Success Story with Scott D. Clary

Guest: Tommy Mello - $1 Billion Company Founder | Why Control Keeps You Small

Date: December 31, 2025

Brief Overview

In this episode, Scott D. Clary sits down with Tommy Mello, founder of A1 Garage Doors, to break down how Tommy built a $2 billion home service empire from scratch—even while buried in debt and lacking connections or early support. The central message revolves around the transformation from the obsessed, control-everything “hustler” to a master delegator and culture builder. Tommy explores purposeful leadership, the importance of systems and equity, why happiness requires balance, and why curiosity and delegation are the true unlocks for scaling a business and a life.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Tommy’s Rags-to-Riches Story

Family Background & Early Hustle
- Grew up in a modest family—parents worked multiple jobs, experienced divorce, and economic hardship ([03:22]).
- First jobs: washing dishes at 12, landscaping business by his teens—even though he was allergic to grass ([03:14]).
- Early lessons: "If I wanted to do anything, I had to shovel snow and mow lawns. Back then, it's hard work." — Tommy ([03:22]).
Entrepreneurial Genesis
- Moved to Arizona at 16, worked as a busboy, lifeguard, continued hustling ([03:22]).
- Fell into garage doors by painting them as a side gig—scaled to painting 10+ doors/day ([04:37]).
- Started garage door business with roommate, staggered under debt ([05:50]).
- Took over the business and $50,000 in debt, called his mom for help; ran it all himself for years ([05:52–07:04]).

Control, Delegation, & the Power of Systems

“The hustler had to die for the leader to be born.” — Tommy ([06:57]).
Realization: doing everything oneself caps growth and breeds chaos ([07:04–12:05]).
Key inflection points:
- Hired his first “integrator” (Adam Cronenberg) to run operations ([07:04–09:31]).
- Invested in systems: CRM, process documentation, manuals, repeatable processes ([07:04-09:31]).
- “That was when I found an integrator and the business started to fly.” — Tommy
From putting out fires to "feeling less stress at $300M in revenue than $10M" due to the right team ([12:05–13:43]).

The Art of Extreme Delegation

Tommy’s legendary principle: “You will never out-delegate me” ([13:43]).
Deliberate decision to delegate everything except culture and marketing:
- “Ask yourself...could this be delegated?”
- Culture and direct technician relationships are non-negotiable for him; everything else delegates ([14:29–15:33]).
- Creates ownership throughout the company via equity incentive programs ([16:07–17:45]).

Ownership, Equity, & Culture

Remarkable act: Gave $100M in equity to 24 employees during a major exit, all based on merit, not tenure ([15:33–18:24]).
“This ownership mentality changes everything. It’s called equity incentive programs.” — Tommy ([16:07]).
Explains the need for fairness, motivation, and having a North Star for teams ([16:25–18:25]).
Argues that traditional “founder keeps it all” models breed resentment and lower performance ([17:51]).

Leadership Evolution & The Need for Continual Growth

Founder skills must evolve at every business stage; who got you to $50M is rarely who gets you to $500M ([19:23]).
- Tommy: “I want to be the dumbest guy in the room.”
Importance of identifying and supporting people’s dreams, not just numbers: “Some people's dreams unfortunately are too small. Some are bigger than mine...” ([19:23–21:16]).
Encourages leaders to ask “what would you do if you had $10M?” to get at core motivations ([19:23]).

Sacrifice, Balance, & The Myth of Happiness

Early years: total imbalance, relationships and health sacrificed for business ([21:16–24:31]).
- “You give a piece of your soul away for a temporary time. Sometimes it’s two years, sometimes ten.” — Tommy ([32:12])
Warns: “If you look at most billionaires, they’re not happy people…they’re obsessed with the wrong things.” ([24:31])
Now prioritizes balanced pursuit—purpose, not just growth: “I could do six hour days of focus. I’m still exploring things.” ([24:31-25:44])

On Growth, Competition, and the Future

Emphasizes the necessity of curiosity and a learning mindset: “Be more curious. Go learn more.” ([01:54])
AI, automation, and industry shifts—Tommy is deeply future-focused:
- “The big are going to get massive...more losers than winners.” ([47:37])
- Says most service industries are unprepared for technological disruption ([46:47–48:36]).
- “You better be a forward thinker, you better be curious, you better be asking questions… Every single thing you could do. Because it’s the people that just put their head down and say I’m going to go to work, they’re missing out.” — Tommy ([47:37])
Business is now systematized enough that most fires have been eliminated ([48:44-49:50]).

Delegation, Failure, & Building A-Players

Most executives struggle to delegate properly, even at high levels ([49:50–51:36]).
- “You should race towards people failing. If your EA screws up, that’s a lesson learned.” ([51:36])
Advice for hiring senior people: trial periods, set expectations upfront, ensure cultural fit ([52:20–53:20]).

Self-Mastery: Health, Relationships, Mental Resilience

Tommy’s formula for balance: ruthless time management, continuous improvement, purposeful delegation ([54:13]).
“There’s 168 hours in a week…every single person listening, focus on time management.” — Tommy ([54:13])
Delegation isn’t dumping: explain the why, the resources, the outcomes, and accountability ([54:13–55:38]).

Lifelong Learning, Mentorship, and the Value of Humility

Tommy notes the importance of being humble and always asking questions:
- “Go learn, study. Go find somebody that’s in your industry…pay it forward.” ([55:40–56:29])
Approach mentors with curiosity over ego: “Come in humble…implement what they told you before you ask for more.” ([55:38])

Meaning & Purpose Beyond Business

“You become who you hang out with…when you’re curious, be curious to the right people.” ([64:47])
“Never feel like you’ve arrived. The day you feel like you’ve arrived is the day you could throw me in the casket.” — Tommy ([65:03])
Purpose isn’t just business: “You gotta manifest it. Everything that I do is by design…You don’t just wake up and it’s all there.” ([61:55])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Leadership Evolution:
- “The hustler had to die for the leader to be born.” — Tommy ([06:57])
On Delegation:
- “You will never out-delegate me.” — Tommy ([13:43])
On Ownership:
- “This ownership mentality changes everything…it’s called equity incentive programs.” — Tommy ([16:07])
On Culture and Merit:
- “I like meritocracy a lot more than tenure. No one got it because of tenure.” — Tommy ([17:51])
On Sacrifice:
- “You give a piece of your soul away for a temporary time. Sometimes a temporary time is two years, sometimes it’s ten.” ([32:12])
On Purpose and Happiness:
- “If you look at most billionaires, they’re not happy people…they’re obsessed with the wrong things.” ([24:31])
On Curiosity:
- “My favorite three letters that I teach everybody is ASK. Go for no. You’ve got to ask more questions. Be more curious.” ([64:47])
On Self-Improvement:
- “Everything that I do is by design…You don’t wake up one day and it’s all there.” ([61:55])
On Identity Post-Exit:
- “A lot of people sell their business and they find this empty void…their work has become their identity.” ([57:15])
On Mentorship:
- “Come in humble…I’m not going to call you again until I do what you told me to do. I’m going to first implement what you did before I call you back.” ([56:29])

Timestamps for Important Segments

Origin Story & Early Hustle: [02:30–05:50]
Realization About Delegation & Systems: [06:57–09:31]
Culture, Equity, and $100M Employee Payout: [15:33–18:25]
Levels of Leadership and Team Evolution: [19:23–21:16]
Sacrifice, Burnout, and Reclaiming Balance: [21:16–25:44]
AI, the Future of Service & Tech Disruption: [44:05–48:36]
Delegation Tips & Executive Level Lessons: [49:50–53:20]
Time Management & Personal Mastery: [54:13–55:38]
Mentorship, Humility & Learning: [55:40–56:29]
Purpose Beyond Wealth/Identity Crisis After Exit: [57:15–61:11]
Advice to Next Generation: [64:47–65:03]

Final Advice

Tommy’s closing lesson, aimed at his future kids but applicable to any aspiring entrepreneur:

“Be more curious. Go learn more…Hang out with people with a common future, not just a common past. Manifest what that future is going to be…and never feel like you’ve arrived. The day you feel like you’ve arrived is the day you could throw me in the casket.” ([64:47])

Where to Find Tommy

Tommymello.com
Podcast: Home Service Millionaire
Social: See Tommymello.com for all links

The essence: Replace control with trust, ego with curiosity, and hustle with leadership if you want to build something massive—and if you want happiness to come along for the ride.

Success Story with Scott D. Clary

Guest: Tommy Mello - $1 Billion Company Founder | Why Control Keeps You Small

Date: December 31, 2025

Brief Overview

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Tommy’s Rags-to-Riches Story

Family Background & Early Hustle
- Grew up in a modest family—parents worked multiple jobs, experienced divorce, and economic hardship ([03:22]).
- First jobs: washing dishes at 12, landscaping business by his teens—even though he was allergic to grass ([03:14]).
- Early lessons: "If I wanted to do anything, I had to shovel snow and mow lawns. Back then, it's hard work." — Tommy ([03:22]).
Entrepreneurial Genesis
- Moved to Arizona at 16, worked as a busboy, lifeguard, continued hustling ([03:22]).
- Fell into garage doors by painting them as a side gig—scaled to painting 10+ doors/day ([04:37]).
- Started garage door business with roommate, staggered under debt ([05:50]).
- Took over the business and $50,000 in debt, called his mom for help; ran it all himself for years ([05:52–07:04]).

Control, Delegation, & the Power of Systems

“The hustler had to die for the leader to be born.” — Tommy ([06:57]).
Realization: doing everything oneself caps growth and breeds chaos ([07:04–12:05]).
Key inflection points:
- Hired his first “integrator” (Adam Cronenberg) to run operations ([07:04–09:31]).
- Invested in systems: CRM, process documentation, manuals, repeatable processes ([07:04-09:31]).
- “That was when I found an integrator and the business started to fly.” — Tommy
From putting out fires to "feeling less stress at $300M in revenue than $10M" due to the right team ([12:05–13:43]).

The Art of Extreme Delegation

Tommy’s legendary principle: “You will never out-delegate me” ([13:43]).
Deliberate decision to delegate everything except culture and marketing:
- “Ask yourself...could this be delegated?”
- Culture and direct technician relationships are non-negotiable for him; everything else delegates ([14:29–15:33]).
- Creates ownership throughout the company via equity incentive programs ([16:07–17:45]).

Ownership, Equity, & Culture

Remarkable act: Gave $100M in equity to 24 employees during a major exit, all based on merit, not tenure ([15:33–18:24]).
“This ownership mentality changes everything. It’s called equity incentive programs.” — Tommy ([16:07]).
Explains the need for fairness, motivation, and having a North Star for teams ([16:25–18:25]).
Argues that traditional “founder keeps it all” models breed resentment and lower performance ([17:51]).

Leadership Evolution & The Need for Continual Growth

Founder skills must evolve at every business stage; who got you to $50M is rarely who gets you to $500M ([19:23]).
- Tommy: “I want to be the dumbest guy in the room.”
Importance of identifying and supporting people’s dreams, not just numbers: “Some people's dreams unfortunately are too small. Some are bigger than mine...” ([19:23–21:16]).
Encourages leaders to ask “what would you do if you had $10M?” to get at core motivations ([19:23]).

Sacrifice, Balance, & The Myth of Happiness

Early years: total imbalance, relationships and health sacrificed for business ([21:16–24:31]).
- “You give a piece of your soul away for a temporary time. Sometimes it’s two years, sometimes ten.” — Tommy ([32:12])
Warns: “If you look at most billionaires, they’re not happy people…they’re obsessed with the wrong things.” ([24:31])
Now prioritizes balanced pursuit—purpose, not just growth: “I could do six hour days of focus. I’m still exploring things.” ([24:31-25:44])

On Growth, Competition, and the Future

Emphasizes the necessity of curiosity and a learning mindset: “Be more curious. Go learn more.” ([01:54])
AI, automation, and industry shifts—Tommy is deeply future-focused:
- “The big are going to get massive...more losers than winners.” ([47:37])
- Says most service industries are unprepared for technological disruption ([46:47–48:36]).
- “You better be a forward thinker, you better be curious, you better be asking questions… Every single thing you could do. Because it’s the people that just put their head down and say I’m going to go to work, they’re missing out.” — Tommy ([47:37])
Business is now systematized enough that most fires have been eliminated ([48:44-49:50]).

Delegation, Failure, & Building A-Players

Most executives struggle to delegate properly, even at high levels ([49:50–51:36]).
- “You should race towards people failing. If your EA screws up, that’s a lesson learned.” ([51:36])
Advice for hiring senior people: trial periods, set expectations upfront, ensure cultural fit ([52:20–53:20]).

Self-Mastery: Health, Relationships, Mental Resilience

Tommy’s formula for balance: ruthless time management, continuous improvement, purposeful delegation ([54:13]).
“There’s 168 hours in a week…every single person listening, focus on time management.” — Tommy ([54:13])
Delegation isn’t dumping: explain the why, the resources, the outcomes, and accountability ([54:13–55:38]).

Lifelong Learning, Mentorship, and the Value of Humility

Tommy notes the importance of being humble and always asking questions:
- “Go learn, study. Go find somebody that’s in your industry…pay it forward.” ([55:40–56:29])
Approach mentors with curiosity over ego: “Come in humble…implement what they told you before you ask for more.” ([55:38])

Meaning & Purpose Beyond Business

“You become who you hang out with…when you’re curious, be curious to the right people.” ([64:47])
“Never feel like you’ve arrived. The day you feel like you’ve arrived is the day you could throw me in the casket.” — Tommy ([65:03])
Purpose isn’t just business: “You gotta manifest it. Everything that I do is by design…You don’t just wake up and it’s all there.” ([61:55])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Leadership Evolution:
- “The hustler had to die for the leader to be born.” — Tommy ([06:57])
On Delegation:
- “You will never out-delegate me.” — Tommy ([13:43])
On Ownership:
- “This ownership mentality changes everything…it’s called equity incentive programs.” — Tommy ([16:07])
On Culture and Merit:
- “I like meritocracy a lot more than tenure. No one got it because of tenure.” — Tommy ([17:51])
On Sacrifice:
- “You give a piece of your soul away for a temporary time. Sometimes a temporary time is two years, sometimes it’s ten.” ([32:12])
On Purpose and Happiness:
- “If you look at most billionaires, they’re not happy people…they’re obsessed with the wrong things.” ([24:31])
On Curiosity:
- “My favorite three letters that I teach everybody is ASK. Go for no. You’ve got to ask more questions. Be more curious.” ([64:47])
On Self-Improvement:
- “Everything that I do is by design…You don’t wake up one day and it’s all there.” ([61:55])
On Identity Post-Exit:
- “A lot of people sell their business and they find this empty void…their work has become their identity.” ([57:15])
On Mentorship:
- “Come in humble…I’m not going to call you again until I do what you told me to do. I’m going to first implement what you did before I call you back.” ([56:29])

Timestamps for Important Segments

Origin Story & Early Hustle: [02:30–05:50]
Realization About Delegation & Systems: [06:57–09:31]
Culture, Equity, and $100M Employee Payout: [15:33–18:25]
Levels of Leadership and Team Evolution: [19:23–21:16]
Sacrifice, Burnout, and Reclaiming Balance: [21:16–25:44]
AI, the Future of Service & Tech Disruption: [44:05–48:36]
Delegation Tips & Executive Level Lessons: [49:50–53:20]
Time Management & Personal Mastery: [54:13–55:38]
Mentorship, Humility & Learning: [55:40–56:29]
Purpose Beyond Wealth/Identity Crisis After Exit: [57:15–61:11]
Advice to Next Generation: [64:47–65:03]

Final Advice

Tommy’s closing lesson, aimed at his future kids but applicable to any aspiring entrepreneur:

“Be more curious. Go learn more…Hang out with people with a common future, not just a common past. Manifest what that future is going to be…and never feel like you’ve arrived. The day you feel like you’ve arrived is the day you could throw me in the casket.” ([64:47])

Where to Find Tommy

Tommymello.com
Podcast: Home Service Millionaire
Social: See Tommymello.com for all links

The essence: Replace control with trust, ego with curiosity, and hustle with leadership if you want to build something massive—and if you want happiness to come along for the ride.

Tommy Mello - $1 Billion Company Founder | Why Control Keeps You Small

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Summary

Success Story with Scott D. Clary

Guest: Tommy Mello - $1 Billion Company Founder | Why Control Keeps You Small

Brief Overview

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Tommy’s Rags-to-Riches Story

Control, Delegation, & the Power of Systems

The Art of Extreme Delegation

Ownership, Equity, & Culture

Leadership Evolution & The Need for Continual Growth

Sacrifice, Balance, & The Myth of Happiness

On Growth, Competition, and the Future

Delegation, Failure, & Building A-Players

Self-Mastery: Health, Relationships, Mental Resilience

Lifelong Learning, Mentorship, and the Value of Humility

Meaning & Purpose Beyond Business

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Timestamps for Important Segments

Final Advice

Where to Find Tommy

The essence: Replace control with trust, ego with curiosity, and hustle with leadership if you want to build something massive—and if you want happiness to come along for the ride.

Summary

Success Story with Scott D. Clary

Guest: Tommy Mello - $1 Billion Company Founder | Why Control Keeps You Small

Brief Overview

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Tommy’s Rags-to-Riches Story

Control, Delegation, & the Power of Systems

The Art of Extreme Delegation

Ownership, Equity, & Culture

Leadership Evolution & The Need for Continual Growth

Sacrifice, Balance, & The Myth of Happiness

On Growth, Competition, and the Future

Delegation, Failure, & Building A-Players

Self-Mastery: Health, Relationships, Mental Resilience

Lifelong Learning, Mentorship, and the Value of Humility

Meaning & Purpose Beyond Business

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Timestamps for Important Segments

Final Advice

Where to Find Tommy

The essence: Replace control with trust, ego with curiosity, and hustle with leadership if you want to build something massive—and if you want happiness to come along for the ride.