David Royce - 4x Exited Entrepreneur ($500M) | Following Your Dreams Can Keep You Broke

➡️ Join 321,000 people who read my free weekly newsletter: https://newsletter.scottdclary.com ➡️ Like The Podcast? Leave A Rating: https://ratethispodcast.com/successstory David Royce is a serial entrepreneur who turned a door-to-door pest control hustle into a billion-dollar empire. He built and sold Moxie, EcoFirst, and Alterra for a combined $170M+—with individual exits of $13M, $30M, and $130M—before launching Aptive Environmental, now one of the fastest-growing service companies in America with 3,700+ locations. Known for scaling “boring” businesses into goldmines, Royce mastered the art of growth through elite teams, strong culture, and bulletproof systems. His playbook is the blueprint for turning everyday industries into nine-figure wins. ➡️ Show Links https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-royce-22539425/  ➡️ Podcast Sponsors Hubspot - https://hubspot.com/   Cornbread Hemp - https://cornbreadhemp.com/success (Code: Success) iDigress Podcast - https://idigress.show  NetSuite — https://netsuite.com/scottclary/  Indeed - https://indeed.com/clary ➡️ Talking Points 00:00 – Intro 01:27 – Accidental Entrepreneur? 03:04 – What Made David a Sales Star 04:22 – Passion vs Profit 08:24 – From Employee to Founder 11:50 – Building a Service Business 13:37 – Are Entrepreneurs Born or Made? 17:04 – Near Bankruptcy and the Comeback 19:14 – 7,500 Customers in Year One 25:26 – Sponsor Break 27:23 – The 3 Phases of Business 31:51 – How His 4 Companies Evolved 37:39 – Lessons from 4 Exits 40:54 – Hiring Rockstar Executives 44:27 – Sponsor Break 46:05 – When Will He Exit Again? 54:41 – Why Founders Can’t Switch Off 58:54 – Redefining Success 1:08:41 – How David Learns 1:13:52 – Will His Kids Take Over? 1:15:56 – What’s Next for David 1:16:48 – One Lesson for His Kids See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.