Ryan Shank chased down billionaire Tommy Mello at a conference in Austin after his assistant kept saying no. He printed a custom jersey with Mello's name and logo, handed it over, and got him on camera to say performance-pay is the best model because workers with skin in the game will thrive.
Chapters
I'm going to this conference, the ACCA conference here in Austin. I know that Tommy Mello is the keynote speaker. Tommy Mello is a huge figure in home services. He's a billionaire. That was my only goal, is to get to Tommy Mello and get that interview. I kept getting told no, no, his assistant, no, he doesn't have time, he doesn't have time, he can't do it. I just put my head down and I was like, I'm gonna get to him no matter what. I need to stand out. What can I do that's super thoughtful? I'm gonna create a custom Texas jersey because the conference is in Texas. I went to this print shop like 20 minutes outside of Austin. I sat in their print shop. I printed the shirt like with his name on the back with his A1 Garage Door logo. Custom Tommy Mello A1 Garage Door. And then after he came off this panel, I went up to him and I was like, yo, can I ask you like 2 questions on camera? So who am I here with today? Tommy Mello. He took the interview. What are your thoughts on performance pay, profit sharing, employee incentives? So performance pay is the only way to go. Like the harder you work, the more you make. People with a stake in the outcome are gonna win big. Then I give him the jersey. I put the A1 Garage Door. You guys hold it up. Took the jersey. I love it. That's my goal. And that's the only thing that I cared about coming into this conference. We made it happen.
