From Bedroom to £50M Exit: Building a Facilities Empire in Your Pants with Andrew Holbert

Andrew Holbert, founder of Pareto FM, shares the unfiltered story of how he went from starting a facilities management business in his bedroom (in his pants) to building a £50 million operation with 550 staff and exiting for nine figures at age 37.

Andrew reveals the strategic decisions, brutal work ethic, and unconventional sales tactics that allowed him to achieve profitability levels two to three times higher than industry competitors, all while maintaining an 8 in 10 win rate on major contracts. From winning London Zoo as a £1.5 million turnover business to sitting in client offices with trays of donuts (including vegan and gluten free options), he breaks down exactly how he built a service business designed for scale and sale.

You are going to learn:

00:00 Intro

01:04 How I Started A Business In My Bedroom (In My Pants)

03:21 Growing From Bedroom To £50M & 550 Staff In 9 Years

05:47 Why Our EBITDA Was 13% When Competitors Were At 4%

09:12 The Overhead Light Model That Changed Everything

12:38 Why I Turned Down Work When I Was Starting Out

15:29 How I Used AI Before AI Existed (And Why I'm Glad It Wasn't There)

18:44 Hiring The C Suite: Building A Senior Team That Never Left

22:17 Working 19 Hours A Day & Still Having Two Kids