raises for himself

21:30 – Grooming his son to take over; stepping back from fire-service leadership

24:00 – Private-equity courtship, the NDA era, and negotiating staff benefits

27:40 – Charging for value: hitting 20 % net vs. industry’s 1.5 %

30:50 – Crushing costs: $500 k in insurance & healthcare, total transparency with crew

33:00 – Advice to a $500 k contractor: know your P&L and ditch new-construction work

35:15 – Tech stack: why ServiceTitan (at $7 k/mo) was worth every penny

37:00 – Recession-resistant revenue: maintenance plans & premium system sales

40:30 – Post-exit life: “Most of my hair, half my sanity—and all my family time.”

42:00 – Parting shot: watch your kids grow up and work on (not in) the business

Lifeguard buddies turned blue-collar founders Jason & Jeremy Julio reconnect with longtime friend John Majeski—once a Manhattan finance analyst, now the force behind four thriving SERVPRO franchises across New Jersey. John breaks down the gritty first three-year slog, the culture playbook that powers his team, and the BHAG that keeps everyone rowing: “Be the #1 SERVPRO in the Northeast by 2034.

You’ll hear:

• Career 180° – ditching Wall Street for sewage back-flows and never once looking back.
• Buying, Not Building – why acquiring an eight-month-old franchise beat starting from scratch.
• The ‘World’s Strongest Man’ Analogy – John’s trick for pushing past those brutal year-one cash-flow dips.
• Decentralized Command – Jocko Willink–inspired leadership that lets techs solve problems in real time.
• KPIs That Matter – estimate-conversion, labor spend, and the charity challenges that magnetize talent.
• Road to #1 – four territories in Monmouth, Bergen & Hudson Counties—and the expansion filter he uses before every new deal.

Stick around for Dylan’s quick CTA to Paul Giannamore’s Private-Equity Masterclass playlist—before you sprint, paddle, or pedal to your own big, hairy, audacious goal.

From PE Teachers to Pest Control Owners: The Julio Twins Share Their POTOMAC Experience

https://youtu.be/HAx9noqsqTo

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulgiannamore

www.potomaccompany.com

https://bluecollartwins.com

Produced by: www.verbell.ltd

Timestamps (podcast.co-ready)

00:00 – Cold-open: John on culture (“You’ve got a culture whether you admit it or not.”)

00:35 – The Blue-Collar Twins’ welcome their “lifeguard brother” to the Buzz

01:40 – 28-year friendship recap: beach stands to boardrooms

02:30 – Finance burnout & the call to entrepreneurship

04:00 – Picking SERVPRO over Rainbow & PuroClean: brand power wins

06:00 – Mentor Larry Levy’s push: “Quit, build something of your own”

08:00 – Year-one reality check: 7-day weeks, $1.5 k left in the bank

11:00 – Acquiring an eight-month-old franchise (father bails sons out)

12:00 – Fire, water, mold 101—explaining restoration to homeowners

14:00 – Delegation pains and the first full-time hires

15:30 – Sandy & other storms: moments that forced scale-ups

16:10 – Learning on the fly: history major → KPI geek

18:30 – Athletics → entrepreneurship: training, planning, grit

21:00 – Community marketing: beach clean-ups, charity paddles, Eli Manning match

22:45 – Extreme-challenge rundown: 17-mile paddle, 216-mile bike, next 100-mile ultra

27:00 – Four-franchise footprint; city-versus-suburb logistics

29:30 – Building culture: decentralized command & trust lattices

33:40 – BHAG revealed: #1 SERVPRO Northeast by 2034

38:00 – Exit philosophy: build it right and every option stays open

39:00 – Most fulfilling metric: techs who go from basement to first home

40:30 – Core KPIs: estimate conversion & labor as % of sales

41:40 – Wrap-up, Paul's Masterclass CTA & closing credits

Meet Jason & Jeremy Julio—the Blue-Collar Twins—as they trade gym whistles for board-room banter and join producer-turned-host Dylan Seals behind the mic. In their debut as co-hosts they unpack:

• Side-Hustle Genesis – the late-night kitchen-table brainstorm that birthed Last Bite Mosquito & Tick.
• Scaling While Clocked-In – juggling lesson plans, beach-club shifts, and 55 techs by reinvesting every dollar.
• The Potomac Playbook – how CIMs, buyer psychology, and a discipline 90 % of sellers flunk drove an eight-figure deal with Viking Pest / Anticimex.
• Seller Blind Spots – retention metrics, seasonality traps, and the DIY mistakes that leave millions on the table.
• Round 2: Ruff Stuff – their new dog-waste start-up, why it’s today’s mosquito moment, and the five-year path to another flip.
• Level-Up Rituals – ultra-marathons, charity paddles, and mindset hacks that keep their teams resilient and hungry.
• Coming Up – teaser for next week’s Servpro deep-dive with restoration king John Majeski.

Stick around for Dylan’s quick CTA to Paul Giannamore’s Private-Equity Masterclass playlist—then fire up that 100-mile mindset of yours.

From PE Teachers to Pest Control Owners: The Julio Twins Share Their POTOMAC Experience

https://youtu.be/HAx9noqsqTo

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulgiannamore

www.potomaccompany.com

https://bluecollartwins.com

http://www.ruffstuffnj.com

Produced by: www.verbell.ltd

Timestamps

00:00 - Cold-open – Jason Julio on fear & resilience

00:35 - Dylan Seals grabs the mic & introduces the Blue-Collar Twins

01:40 - First meeting in San Juan, karaoke-loving “Mexican,” and Potomac memories

03:10 - Humble beginnings: Long Branch childhood, teaching careers, twin dynamics

04:15 - Multiple side-hustles & the light-bulb moment: “What about mosquito control?”

05:00 - Rejecting the franchise route; deciding to build Last Bite from scratch

06:50 - One truck to statewide: early scaling playbook & brand evolution

07:25 - TCNJ football days & how college camaraderie shaped their operator roles

14:40 - Level-up charity challenges: 217-mile bike ride, Eli Manning match, next 100-mile ultra

24:20 - What happens after you call an M&A advisor—Potomac’s diligence process demystified

26:40 - Yin-and-yang leadership: Jason’s strategy vs. Jeremy’s operations

28:50 - “90 % of owners aren’t ready”: systems, books, and timing the peak before you list

31:15 - SIMs, buyer meetings, and Potomac’s gatekeeping of your calendar

33:00 - Strategics vs. Private Equity 101 & the lure of the “second bite”

35:20 - Exit revealed: Viking Pest (Anticimex) acquires Last Bite; why seasonality mattered

36:55 - Navigating the 12-month earn-out and protecting customer retention

41:25 - Rough Stuff launch: why dog-waste is today’s mosquito moment & barriers are low

42:35 - Is America too lazy to scoop poop? Market adoption math & service pricing

44:30 - Five-year plan: grow Rough Stuff to $4–5 M and flip again

50:55 - Boardroom Buzz community shout-out & podcast mission going forward

52:45 - “Episode 201—big shoes to fill” – official hand-off & next-week teaser

53:20 - Dylan’s outro, CTAs to Potomac & the Private-Equity Masterclass playlist

54:00 - Closing credits & final reminders to connect with Potomac M&A

Meet Jason & Jeremy Julio—the Blue-Collar Twins turned eight-figure sellers— as they step in as your new co-hosts of The Boardroom Buzz. In their maiden voyage they flip the script, putting mentor Paul Giannamore in the hot seat to uncover the back-alley hustle that took him from inner-city Chicago to building Potomac M&A into a middle-market powerhouse.

You’ll hear:

• How the twins scaled a New Jersey pest-control roll-up while teaching full-time
• Paul’s early days flipping farm gear, tech-banking in the dot-com frenzy, and spotting gold in fragmented service markets
• Why CEOs should obsess over root-cause thinking (and Paul’s daily “thinking walks”)
• The inside story of hiring Franco “The Mexican” and building a 25-deal pipeline
• What makes fire-suppression, lawn, and niche res-service verticals today’s M&A greenfield

Stick around for Paul’s blunt take on leverage, buyer psychology, and the mindset shift owners need three years before an exit.

From Gym Teachers to Service Leaders: The Julio Twins' Story | Last Bite Mosquito, Viking Pest https://youtu.be/DAYxtzhswxs

From PE Teachers to Pest Control Owners: The Julio Twins Share Their POTOMAC Experience https://youtu.be/HAx9noqsqTo

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulgiannamore

www.potomaccompany.com

https://bluecollartwins.com

Produced by: www.verbell.ltd

00:00:00 Cold-open – Paul on “no pep-talks, only strategy.”

00:00:56 Jason & Jeremy Julio frame the episode’s purpose.

00:02:56 Teacher-to-$15 M exit – twins recap scaling while holding day jobs.

00:04:53 Paul’s childhood: Chicago schools → Italy & Spain.

00:09:10 Cornell years, full scholarship & skipping community college.

00:11:55 First deal – buying a combine attachment at a farm auction.

00:18:20 Dot-com boom: Lehman → Credit Suisse tech-M&A under Frank Quattrone.

00:24:40 Private-equity at American Capital → founding POTOMAC (2003).

00:27:05 Discovering pest-control M&A; the Orkin/Terminix duopoly era.

00:31:05 Philosophy: “Put the seller first—profit follows.”

00:34:50 Shift from deal-maker to “psychodynamic” CEO coach.

00:38:00 Legacy talk – “Play the hand you’re dealt better than anyone.”

00:40:55 Enter “the Mexican” — Franco’s gladiator-style interview story.

00:46:25 Daily routine & thinking leverage (25 k steps, no morning calls).

00:54:00 Smashing limiting beliefs: four-minute-mile analogy for owners.

00:59:40 What’s hot in M&A: lawn-care roll-ups; fire-protection next.

01:06:05 Advice to 18-year-old Paul: guard health, seek balance.

01:08:10 Top travel picks – Istanbul, Switzerland, Japan keep calling.

01:12:50 Dylan Seals outro – CTA to POTOMAC M&A Masterclass playlist.

Brian Gottlieb, author of Beyond the Hammer, joins Patrick Baldwin in The Boardroom to share his inspiring story. From launching his home improvement business with just $3,000 and a folding table, Brian built a thriving organization with 600 employees. He attributes much of his success to a people-first leadership philosophy, emphasizing the importance of developing employees and fostering a strong company culture. How can leaders ensure their people are set up to achieve their highest potential?

Brian dives deep into the idea that businesses grow only as much as their people do. He explains the value of becoming a training organization, creating an environment where every team member feels invested in the mission. With tools like his Sphere-Center-Sphere feedback framework, he highlights how effective communication and belief can motivate employees to improve and contribute at their best. What would happen if leaders focused on inspiring belief in their teams every day?

Finally, Brian discusses how business discipline—simplifying processes, forecasting growth, and setting clear goals—can help companies avoid complexity and achieve sustainable results. He stresses that building a great business requires more than good ideas; it takes focus, consistency, and trust in the team. What steps can you take to simplify your business and create a culture of growth and accountability? Tune in to discover actionable strategies to transform your leadership and your organization.

Fred Wingate, owner of Noosa Pest Management, joins Nick Bartolo and Patrick Baldwin to share his inspiring journey from professional water skier to thriving entrepreneur in the pest control industry. His story is rooted in discipline and resilience, values that have guided his approach to both sports and business. Fred emphasizes the importance of a people-first philosophy, demonstrating how strong relationships with customers and employees alike are the cornerstone of lasting success. By fostering trust, valuing contributions, and encouraging collaboration, he has cultivated a company culture that drives growth and loyalty. How can businesses effectively balance meaningful relationship-building with the demands of operational efficiency to achieve sustained success?  

Noosa Pest Management’s growth strategy under Fred’s leadership prioritizes refinement over rapid expansion. Over the past year, Fred made strategic decisions to raise prices for certain services and eliminate less profitable offerings, resulting in a significant boost to net profits despite modest overall growth. His disciplined focus on quality over quantity underscores the impact of thoughtful decision-making in driving sustainable success. Looking ahead, Fred plans to launch an inside sales program to broaden outreach while maintaining exceptional service standards. What role does strategic risk-taking play in achieving sustainable growth while preserving a company’s core values?  

Fred’s vision extends beyond business operations, with a deep commitment to community impact. Fred and Ellen Wingate founded the Logan Jett Research Foundation, to help improve the lives of everyone touched by epilepsy, fund research for treatment options while working toward a cure, and provide a network of resources and support. As Noosa looks to the future, Fred remains focused on innovation and customer service, ensuring the company continues to grow with integrity and care. How can organizations weave social responsibility into their business strategies while staying true to their core objectives?

Learn more about the Logan Jett Research Foundation here: https://www.loganjresearch.org/

An audio rebroadcast from POTOMAC.TV.

Nick Bartolo turns the mic on Paul Giannamore to discuss his strategy for selling fire protection businesses. Paul reveals how a formal sell-side process, combined with competitive leverage, drives transaction multiples to new highs. 

Learn how you can maximize the value of your fire protection business in the growing M&A market and cut taxes on the transaction. 

Recorded at NFPA 2024 in Orlando, Florida.

In this episode:

• Importance of competitive auctions in fire protection
• Why sell-side representation matters
• Tips for preparing years ahead of sale
• Common challenges in M&A deals
• Success stories in raising multiples

Robert Pittman, owner of Tuxedo Mosquito Control, joins Nick Bartolo and Fat Pat aka Patrick Baldwin to discuss his journey in developing a specialized mosquito control business centered around family values and focus. Taking over from his father-in-law, who founded the company, Robert has upheld a culture that treats employees like family—a principle that’s integral to the company’s success in a seasonal industry. By prioritizing fair pay and taking a genuine interest in employees’ well-being, Robert has cultivated a loyal, motivated team. How can other leaders foster similar commitment and loyalty among their employees?

Tuxedo Mosquito’s strength lies in its unwavering commitment to a single focus: mosquito control. By specializing, rather than expanding into general pest control, Robert has built a trusted brand known for expertise in this niche area. He views this narrow focus as a competitive advantage, differentiating Tuxedo from broader pest control companies. Despite occasional encouragement to diversify services, Robert firmly believes in the power of specialization to set his business apart. Is this strategy the right approach for all niche businesses, or might it limit future growth?

To ensure the right people are in the right roles, Tuxedo Mosquito uses the Culture Index, a tool that helps them hire individuals whose skills and traits match the demands of the job. By defining ideal profiles for each position, Robert has minimized hiring mismatches and created a team that operates with minimal oversight. This hiring strategy has allowed Tuxedo to maintain a cohesive, efficient team that is aligned with the company’s values. How might similar tools benefit other businesses in finding and retaining talent that truly fits their unique culture?

Chase and Fat Pat explore the often-complex landscape of change management. Change within an organization requires more than just fresh ideas; it demands a well-executed plan and consistent momentum. Decision-makers must be resilient and somewhat shielded from daily challenges, allowing them to focus on long-term goals rather than immediate hurdles. This "immunity" to the daily grind is key to sustaining momentum and reaching successful outcomes, even when facing resistance. How can leaders create the right conditions to stay focused and maintain momentum during challenging times?

The duo delves into first-order thinking, a strategy that strips problems down to their basic elements, enabling organizations to innovate by building solutions from the ground up. This approach results in truly effective and impactful change rather than simply repurposing old solutions. Chase shares how Go-Forth used this approach to design a unique, customer-focused program tailored specifically to client needs. In Chase’s view, first-order thinking is essential for identifying fresh, effective strategies that align with long-term objectives. How might organizations cultivate a culture that encourages this level of foundational, creative thinking?

Chase brings up his perspective on employee turnover. While turnover is often seen as a negative, he explained that it can serve as a natural part of organizational growth, especially when underperformers are replaced by top talent. Embracing turnover as an opportunity to strengthen the team and foster resilience can make change feel less disruptive and more like a constructive evolution. For Chase, fostering a culture that adapts to change, rather than resisting it, enables organizations to thrive despite disruptions. How can companies reframe turnover as a positive force, and what steps can they take to make the transition smoother?

Audio mixing and editing by www.verbell.ltd.

Wall Street equity analyst, Jamie Clement, joins Paul and Patrick and takes a hard look at the current state of the economy, focusing on how it impacts both consumers and the pest control industry. With rising costs hitting American households—particularly those in the lower income brackets—the discussion centers on how this economic squeeze could affect pest control operators. As consumers feel the pinch, businesses might face challenges with customer retention and acquisition. Could economic pressures fundamentally change consumer behavior in sectors like pest control?

Jamie dives into the potential impact of tariffs and tax reductions on inflation. He makes it clear that tariffs are inflationary, leading to higher costs for everyday items, which are often passed on to consumers. Speculating on future economic policies, Jamie warns that it might be premature to declare inflation under control, given the potential for more price hikes. How might further inflation affect industries that rely on a stable consumer base?

Jamie reflects on the challenges of managing businesses, especially in industries like pest control, where regional and cultural differences can complicate operations. Jamie stresses the importance of clear, honest communication with investors and warns against assuming everyone understands industry specifics. As companies navigate these complex times, how can businesses better tailor their strategies and messaging to align with market realities?