Three founders ten years in had expansion ambitions and no growth strategy, so they built one and doubled business through COVID.
Client-reported figures for 24 Hour Home Care only. Not a firm-wide average.
In 2008, at the heart of the recession, Ryan Iwamoto and David Allerby decided to start their nonmedical homecare company.
With just $160,000 in family investment, experience working together at a nationwide healthcare organization, a passion for helping seniors live at home, and a belief the homecare industry would only continue growing, the partners founded 24 Hour Home Care.
Ryan was just 26 at the time.
“We had blind ambition,” Ryan explains of starting a company during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. “I think it worked to our advantage because we didn’t know any better.”
A year later, it was clear the partners’ bootstrapping had paid off when they made their first $1 million. They continued to hit milestones. $10 million. $20 million. Then, they made the Inc. 5000 list. Ryan and David were on people’s radars.
In 2012, the partners were curious to hear how they might fare in the market even though they knew nothing about the M&A world.
They spoke with an M&A company. “It was really the first example of having your heart sink,” Ryan says. The company told Ryan and David that 24 Hour Home Care wasn’t worth much. The co-founders were focused on growth more than earnings. The chat was a wake-up call that they needed to think differently about building their business.
Five years later, Ryan and David were thinking about a potential exit again. They hired an investment banker and connected with a PE firm they vibed with.
“We got all the way down to the finish line,” Ryan explains. “The day before closing, they got cold feet over some legislative bills that could potentially affect the business.”
Though it was disappointing to walk away from the deal, going through the process was like going through an MBA course. With new learnings from the failed deal under their belts, Ryan and David got serious about the future of the business.
David began coaching with CEO Coaching International’s Craig Coleman after Jaspar Weir and Bryce Maddock of TaskUs suggested the firm could help the 24-Hour Home Care duo up their ante. Ryan realized it was time for him to find a coach, too.
In 2019, Ryan attended CEO Coaching International’s marquee community event, the Make BIG Happen Summit.
“There were many entrepreneurs with inspiring stories about having a successful exit,” Ryan says. “I heard clients talking about their nine-figure exits, which stuck in my mind. I left the Summit writing down a nine-figure exit as my BIG goal. My North Star.”
Ryan started coaching with Sheldon Harris.
Sheldon was a sounding board and accountability partner for Ryan’s leadership challenges. Together, they made the hard decisions when it was clear a team member wasn’t the right fit to get Ryan to his nine-figure exit goal.
Working with Craig and David, Sheldon and Ryan worked continuously on the co-founders’ dynamic. Together, they embedded the Make BIG Happen Rhythms in the leadership team with facilitated quarterly and yearly planning sessions to ensure David, Ryan, and the entire company were at their peak when the right deal came.
In 2021, after finding success during COVID-19, Ryan and David found their deal. With it came the BIG nine-figure exit when TEAM Services Group acquired 24 Hour Home Care.
Today, Ryan and David still run 24 Hour Home Care as an independent entity, and they’re still working with CEO Coaching International. The only difference? Ryan’s new North Star is BIGGER than ever before.
"The CEO Coaching International team helped us drive very strong growth at 24 Hour Home Care."
Start with a 30-minute session. We will tell you plainly whether coaching is the right lever for where you are.
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