The Path Less Traveled
Posts
#1 Chris Hoffmann sharing an inside look at his company's growth from $9M to $200M.

#1 Chris Hoffmann sharing an inside look at his company's growth from $9M to $200M.

Next stop? $400M. ZERO capital raised. Purpose Built. Doing the things that most entrepreneurs won't. The hard things.

Christopher Hoffmann
May 29, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 14 minutes

In Today’s Newsletter

Meet the author, Chris
What technology powers his business
Remaining Independent vs Private Equity
Leveraging AI & third-party financing
Acquiring Ferguson Roofing
Favorite Tweets from the past week

All of your leadership problems. Solved with the right hire. Uncommon Elite.

My friend and former Army 160th pilot, Christian Ruf, is helping business owners build high-performing teams by placing special operations veterans - think Navy SEALS, Army Rangers, Green Berets - in senior operations roles inside of businesses like yours. Check out his business, Uncommon Elite, and let him know that Chris sent you.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Chris Hoffmann: Remaining Privately Held in an Industry Dominated by… Private Equity.

First, I just wanted to say thank you for being here and subscribing to The Path Less Traveled (or “TPLT” for short).

This has become a personal project of mine as we look to build an industry leading service business that can both compete, and win, in the face of intensifying competition from private equity.

And if you are facing similar competitive pressures in your market, I want to help you win too.

My brother, Joe, and I took the reigns at our dad’s $9 million business in 2015. As we have grown HB Solutions Group to nearly $200 million, we have remained relentlessly focused on how to build, operate, grow an industry leader while remaining independent.

This means ignoring the chorus of voices encouraging us to sell our business to private equity.

Today, I’m blessed to be surrounded by leaders and peer companies who share my excitement for building enduring, privately held businesses - and remaining focused on maximizing value creation for a broadly defined group of stakeholders (employees, customers, company) over a long time horizon.

Holding Court at Enduring Ventures 2025 shareholder meeting ;)

A younger me while in Afghanistan serving in the Marine Corps (2012)

Enjoying our farm with my kiddos, my wife, and my nieces. Ask me about our cattle breeding program…

Enjoying NYC at Service Titan’s 2025 Private Equity Symposium (someone needed to remind these guys that the independent can still kick their butt…)

ServiceTitan

The Mission Critical Software Powering Our Companies

When I joined Hoffmann Brothers in 2015, we were using a software system that was antiquated. “Painful” may be a better word.

After a 5+ year vetting process (a story here for another day), we finally made the change to ServiceTitan. And we have never looked back.

When it comes to software in the residential & commercial trades, here is the reality:

ServiceTitan is the only enterprise-grade solution that exists in the market today.

After 2 years on the platform, I would count our business as one of a handful of true “power users” who have leveraged ServiceTitan to transform the way we do business.

Here is what we will cover in this section going forward:

Custom Reporting Templates, and how we use this reporting to support coaching & decision making
How we leverage “forms” to deliver consistent, high-quality service
How Marketing Pro enables us to acquire + convert customers at scale
How we have designed our “pricebook” to improve measures like “tasks-per-call” and “billable hour efficiency".
… and many other mission-critical facets of ServiceTitan

#grateful to have ServiceTitan sponsoring this section of TPLT

Chris’s Notes

On Entrepreneurial Spirit

I don’t think I’d have the cajones to make the journey from $0 to $9M of revenue. Certainly not at 29 years old with 4 young kids. But my dad? That’s exactly what he did.

After spending the first 8 years of his professional career as a mechanical engineer working for companies like Proctor & Gamble and Anheuser Busch, my dad decided to dive head-first into entrepreneurship when he acquired a 3-person heating & air conditioning company located in south Saint Louis City back in 1988.

The skilled trades were not always held in high regard as they are today. Heck, many friends and family told him he was crazy for leaving his engineering job to jump in a service truck.

But dad was undeterred.

By 2015, dad had grown Hoffmann Brothers to $9 million and roughly 45 employees.

On Remaining a Privately Held Business

In 2015, Private Equity’s consolidation of the residential HVAC industry was well underway. Most of my dad’s friends had sold - or were beginning to explore the sale - of their businesses to these new groups of “consolidators.”

However, my dad had a strong desire to remain an independent, family owned business that continued to prioritize:

people
culture
sustainable growth

That’s when my dad approach Joe and I (his two youngest sons) about joining him full-time at Hoffmann Brothers. I had just concluded my service in the Marine Corps, leaving active duty as a Captain, and Joe was working as a technical sales engineer for Trane Technologies.

After my dad, Joe and I put our heads together, we were ready to conquer the world and execute on our vision of building an industry leading, privately held business in the trades.

❝

“Profit - while not to be confused with our Purpose - is essential for our continued survival and independence”

On our Company’s “Purpose”

Too often, business leaders view the work that a company does around “purpose & values” as the “soft stuff”. A distraction from the “real” work of the business.

This couldn’t be further from the truth. Providing your organization with a compelling purpose and with values that show up in tangible ways… is actually some of the most important work that you can do as a leader.

The earlier in your journey that you recognize - and embrace - this reality, the stronger your company’s foundation will be.

If your company’s “purpose” or “values” have become nothing more than a pretty graphic on your warehouse wall… do something about it. If you are a leader, this is your #1 job.

Things you should…

If you are a C-suite leader, you should invest in your personal brand.
Don’t outsource ownership of AI learning + implementation; if you are an executive, you should roll-up your sleeves and gain first hand experience with AI tools
If you have a hard time with tough conversations, you should figure out how to get comfortable… with the uncomfortable. That’s where the magic happens.

The Great Collision: Artificial Intelligence and YOUR business.

I have been watching developments in AI closely over the last few years. The variability in quality between competing “AI products” is staggering.

And here is the reality:

Most leaders in the trades aren’t great at discerning “low quality” from “high quality” when it comes to AI tools.

Not to worry… I am excited to share with TPLT readers the incredible - and transformative - work that we are doing with Cybernetic Labs (or “Netic”) to bring AI tools to trades companies like ours. In this section, I will showcase different features + capabilities that we have introduced to our business in collaboration with Netic’s founder & CEO, Melisa Tokmak.

Netic (and Melisa) is the real deal. Head and shoulders above competing products. To put it bluntly: no other player in this space has both…

(1) the ambition and

(2) the AI expertise to match their ambitious product roadmap.

Check this section for updates on how we are implementing AI tools at HB Solutions Group.

#grateful to have Cybernetic Labs sponsor this section of TPLT

My approach to acquisitions

Two Partnerships, and more on the horizon…

In 2023, HB Solutions Group acquired 75% of 85-year old family business, Ferguson Roofing, from 3rd generation owner, Jason Shupp.

Roofing, not unlike the HVAC industry, is subject to rapid and intense consolidation activity from institutional investors, and for owners like Jason who value their team, their legacy, and the communities in which they live and serve… it can be hard to hand the keys to out-of-state investors who will often prioritize short-term financial gains over… everything else.

When HB Solutions acquired Ferguson Roofing in 2023, the company’s revenue was $12 million. In 2025, revenue is pacing to reach nearly $30 million, with profitability increasing 250% during this same time period. For Jason, who remains a 25% owner, he continues to participate in the value creation from Ferguson’s rapid growth.

HB Solutions Group continues to look for partners who want to build their business the right way, and do it with people they like. If you own an HVAC, plumbing, electrical or roofing service & retrofit business, please reach out if you want to explore what a partnership with HB Solutions Group could look like.

In the next newsletter, I’ll share more about our partnership with Blue Sky Plumbing, Heating & Cooling in Denver, Colorado.

*Oh - and if you are looking to find a non-private equity partner to sell your business to… reply to this newsletter and let me know. We are looking for the following types of companies to partner with:

- HVAC, plumbing, electrical or roofing industries
- An owner who values the longevity + stewardship of their people & company
- Over 50% of revenue from residential service & retrofit
- Not too heavy into new construction (none is preferred)
- Willing to embrace positive change to drive “wins” for shareholders, employees, and customers

_____________________________________________________________________

Consumer Financing¹

Driving revenue by ensuring your customers have access to credit

I met Jesse Davis, President at GreenSky® Home Improvement, roughly 2 years ago. Of course, I knew of GreenSky®, but I didn’t fully appreciate what made them unique. Too many financing companies in the home improvement space have come and gone over the last five years.

GreenSky®, on the other hand, has been around for nearly 20 years. Providing great products, competitive programs, and the most in-demand loan structures.

Roughly 50% of our customers require third party financing when purchasing a new HVAC system. A well-trained sales force with access to the right financing programs can mean the difference between operating as a 10% net margin business vs. a 15% net margin business.

In this section, I will share how we think about using financing in our business, and how financing, technology, and training come together to deliver bottom-line results.

The programs that benefit our customers
How we present + highlight financing with customers
How our inside sales team supports the financing process
The types of jobs we find well-suited to financing
And much more…

#grateful to have GreenSky® Home Improvement sponsor this section of TPLT

¹ The views and opinions expressed here are owned by The Path Less Traveled and its author and may not reflect the views of GreenSky®

This Week’s Favorite Tweets

Friends of The Path Less Traveled

Who are the VENDORS that fuel our success?

MARKETING

Choosing a marketing agency that is both (1) competent and (2) CARES about your specific business is hard. Over the last 5 years, I have become great friends with the founder of Ryno Strategic Solutions, Chris Yano, and can say with confidence that his agency is among the few that I would trust with my own brands. If you are searching for a partner, put them on your list to evaluate. Send a note to Jeff Bowab at [email protected] and tell him that I sent you.

PAYROLL & HR

Inova Payroll & HR has been a partner to our companies for over 10 years. They have provided us with a payroll technology platform that has been able to keep pace with the demands of our fast-growing organization (now serving team members across 4 states). Inova’s platform works seamlessly with our CRM, ServiceTitan, and with our accounting back-end, Sage Intacct.

COACHING & TRAINING

If there is one organization - perhaps more than any other - that has fueled our growth over the last 10 years… that organization would be Nexstar Network. I like to say that Nexstar Network has built & refined a “process playbook” that touches on so many facets of our business. From dispatching, to call taking, to in-home customer service, to pricing methodologies and more. Don’t try and re-create the wheel… come and learn from the best. Becoming a member is a life changing opportunity.

#grateful for the “Friends of TPLT” sponsors in this section

Hey…I could use your help connecting with like-minded business leaders:

If you know someone who should read The Path Less Traveled - please forward this email them: https://thepathlesstraveled.beehiiv.com/subscribe