Transcript
Disney Announcer (0:00)
Zootopia 2 has come home to Disney. Let's go get ready for a new case.
David Royce (0:04)
We're the greatest partners of all time. New friends, Gary the Snake and your last name, the Snake Dream team. Get new habitats.
Sponsor Voice 1 (0:11)
Zootopia has a secret reptile population.
Disney Announcer (0:14)
You can watch the record breaking phenomenon at home. Zootopia 2 now available on Disney. Rated PG. And right now you can get Disney and hulu for just 4.99amonth for three months with a special limited time offer. Ends March 24. After three months, Plan Auto renews at 1299amonth. Terms apply.
Travis (Podcast Host) (0:30)
You're listening to the Travis Makes Money podcast presented by GoHighLevel.com for a free 30 day trial of the best all in one digital marketing software tool on the planet, just go to gohighlevel.com travis hey, what's going on everybody? Welcome back to the Travis Makes Money podcast where it's a mission to help you make more money. Today on the show, I'm talking to a new friend of mine, David Royce. David is a four time founder and serial entrepreneur who built and exited three companies companies for over $178 million. In his 30s. He then founded and scaled Aptiv Environmental to more than $500 million in annual revenue, putting it on track to become the first unicorn in its industry. He grew Aptiv into the third largest residential pest control company in North America, employing over 6,500 people across 5,000 cities in 34 states before exiting in 2025. He's an expert in scaling overlooked unsexy industries where most operators are leaving money on. David, what's up dude? Welcome to the show.
David Royce (1:32)
Hey, thanks for the opportunity. Appreciate you being here.
Travis (Podcast Host) (1:35)
So four companies that you exited for almost $200 million enterprise value in your 30s before you started the one of the most successful pest control companies in the entire country. Where do you attribute the entrepreneurial gene in your life to? Was there a moment, a story, a period in time? Or is this sort of just something that was always in your DNA?
David Royce (1:58)
Yeah, I don't think it was something out of necessity. When I was in college, I was a broke college student and was working a minimum wage job trying to pay my way through school and I went or I had a friend that came to me and said, hey, I made $25,000 in a summer selling pest control services door to door. I really had no idea what pest control was. I just said I'm in whatever that is because that's a lot better than you made. How much? Eight, nine Bucks per hour. Right. That I'm making. So I drove 10 hours out to Sacramento, California and I was horrible at sales. The first five days I sold zero. And everybody else around me selling one to four per day, you know, and I'm getting like just free cardio out of it. Yeah.
