David and Michael Katz didn’t just take their HVAC business from nothing to something. They took it from nothing to something special.
The pair entered the world of HVAC in the spring of 2021, with no experience in the industry or in running a business in general. After a few months, Trio Heating and Air in San Jose was moving in a newborn’s fits and starts—with $300,000 in revenue.
Two years later, the same business was approaching $10 million in annual revenue.
That’s fast.
The brothers and partners say effort, commitment, culture, and the benefits of ServiceTitan combined to propel Trio.
“The (trades) community is so wonderful,” David said. “We’re feeling very grateful and lucky that it happened to us. We weren’t looking for it, but here we are and we feel blessed.”
Before founding Trio, the pair had worked in the installation industry, which they said goes hand in hand with HVAC. And they were not really seeking another opportunity.
“We were both very satisfied,” David said. “You don’t want to move from the winning horse.”
But they forged ahead, with their first HVAC install in July of 2021. Running the company with an emphasis on culture and people helped lead to success.
Branding on Trio’s website promotes three things: “Good people, happy clients, plant a tree.” Those are the company’s core beliefs or, as Michael said, “Our customers, our clients and the environment.”
Trio plants a tree for every job it completes, and as of Summer 2023 neither Michael nor David had taken a paycheck.
“We told everyone upfront, ‘We are not going to take anything from this business before we know that everyone is getting paid really well and are well taken care of,’” David said. “And once everyone is happy, then it'll be our turn. Not before."
That is another of their bedrock beliefs: The first principle of enabling growth is taking care of the people who work for you.
“The moment you hire your first employee, you are responsible for them too,” David said. “You're responsible for their life, their success, their career.”
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In late 2021 the Katzes added ServiceTitan, but did not initially fully understand all the software’s offerings.
So in April 2022 they attended Pantheon, ServiceTitan’s annual user conference, in Los Angeles. They listened to presentations and sought input. They met with other contractors and talked strategy. They discussed best practices.
They returned to work and implemented what they had learned. A year and a half later, they were approaching that $10 million figure.
“Imagine somebody goes bowling for the first time,” David said. “Imagine the rails that you're putting out for kids to keep them out of the gutters. This is what (ServiceTitan) does for you. It doesn't let you in the gutters.
“This system is so well built that it keeps you safe, it keeps you winning, no matter what you do. Even if you shoot wrong, it's going to keep you on track.”
Ara Mahdessian, ServiceTitan’s co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, recognized Trio at his welcoming speech at Pantheon 2023. It was one of several businesses Mahdessian mentioned as representative of the partnership benefits between ServiceTitan and its user businesses.
“Your success drives our success,” Mahdessian said. “Every decision we make at ServiceTitan is made with one question in mind: What is best for our contractors? Because we know it'll ultimately be best for us, too.”
