The Founder and CEO of A1 Garage Door Service is recognized for turning a garage-door repair company that started $50,000 in debt into one of the largest residential garage door providers in the country, for a reported $2 billion sale to KKR that would rank among the largest exits in home services history, and for a media platform, books and coaching programs that have made him one of the most widely followed operators teaching the trade.
HG HomeClub has named Tommy Mello, Founder and CEO of A1 Garage Door Service, to its list of the 25 Most Influential Leaders in Home Improvement, Home Services and Outdoor Living.
The list, published by HG HomeClub, recognizes 25 leaders who are shaping these three industries in the right way. It spans manufacturing, distribution, retail, technology, franchising, contracting, media, capital and the associations that convene the trades. It is presented alphabetically and carries no numerical ranking, because the leaders on it exercise influence in fundamentally different ways, and comparing a keynote stage to a distribution network, or a franchise system to a product platform, would flatten what makes each of them consequential.
Mello earns his place on it for one of the more dramatic scale-ups in residential home services. He founded A1 Garage Door Service in Phoenix in 2007 while carrying $50,000 in debt and working more than 80 hours a week with no mentors to guide him. Today, per the company’s own account, A1 generates more than $200 million in annual revenue, employs over 700 team members and operates across 19 states, and in September 2026, Reuters reported that KKR had agreed to acquire A1 for around $2 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
Those are the numbers. The story is in a career that started painting garage doors, not selling them.
A Move From Detroit and a Career Painting Garage Doors
Mello moved from Detroit, Michigan, to Phoenix in 1999 to begin a career painting garage doors, and launched his business, then called A1 Garage Door Specialists, in 2007 while earning his master’s degree in business from the University of Arizona. A1’s early years were defined by struggle rather than momentum: Mello has described starting the business over $50,000 in debt, working more than 80 hours a week, and learning the realities of ownership through trial and error with no mentors in the industry to guide him.
From $25 Million to $200 Million in Less Than a Decade
The turnaround took years to show up in the numbers. By 2017, Mello had grown A1 Garage Door Service to $25 million in annual revenue, and the growth accelerated from there. A 2022 industry profile put annual sales at $75 million, up from $40 million two years earlier, with more than 400 team members across more than 30 markets, before the company’s own account of its current scale places revenue at more than $200 million with over 700 employees across 19 states, making it, by Reuters’ description, one of the largest residential garage door service providers in the country.
A Private Equity Partnership, Then a Reported Path to $2 Billion
On December 22, 2022, an investment group led by Cortec Group Fund VII, L.P., in partnership with Mello and A1’s management, completed a growth recapitalization of A1 Garage Door Service Holdings, with terms of the transaction not disclosed. Mello retained a substantial ownership stake and continued running day-to-day operations following that recapitalization.
Nearly four years later, on September 2, 2026, Reuters reported that KKR had agreed to acquire A1 Garage Door Service for around $2 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter, with KKR and Cortec declining to comment and A1 unreachable for comment on the reporting at the time. The deal would extend KKR’s existing footprint in residential services, which already includes Neighborly, acquired in 2021, and a significant 2023 investment in Groundworks, positioning A1 alongside two other companies represented on this list.
Turning Blue-Collar Careers Into an Ownership Story
Wealth creation for his own workforce has been a consistent theme in how Mello talks about his company’s growth. “We are going to make thousands of people in the company highly successful homeowners,” Mello has said. “We want them to be great parents, spend time with their families, to succeed in their dreams.” He has described using what he calls a “dream manager,” whose role is to help every employee accomplish their personal goals outside of work, not just their targets inside it.
Building the Philosophy He Calls “Elevate”
At the center of Mello‘s leadership approach is a framework he calls Elevate, built on the belief that businesses perform best when everyone wins, employees, customers and owners alike. That philosophy was tested early in the COVID-19 pandemic, when Mello arrived at the office on the first day of lockdown expecting uncertainty from his team, and instead found employee after employee showing up ready to work, an experience the company credits with reinforcing his conviction in the model.
From Struggling Founder to Bestselling Author and Podcast Host
As A1 grew, Mello began sharing the operational lessons behind it. He is the author of the bestselling books Home Service Millionaire and Elevate: Build a Business Where Everybody Wins, hosts The Home Service Expert podcast, and is a columnist for Inc. Magazine. He has also hosted the Freedom Event, a multi-day conference for home service professionals, including a 2023 edition held in Orlando, Florida, extending his teaching beyond his own company to the broader trades.
Why Does Tommy Mello Belong Among the 25 Most Influential Leaders in These Industries?
Influence in these industries takes several forms. Some leaders influence through a keynote stage or a book. Some through a franchise system that creates business owners. Some through a distribution network, a software platform, or the price of a pallet.
Tommy Mello influences through a growth story built almost entirely from scratch, and through the platform he built to teach others how he did it. He took a single-market garage door business, $50,000 in debt at the outset, to a reported $2 billion sale to one of the largest private equity firms in the world, while simultaneously becoming one of the most widely followed voices teaching other home service operators through his books, podcast and events. That combination of operator’s proof and teacher’s reach, at a scale few garage door companies have ever reached, is exactly the kind of influence this list was created to recognize.
About HG HomeClub
HG HomeClub is a national media platform serving the home improvement, home services and outdoor living industries. Created to champion media back to its original purpose of informed transparency, HG HomeClub curates the top stories, headlines, rankings, videos, podcasts, webinars, events and professional recommendations across the industry and presents them in one consolidated, easily consumable destination, helping both homeowners and professionals make better-informed decisions. More information is available at hghomeclub.com.
About A1 Garage Door Service
A1 Garage Door Service, founded in 2007 and headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, is a leading national provider in garage door sales and services, offering repair, replacement and installation to residential customers. Led by Founder and CEO Tommy Mello, the company generates more than $200 million in annual revenue with over 700 employees across 19 states. A1 has been backed by Cortec Group since a December 2022 growth recapitalization, and in September 2026 Reuters reported that KKR had agreed to acquire the company for around $2 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter. More information is available at a1garage.com.
The 25 Most Influential Leaders in Home Improvement, Home Services and Outdoor Living
Presented alphabetically. There is no numerical ranking; each leader is recognized for influence exercised in a distinct way.
- Doug Black — Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, SiteOne Landscape Supply (Outdoor living)
- AJ Brown — Co-Chief Executive Officer, Apex Service Partners (Platforms)
- Paul Burleson — Senior Account Executive, Westlake Royal Building Products (Home improvement)
- Jenilee Common — Chief Executive Officer, Leaf Home and Erie Home (Home improvement)
- Greg Cummings — Chief Executive Officer, Power100 (Media)
- Bill Darcy — Global President and Chief Executive Officer, NKBA and KBIS (Associations)
- Mike Davis — Chief Executive Officer, Neighborly (Franchising)
- Ted Decker — Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Home Depot (Retail)
- Marvin R. Ellison — Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Lowe’s (Retail)
- Aaron Erter — Chief Executive Officer, James Hardie (Manufacturing)
- Daniel Gluck — Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Renuity (Home improvement)
- Ken Goodrich — Chairman; Founder, Goettl; The Goodrich Organization (Home services)
- Brian Gottlieb — Best-Selling Author and Speaker, Beyond the Hammer (Speaking and authorship)
- Maggie Hardy — Owner, President and Chief Executive Officer, 84 Lumber (Distribution)
- Brad Jacobs — Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, QXO (Distribution)
- Kurt Kane — President and Chief Executive Officer, TruGreen (Outdoor living)
- Ara Mahdessian — Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, ServiceTitan (Technology)
- Matt Malone — Founder and Executive Chairman, Groundworks (Home services)
- Tommy Mello — Founder and Chief Executive Officer, A1 Garage Door Service (Home services)
- Heidi G. Petz — Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer, Sherwin-Williams (Manufacturing)
- Asher Raphael — Co-Chief Executive Officer, Power Home Remodeling (Home improvement)
- Dave Regnery — Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Trane Technologies (Manufacturing)
- Marcus Sheridan — Founder, Marcus Sheridan International (Speaking and authorship)
- Dan Tinker — President and Chief Executive Officer, SRS Distribution (Distribution)
- James W. Tobin III — President and Chief Executive Officer, National Association of Home Builders (Associations)
Frequently Asked Questions About Tommy Mello, A1 Garage Door Service and This Recognition
- What is HG HomeClub, and what is this list?
HG HomeClub is a national media platform serving the home improvement, home services, and outdoor living industries. It was created to return media to its original purpose of informed transparency, curating the industry’s top stories, headlines, rankings, videos, podcasts, webinars, events and professional recommendations in one place for both homeowners and professionals. The 25 Most Influential Leaders in Home Improvement, Home Services and Outdoor Living is one of HG HomeClub’s editorial rankings, recognizing the people shaping these industries in the right way across manufacturing, distribution, retail, technology, franchising, contracting, media, capital and the associations that convene the trades.
- Is the list ranked from one to 25?
No. The list is presented alphabetically and carries no numerical order. The leaders recognized exercise influence in genuinely different ways, through enterprise scale, growth, product innovation, franchising, capital, authorship, keynote stages, advocacy and media, and HG HomeClub declined to impose a hierarchy on work that is not comparable. Every leader on the list is recognized equally.
- Who is Tommy Mello?
Tommy Mello is the Founder and CEO of A1 Garage Door Service. He moved from Detroit to Phoenix in 1999, began his career painting garage doors, and founded A1 in 2007 while earning his master’s degree in business from the University of Arizona, starting the company $50,000 in debt. He is also the author of two bestselling books, host of The Home Service Expert podcast, and a columnist for Inc. Magazine.
- Why was Tommy Mello selected for this list?
Because he grew A1 Garage Door Service from a debt-ridden startup into a company generating more than $200 million in annual revenue across 19 states, a growth story that in September 2026 was reported to culminate in a roughly $2 billion sale to KKR, while also becoming one of the most widely followed operator-educators in home services through his books, podcast and live events.
- How large is A1 Garage Door Service today?
According to the company’s own account, A1 Garage Door Service generates more than $200 million in annual revenue, employs over 700 team members, and operates across 19 states, making it one of the largest residential garage door service providers in the United States.
- What is the reported KKR acquisition of A1 Garage Door Service?
On September 2, 2026, Reuters reported that KKR had agreed to acquire A1 Garage Door Service for around $2 billion, citing people familiar with the matter. KKR and Cortec Group, A1’s existing private equity partner, both declined to comment on the reporting, and the transaction had not been publicly confirmed by the companies at the time of this article. The deal would add to KKR’s existing residential services investments, which include Neighborly and Groundworks.
- What was the 2022 Cortec Group recapitalization?
On December 22, 2022, an investment group led by Cortec Group Fund VII completed a growth recapitalization of A1 Garage Door Service Holdings in partnership with Tommy Mello and A1’s management team. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and Mello retained a substantial ownership stake while continuing to lead day-to-day operations.
- What books has Tommy Mello written?
Tommy Mello is the author of Home Service Millionaire and Elevate: Build a Business Where Everybody Wins, both bestselling books drawing on his experience building A1 Garage Door Service. He also hosts The Home Service Expert podcast and writes as a columnist for Inc. Magazine.
- What is Tommy Mello’s “Elevate” philosophy?
Elevate is the leadership framework Mello has built his company culture around, based on the belief that businesses perform best when employees, customers and owners all win together. He has described using a “dream manager” role within A1 dedicated to helping employees achieve their personal goals outside of work, alongside their professional targets.
