From Ashes to Impact: How Monkey Wrench’s Community Commitment Fueled $25M Growth

From Ashes to Impact: How Monkey Wrench’s Community Commitment Fueled $25M Growth

To The Point - Home Services Podcast · 2025-04-22

In this episode of To The Point Home Services Podcast, hosts Chris and Chad sit down with Yossi Wachtel, Founder & President of Monkey Wrench to explore his inspiring entrepreneurial journey. From scaling a one-truck plumbing company to a $25M+ home services powerhouse in Southern California, Yossi gets real about navigating tough markets, leadership through crisis, personal branding, and building a customer-obsessed culture.

Whether you're running a service business, managing a team, or trying to create value in a noisy market, this one’s packed with insights you won’t want to miss!

🧠 Key Takeaways

How Yossi scaled Monkey Wrench to $25M in revenue in one of the most competitive home service markets.

The importance of mission-driven leadership and a customer-centric mindset.

Behind-the-scenes of how the Palisades fire impacted his business and how he led through adversity.

Using personal brand (especially on LinkedIn) to connect with customers and elevate trust.

Creating training systems and internal bootcamps that reinforce service excellence.

Why simplifying the customer experience—even something as small as a voice prompt—can boost conversions.

Marketing strategies that actually leverage your existing customer base.

The power of empathy, handwritten letters, and going above & beyond in a service-based industry.

⏱️ Timecodes

00:00 – Intro + wild flight story

04:00 – Meet Yossi: Founder of Monkey Wrench

07:00 – Dad jokes & Cuban elevator story

10:00 – Palisades Fire: Business impact & leadership through crisis

18:00 – Revenue talk: $25M company in 2024

21:00 – Competing in SoCal: mindset vs market

23:00 – Service over new construction

26:00 – Memberships & marketing to your current base

31:00 – The power of personal branding on LinkedIn

36:00 – Making it EASY to do business with you

42:00 – Training, roleplay, and elevating installers

44:00 – Marketing like a funnel & cross-promotion strategy

47:00 – Final thoughts & gratitude

🔗 Resources & Mentions

Monkey Wrench Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electric - https://www.monkeywrenchplumbers.com/

Connect with Yossi on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/yossi-wachtel-70a81412/

Nexstar Network - https://www.nexstarnetwork.com/

📣 Enjoyed this episode?

👉 Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more episodes that get straight To The Point.

💬 Drop your favorite takeaway in the comments—or share your best dad joke!

📲 Follow us on your favorite podcast app & never miss an episode.

#ToThePointPodcast #HomeServices #HVAC #Plumbing #Leadership #Entrepreneurship #Marketing #CustomerExperience

To The Point - Home Services Podcast

The Home Services podcast that gets to the point, with solutions to help your service company grow. Our focus is to help HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical, Roofing, etc. companies learn how to grow their companies with marketing & operational solutions.

Where can you listen?

Apple Podcasts Logo Podtail Logo Google Podcasts Logo RSS

Episodes