#81 He Built Billion Dollar Companies By Selling Everything Except The Team | David Royce

My guest today sold the same company four times and built over a billion dollars in exits doing it, in pest control, of all industries. David Royce walks me through how he kept his "golden goose" (the sales force and executive team) every time he sold, rolled the cash into the next venture, and rebuilt without ever giving up equity. We get into how that took him from zero to 500 million in eight years, why fast growth nearly bankrupted him first, and the 5 am text that pulled his father out of hospice.  Learn what Wharton Business School will never teach you!  Sign up for the ANTI-MBA today: https://bit.ly/46vct60 Click here to order your personalized poster!: https://bit.ly/46J08MS Connect with David Royce Website: https://bit.ly/3R7BpNm  Instagram: https://bit.ly/4vDqY3f  Facebook: https://bit.ly/4eDttfK  LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/4gdSvU2  Timestamps 00:00 - ​Intro of Show 02:10 - Growing up and early life 02:27 - Dad ran public companies then lost everything 03:56 - Stumbling into pest control by accident 04:51 - Zero sales for five days then top rookie 05:03 - How he learned to sell 05:41 - Making $225K in one summer 06:49 - The light bulb moment 08:06 - Almost bankrupting the company 09:57 - Managing cash while growing fast 10:22 - Sales psychology that changed everything 13:01 - Lessons from three exits 13:14 - Sell the book keep the team 15:16 - Other industries where this works 16:25 - Building the same team across companies 17:50 - White collar culture in a blue collar industry 18:11 - The book that changed everything 20:39 - Green and red flags when hiring 21:55 - Hire slow fire fast 22:46 - Why he recruited missionaries 23:50 - Sold the company and what's next 25:33 - Having two daughters 26:37 - Teaching kids resilience 27:10 - Losing their home in the LA fires 29:06 - Staying in the middle politically 31:24 - Social media and brainwashing 32:05 - How he thinks about legacy 33:20 - Is college still worth it? 37:05 - Private school vs homeschool 40:06 - How he thinks about AI 43:54 - When AI becomes dangerous 45:12 - AI and the future of medicine 46:26 - AI as a better therapist 50:10 - Flying his dad out to save his life 53:23 - 30 Acts of Kindness app 55:17 - Chick-fil-A vs McDonald's 56:22 - Servant leadership and developing people 59:02 - Servant leaders vs visionary jerks 1:01:11 - Where to find David Royce Watch the “David Guttman Podcast” every Tuesday at 8 AM EST on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3ZGK2yv Connect with David Guttman Website: https://bit.ly/4jclYvK Instagram: https://bit.ly/4iARMe9 TikTok: https://bit.ly/3P19NVm Facebook: https://bit.ly/49CQjQx X: https://bit.ly/4gH28aR LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3Bx7Tc2 SUBSCRIBE TO: https://www.youtube.com/@RealDaveGuttman Podcast platforms: Spotify: ​​https://spoti.fi/3VE3fzV Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3VLzm0v