Episode 249: Ex-Banker To A $20M Home Service Company with Matt Pozda

Over the years, we’ve heard many stories of home services business owners having to learn the financials before enjoying success. Today, we hear a story of someone coming from the world of finance into the trades! We’re excited to welcome our guest Matt Pozda, owner and CEO of Call Dad!

After a decadelong career in investment banking and the world of private equity, Matt saw an opportunity in the trades. HVAC just wasn’t being done the right way in his hometown, and so he purchased his own company. What he didn’t know was that his white-collar background would do little to prepare him for running a blue-collar business. Listen to the episode now!

From Finance to HVAC

Matt Pozda found his North Star in 2014 when the HVAC unit went out in his Charlotte home. After a range of experiences calling different local HVAC businesses — none of which were ideal — he bought HVAC Spells Wealth by Ron Smith and started hunting for a company to buy.

In 2017, Matt bought his HVAC company. It was 98% residential new construction and was below $1 million in revenue. After many trials by fire, Matt reazlied he was going to have to learn quickly if he was going to build a reputable HVAC company that would take over the Carolinas.

• A lifelong entrepreneurial spirit
• His background in finance and private equity
• Buying an HVAC business and learning the ropes
• How the white-collar world did (or didn’t) prepare him for a blue-collar business
• Finding major growth in 2024
• A real focus on treating customers right
• Rebranding and working with Wizard of Ads
• What goes into building a leadership team for 20M and beyond
• Planning ahead for 2025 and further
• And more!

After his first year running the company, Matt brought the business to $1.5 million. He moved away from new construction and into residential service and installation and continued to grow. After rebranding in 2024, Call Dad has hit its stride and is on pace for well over $20 million this year — all 100% organic growth!

Surround Yourself With Smart

One of Matt’s biggest lessons learned was that only the grit and determination he gained working in finance would carry over into running an HVAC company. He admits that he thought he was smarter than he was. It was educating himself and learning from others that enabled him to grow the business to where it is today. In fact, the decision to rebrand was from a 15-minute conversation with Ken Goodrich at the 2023 ACCA conference that changed his entire perspective on the industry and what it means to have a brand!

You can’t put everything into Excel. You have to manage the people and processes, and you have to surround yourself with people who you can learn from. With that knowledge, Matt and his team are now building their $60 million org chart and budgeting for a massive 2025.