DiscoverThe Boardroom Buzz: Grow, Sell, or ExitPaul Giannamore Unfiltered: Hustling Out of Chicago, Cracking Wall Street, and Building POTOMAC M&A
Paul Giannamore Unfiltered: Hustling Out of Chicago, Cracking Wall Street, and Building POTOMAC M&A

Paul Giannamore Unfiltered: Hustling Out of Chicago, Cracking Wall Street, and Building POTOMAC M&A

Update: 2025-05-01
Share

Description

Meet Jason & Jeremy Julio—the Blue-Collar Twins turned eight-figure sellers— as they step in as your new co-hosts of The Boardroom Buzz. In their maiden voyage they flip the script, putting mentor Paul Giannamore in the hot seat to uncover the back-alley hustle that took him from inner-city Chicago to building Potomac M&A into a middle-market powerhouse.



You’ll hear:



  • How the twins scaled a New Jersey pest-control roll-up while teaching full-time
  • Paul’s early days flipping farm gear, tech-banking in the dot-com frenzy, and spotting gold in fragmented service markets
  • Why CEOs should obsess over root-cause thinking (and Paul’s daily “thinking walks”)
  • The inside story of hiring Franco “The Mexican” and building a 25-deal pipeline
  • What makes fire-suppression, lawn, and niche res-service verticals today’s M&A greenfield


Stick around for Paul’s blunt take on leverage, buyer psychology, and the mindset shift owners need three years before an exit.



From Gym Teachers to Service Leaders: The Julio Twins' Story | Last Bite Mosquito, Viking Pest https://youtu.be/DAYxtzhswxs



From PE Teachers to Pest Control Owners: The Julio Twins Share Their POTOMAC Experience https://youtu.be/HAx9noqsqTo



https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulgiannamore



www.potomaccompany.com



https://bluecollartwins.com



Produced by: www.verbell.ltd



00:00:00 Cold-open – Paul on “no pep-talks, only strategy.”



00:00:56 Jason & Jeremy Julio frame the episode’s purpose.



00:02:56 Teacher-to-$15 M exit – twins recap scaling while holding day jobs.



00:04:53 Paul’s childhood: Chicago schools → Italy & Spain.



00:09:10 Cornell years, full scholarship & skipping community college.



00:11:55 First deal – buying a combine attachment at a farm auction.



00:18:20 Dot-com boom: Lehman → Credit Suisse tech-M&A under Frank Quattrone.



00:24:40 Private-equity at American Capital → founding POTOMAC (2003).



00:27:05 Discovering pest-control M&A; the Orkin/Terminix duopoly era.



00:31:05 Philosophy: “Put the seller first—profit follows.”



00:34:50 Shift from deal-maker to “psychodynamic” CEO coach.



00:38:00 Legacy talk – “Play the hand you’re dealt better than anyone.”



00:40:55 Enter “the Mexican” — Franco’s gladiator-style interview story.



00:46:25 Daily routine & thinking leverage (25 k steps, no morning calls).



00:54:00 Smashing limiting beliefs: four-minute-mile analogy for owners.



00:59:40 What’s hot in M&A: lawn-care roll-ups; fire-protection next.



01:06:05 Advice to 18-year-old Paul: guard health, seek balance.



01:08:10 Top travel picks – Istanbul, Switzerland, Japan keep calling.



01:12:50 Dylan Seals outro – CTA to POTOMAC M&A Masterclass playlist.

Comments 
In Channel
loading
00:00
00:00
1.0x

0.5x

0.8x

1.0x

1.25x

1.5x

2.0x

3.0x

Sleep Timer

Off

End of Episode

5 Minutes

10 Minutes

15 Minutes

30 Minutes

45 Minutes

60 Minutes

120 Minutes

Paul Giannamore Unfiltered: Hustling Out of Chicago, Cracking Wall Street, and Building POTOMAC M&A

Paul Giannamore Unfiltered: Hustling Out of Chicago, Cracking Wall Street, and Building POTOMAC M&A