I met Pete Gazlay late in my banking career, as one of my colleagues was pursuing a banking relationship with the owner of a young but rapidly growing janitorial company - Total Facility Care. Pete founded the business in 2010, after departure from a fast-growing middle-market company in the same industry.
At the start, Pete was a one-man team, selling janitorial services during the day - and executing the cleanings at night! They grew steadily throughout though, and sold in April of 2023 with a team size of around 150 and a significant market share in both the general janitorial space as well as specialized tech and medical clean room janitorial.
We spend a good amount of time talking about business principles in this episode - relationship selling, margins and bidding, account management, hiring entry-level workers during a labor shortage - and finding the right time and manner of exit. And, we talked about life after exit - community engagements, a recent mission trip to Tanzania, and Pete’s why in joining the team as a LoCo Facilitator. We’re so glad to have him on the team, and I know you’ll enjoy - as I did - my conversation with Pete Gazlay.