Mr. Poppy | How They Reached a $10M Run Rate in Five Months

Tenzin Soepa and Andrei Smith, co-owners of Mr. Poppy Electric, went from top Audi salespeople to launching a greenfield electrical and HVAC company that reached roughly $890,000 in revenue in its fifth month, a run rate above $10 million. They did it without acquiring an existing operation, and the path exposed a problem many contractors mistake for success: selling more work than the team can install. Tom Howard breaks down how they shifted from closing every job themselves to building capacity. They unpack the capital and hiring decisions behind the growth, why a bright-orange-van brand and owner-led social ads created trust, how they responded to new leads in under 30 seconds, and what changed when they finally hired dedicated salespeople. Key Topics: Why being booked out can signal a capacity problem Hiring install teams before demand feels comfortable Building trust through branding and owner-led ads Calling social leads back in under 30 seconds Replacing founder-led sales with dedicated salespeople The revenue, marketing spend, and normalized profit math Connect with Soepa and Andrei Mr. Poppy Electric: https://callmrpoppy.com/ Instagram:   / callmrpoppy   Andrei on LinkedIn:   / andreismith   Connect with Tom Howard Linktree: https://linktr.ee/howarddeals Website: https://howarddeals.com/ YouTube:    / @howarddeals   Instagram:   / realtomhoward   TikTok:   / realtomhoward   X: https://x.com/dealshoward Chapter Markers: 00:00 - Meet Soepa and Andrei 04:14 - From Audi Sales to Home Services 08:23 - Stop Selling and Build Capacity 13:22 - Using Capital to Grow Faster 17:00 - Revenue Jumps in Months Four and Five 21:03 - Building the Brand and Lead Flow 26:42 - Marketing Costs Behind $890K 33:04 - Responding to Leads in 30 Seconds 40:16 - Letting Go of Founder-Led Sales 48:02 - Revenue, Payroll, and Profit