Ep 189 - "From Feeding the 5000 to PuroClean and Plumbing"

Dec 9, 2025

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In this episode of Head, Heart, and Boots, I sit down with Nilo Quiroz and John Villon to unpack their unlikely path from oil-and-gas engineers to running one of the fastest-growing PuroClean and 1-Tom Plumber operations in the country.

We get into how early failures shaped their mindset, why putting ego aside became the key to their partnership, and how saying yes—long before they felt ready—helped them accelerate past the typical startup grind. From feeding thousands of hurricane responders to tearing out their first flooded home with support from the franchise network, their journey is a masterclass in hustle, humility, and learning fast.

Hope you enjoy.

Chris

Why You Should Listen

[00:07:36] How two radically different personalities learned to set ego aside and build a partnership that actually works under pressure

[00:18:36] Why saying “yes” to unfamiliar work (and figuring it out later) became their biggest accelerator in the early years

[00:24:45] What their first hurricane deployment taught them about learning fast, asking for help, and leveraging a franchise network

[00:33:00] How diversification—contents, reconstruction, bio, plumbing—kept their business alive when mitigation slowed down

[00:43:45] Why they see business as a marathon, not a sprint, and how that mindset helped them survive failures and grow multiple companies

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