The Business Lessons Behind Duke's Nationwide Growth | Blue Collar StartUp #144

Matt Fishbune, CEO of Duke's, joins Blue Collar StartUp to discuss how a specialized sewer root control company grew from its Syracuse, New York roots into a nationwide business through acquisitions, market expansion, skilled labor, leadership development, and a focus on its core business. Matt also shares lessons from Duke's growth, including how to evaluate new markets, build teams across multiple regions, develop future leaders, and why the trades should never be viewed as a fallback career. Connect with Matt Fishbune and learn more about Duke's at dukes.com. 0:00 Welcome to Blue Collar StartUp 3:57 How Duke's Root Control got started in Syracuse 7:41 Turning a chemical product into a service business 10:54 Building a specialized blue-collar workforce 12:56 Matt's role and building Duke's for the next 40 years 15:05 Growth, acquisitions and entering new markets 18:13 Why Duke's invests in greenfield expansion 21:11 Learning from failed investments and "scar tissue" 22:53 How Duke's decides which markets to enter 24:05 Why local relationships matter in a national business 27:03 Building the infrastructure to manage nationwide growth 30:47 Creating a more effective organizational structure 32:42 Why leadership needs to get out in the field 35:05 The "Chief Reminding Officer" approach to leadership 38:00 Building Duke's Academy and developing leaders 39:50 Why onboarding can become overwhelming 42:18 When expanding into a new market can be a mistake 45:05 The "30-foot dunk" test for new business ideas 46:31 Why the trades are not a fallback option 48:04 Learning the trade and the business side 49:37 Where to learn more about Duke's Want more Blue Collar StartUp? Website: bluecollarstartup.io  Facebook: facebook.com/bluecollarstartup  Instagram: instagram.com/thebluecollarstartup  #BlueCollarStartUp #BlueCollarBusiness #TradesBusiness #Entrepreneurship #SkilledTrades