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In this episode of To The Point Home Services Podcast, Chris and Chad sit down with Tony Patino, President of Abacus Plumbing, Air Conditioning & Electrical, to unpack one of the most impressive leadership journeys in the home services industry.
Tony joined Abacus in 2017 from outside home services. Fast-forward to today, and he’s helped scale the company from roughly $30M to over $100M+, while expanding service lines, redesigning systems, and building elite teams across multiple trades.
This conversation is loaded with practical insights for operators, leaders, GMs, and anyone looking to grow inside (or break into) the home services world. Listen now!
A Leader Built Through Humility, Curiosity, & Connection
Tony’s story didn’t start in the trades. It started in retail. Right out of high school, he spent two decades learning how to lead people, solve problems, and manage teams. That experience carried him into a GM role at Aramark, where he continued developing the people skills that would later define his leadership style. In 2017, Abacus recruited him to join the company just as they entered their relationship with Wrench Group, and Tony immediately stepped into a world he didn’t fully understand yet.
He found success by being a student of the game. From day one, Tony put his ego aside, spent time with technicians in the field, and listened before making changes. Winning over seasoned plumbers meant showing humility. He learned their pain points, listened to their career goals, and demonstrated that he wasn’t there to command from the office but to support from the front line.
Rolling out ServiceTitan, moving into a new facility, and launching new trades all happened in his first year. Through each challenge, Tony focused on simple changes that made technicians’ lives easier, strengthened culture, and built credibility. That authenticity helped the organization grow from roughly 30 plumbers to more than 60 in Houston alone all while expanding electrical, water treatment, and generator services along the way.
- Tony’s path from retail and Aramark to leading a major home services brand
- How he earned trust from Master Plumbers without coming from the trades
- The leadership traits that helped him scale Abacus through massive transitions
- Rolling out ServiceTitan and fixing daily technician pain points
- Building electrical, water treatment, and generator divisions
- Creating unified sales leadership and cross-trade selling
- Why a single VIP membership structure transformed growth
- What he learned from industry legends like Alan O’Neil and Wrench Group mentors
- The biggest hiring mistakes and the one sales hire that changed everything
- And more!
Advice for Contractors & What’s Next for Abacus
Tony’s advice for contractors is clear: keep things simple, build relationships, and never stop hiring leaders who elevate your weaknesses. Operators tend to overcomplicate things, but real progress comes from talking to the frontline, unifying your sales process, and ensuring you have the right sales leadership in place. Cross-selling only works when trades are aligned, memberships are consistent, and teams understand how to support one another.
Looking ahead, Abacus is continuing to scale with a leadership framework built around humility and curiosity. With momentum behind multiple divisions and a unified membership model, the company is poised for even greater growth in the years to come.
Until next time…NO. ZERO. DAYS.
