#482: Matt Curry | He Sold His $18M Auto Repair Empire, Regretted It, and Built It Back Better

Matt Curry built Curry's Auto Service from $103,000 and 13 credit cards into a 10-location, $18 million auto repair chain — then sold to a private equity firm and watched them burn it to the ground within six months. After a year of "now what?", Matt realized he could've had the freedom he wanted without ever selling. So he started over. In 2017, he and his wife Judy launched Craftsman Auto Care, and in eight years they've built it to eight stores doing $36 million — with nearly 10,000 five-star Google reviews, techs making $300K+, and Matt free to leave for a year without the business missing a beat. This conversation is a masterclass in what happens when you build the machine right the second time around.

Watch on YouTube

Top 10 Takeaways

1. You don't have to sell to get freedom.
2. Private equity destroyed everything he built in less than a year. 
3. The "now what?" after selling is real — and brutal. 
4. Most owners don't know how much they actually spend. 
5. Begin at the beginning — and master the business from the bottom up.
6. Say yes. Then figure it out. 
7. Enforce and reinforce. Every. Single. Day. 
8. Pay in the top 1% and you'll never have a talent shortage. 
9. ADD isn't a disability — it's an entrepreneur's superpower. 
10. Before you sell, ask the real "why."

 
Matt Curry is a serial entrepreneur, Wall Street Journal bestselling author, and 45-year veteran of the automotive repair industry. He built Curry's Auto Service from one shop to 10 locations with $18M in revenue before selling in 2013. In 2017, he and his wife Judy launched Craftsman Auto Care outside Washington, D.C., growing it to eight stores doing $36M with nearly 10,000 five-star Google reviews. His book, The A.D.D. Entrepreneur: How to Harness Your Superpowers to Create a Kick-Ass Company, is a WSJ bestseller. Matt also runs A Dash of Curry Consulting and is an avid endurance race car driver.

Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction: Matt Curry's comeback story, debt to $36M

(01:17) ADD diagnosis at 12: the label that became his superpower

(11:00) Building Curry's Auto Service on $103K and 13 credit cards

(21:20) Private equity destroys everything he built in six months

(32:34) Building the machine again: SOPs, delegation, and the second comeback

(57:00) Culture from the top: enforce and reinforce creates amazing teams

(1:11:13) Say yes: the Vail ski trip that unlocked hidden revenue

(1:19:00) You don't have to sell to get freedom: succession and estate planning

(1:25:56) Before you sell, ask the real "why": wisdom from both rounds

Resources:

Matt Curry:
ADashOfCurry.com
CraftsmanAutoCare.com
Ryan Tansom Website https://ryantansom.com/