About

Hello, I'm Travis.

authentic

passionate

motivational

tenacious

humble

passionate

humble

motivational

tenacious

I am here to inspire the potential of individuals and organizations, and guide them to achievement.

My vision is a world excited by possibilities, confident in change, comfortable in uncertainty, and always in active pursuit of aligning actions with purpose.

I transform people and organizations in pursuit of prosperity by opening minds to new ways of thinking and doing as a catalyst for accelerated growth.

Download Resume

Collaboration

Your servant leader

Precision

Measure twice, cut once

Honesty

Open + direct communication

Excitement

Purposeful passion

Grit

In the trenches

Values

The principles that guide and motivate me.

1984

Repeated Grade 1 due to a reading deficiency.

1988

Decided I wanted to play hockey even though I’d never skated a day in my life.

Became obsessed with it and went to public skate 3 times a week to continually keep improving.

Scored 6 goals in year one and won championship; scored 45 goals in year two.

1992

Accepted hockey wasn’t going to be my profession.

Got my first job as a Dickie Dee (selling ice cream on a bicycle with a freezer attached to it) vendor and was infused with excitement by the “hustle” of sales.

Got job at the local grocery store and worked as much as I could.

The hustle really suited my personality.

1996

Graduated high school but didn't bother to pick up my diploma.

I needed to start paying rent to support the family home.

Worked at a golf course, grocery distribution company, employment agency, moving company, as a bouncer, and private security detail.

Graduated high school but didn't bother to pick up my diploma.

The Road to Pro Oil

The search for consistent income led to landing a job interview at a mechanic shop, but I accidentally missed the interview.

After speaking with my dad, I got on my bike and showed up - cap in hand - apologized and asked the owner to give me a chance. I said “pick anything and I’ll sell it.” He picked an air filter. I quickly sold it.

The owner gave me the job on the spot, and within 2 years, I was running the facility.

It’s not about what happens to you,
but how you respond to it.

1999

2001

Bought The Pro Oil & Lube Shoppe at 21 years old.

Married high school sweetheart, Miranda.

2002

Pro Oil grows by 300%

Paid off all debts

Cracked the code and figured out how to make real money in the industry.

How much money can you make in 15 minutes?

It's all about...

Answer: I figured out how to make $100 every 15 minutes with a 70% margin.

Had my dad sit in the shop with a stopwatch to time the interactions.

ASK
ME
HOW

ASK

HOW

How do you get people to change their buying habits?

Ask me about how strategic philanthropy can be an accelerant for your business.

2004

2006

Had first child (Jonathan)

Had 10 Pro Oil locations in the Greater Toronto Area.

Signed exclusivity contract with Valvoline.

Kept reinvesting in the business.

It’s a compulsion. The satisfaction I get from pushing the limits and achieving success alongside all stakeholders.

In my commitment to continue growing the business, drove the entire country of Canada with a tape recorder, chronicling possible locations for location opportunities.

Decided I needed my own “Franchising for Dummies” so I hired a lawyer to help me understand the process.
Built a turnkey franchising and financing program.
In order to scale and keep brand identity consistent, created a “Franchise in a Box”, a 5-section modular building that could be shipped across the country.

Franchising took off, signing up 20 in the first year.
Practiced macropatience and microexecution as we had to wait to start making money, but had to keep putting out cash to support the growth.

If growing the business via acquisitions had been exhausted, where were the most lucrative locations to build new shops?

The answer may surprise you. Ask me!

2007

-2008

2011

Market crash, but business was unaffected.

Second son was born. (Hunter)

2009

-2014

Continued building up the pipeline of franchises.

2014

Went to market to sell Pro Oil in June.
Entertained a variety offers.

Accepted an offer at the end of July.

First letter of intent was received the last week of July.

Business was sold and paid for/cashed out by September 4 to a North Carolina Portfolio Company owned by a NYC private equity firm.

We opened a location every other month for 5 years.

The Playbook

After the acquisition of Pro Oil, I needed to decompress. But, I had 15 years of knowledge and experience I didn’t want to lose. To calm the noise and filter the fog, I spent the next year downloading all the knowledge from my brain into a spreadsheet.

I included an analysis of everything, my due diligence checklist, and pulled in expertise from serious executives and business thought leaders across all departments including Jim Collins (Good to Great) and David G. Thomson (Blueprint to a Billion).

Ultimately, this invaluable asset enables me to hit the ground running when going into any company, allowing me to uncover key insights and put together the first 90-Day strategy upon entry.

I'm an insanely intellectually curious individual. I'm up in my head all the time, constantly brainstorming.

2015

2017

Wanted to do an MBA but didn’t have an undergraduate degree and hadn’t completed the GMAT.

Went to Ivey School of Business to pitch the people in admissions on why they should let me in.

2018

Enter Eddy Solutions

2019

Eddy had no sales pipeline and no contracts.

Shortly thereafter, was asked to be the CEO.

Was asked to be on the board of a company I had invested in - Eddy Solutions.

There is a difference between investing and being on a board versus when you take the reins of the business. It’s a different level of scrutiny you need to put yourself under. I would never take an opportunity I didn’t think I could crush so, I took the time to properly assess myself to ensure success.

Became CEO of Eddy Solutions.

Studied the market more intimately, and the product more fully - it’s viable and longevity - while evaluating the in-house talent.

Worked on proving out the go to market strategy that we felt would be sticky for 3-5 years with a full analysis of the business (people, product, supply chain, customers, competitors, legal, etc.) as well as aligned capital structure.

2020

Brought in strategic partners.

Established client relationships that would provide Eddy a material amount of business but, also would be shareholders in the business.

Executed on material contracts with blue chip developers, insurance companies, telecom, and other channel partners.

Built in optimization through development of a custom CRM.

2021

The year I realized the momentum we had built.

Over my tenure at Eddy, I raised $25 million. We increased company value from $2 million in 2019 to $40 million in 2022, including a sales pipeline of over $100 million and contracted backlog of approximately $50 million.

2022

Execution of go public event.

Completed an acquisition, integration, and carried on taking market share.

Resigned as I was no longer aligned with the chairman of the board of directors as it relates to finances, business development, sales, and operations.

Began exploring investing and built a portfolio.

Started to actively invest in capital markets, participating in private equity, venture capital, and private debt.

Joined a friend who owned a hedge fund.

2023

Exploring opportunities.

Interested in:

CEO positions
Partner opportunities in private equity and venture capital
Buying a company that has $3-5 mm in EBITDA
A seat on a board of directors

Contact

Accepted to Ivey.

Graduated with an 83% average.