In 2015, Breakthrough Academy was founded by three entrepreneurs who had a vision to transform the trades and home services industry: Danny Kerr, Igor Trninic, and James Dale. The three started their entrepreneurial journey years prior, as peers and franchise owners in the painting industry, eventually moving on to coach new franchise owners together.

While in the throes of helping hundreds of franchisees grow and scale their businesses, Danny realized that the average business owner in the trades industry lacks fundamental systems that are required for sustainable and profitable growth. One day, he had an epiphany: the trades industry needed a service that could offer all the good parts of franchising:

• standard systems
• proven strategies
• predictable numbers
• great peer community

and leave out all the hard stuff about franchising:

• franchise purchase costs
• long term royalties
• territory boundaries
• lack of brand control

Danny wanted to provide a proven, working model where small businesses can grow and scale with confidence, without limiting themselves by buying into a franchise. It wasn’t long before Danny had convinced friends and colleagues, Igor and James, to join forces and shortly thereafter, Breakthrough Academy (BTA) was born.

The concept of BTA has spread like wildfire. Within four years, Breakthrough Academy’s membership has grown from only twelve companies, to over 250. With an additional 250 new companies joining each year, and their current membership’s combined revenue sitting at half a billion dollars, BTA has rapidly gained industry influence. With the average member enjoying revenue increases of 44% and average net profit increases of 66%, the proof is in the pudding.

The powerful combination of excellent tradeskills and advanced business leadership is giving Breakthrough Academy members a serious competitive advantage. Breakthrough Academy provides the necessary tools for their members to succeed in three critical categories:

1. content
2. coaching
3. community

Content: All the documents, resources & systems needed for the scalable operation of a trades company have been created, fine-tuned and customized for each industry in trades & home services.

Think: Standard Operating Procedures, job descriptions, recruiting ads, profit trackers, performance review forms - all done for you and just a click away.

BTA has been hard at work creating all of this standardized content, taking the burden off of their members to create it themselves, freeing them up for more important activities.

Coaching: having these tools is one thing, but using them effectively is another. BTA’s team of experienced coaches help their members understand the intangible skills of building a -

Business: how to professionally interview, how to manage cash flow, how to lead people.

BTA’s team of coaches are there for support every step of the way. Through a one-on-one, close-knit relationship with a coach who provides support and accountability, BTA members can finally get out of their own way and execute on ideas successfully, the first time.

Community: it can be lonely at the top. Breakthrough Academy has curated a group of entrepreneurs who are like-minded and open to sharing their experiences, challenges and learnings with one another. In this community, contractors provide unique perspectives for each other, and normalize the challenges of the entrepreneurial journey.

Gone are the days of trial and error on the path to growth, with access to a group of peers who bring diverse experiences to the table. It’s cheesy, but it’s darn true: we’re better together than we are apart. Breakthrough Academy has only scratched the surface. Slowly and surely, contractor by contractor, BTA is on a mission to turn an industry that many view as the “Wild West” into an industry where professionalism, profitability, and high-level leadership prevail.