#83 Jeff Totten on Built from Scratch

May 5, 2026

Jeff Totten, founder and CEO of Evergreen Services Group, is a serial acquirer who built a billion-dollar tech services holding company. He talks about Built from Scratch and lessons on decentralization, fundraising, and capital allocation. Short takes cover culture as a long-term rolling snowball, how Evergreen evaluates and integrates acquisitions, and why they centralize capital decisions while empowering operators.

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ADVICE

Reject Capital That Threatens Your Values

Avoid investors who signal misaligned values even when capital is nearly secured.
Jeff cites Home Depot turning down Ross Perot because small signals like a Cadillac implied control and poor cultural fit.

insights

INSIGHT

Decentralize Decisions, Centralize Capital Allocation

Evergreen centralizes only a few functions and empowers operating companies with autonomy and their own culture.
Their core value “rolling snowballs” accepts heavy upfront work for long runway payoffs, like launching an AI‑native ERP company.

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ADVICE

Centralize M&A To Protect Organic Growth

Keep M&A centralized to preserve operating companies' focus on organic growth and customer service.
Evergreen has ~6,000 operating employees and only ~50 at HQ focused on M&A and key functions.

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Jeff's upbringing and early entrepreneurship

00:57 • 2min

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Discovering investing and Buffett's influence

02:54 • 1min

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Private investing and early career moves

03:58 • 17sec

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Founding Evergreen and the holding company idea

04:15 • 2min

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Company focus and initial verticals

05:49 • 3min

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Role models: Berkshire, Constellation, TransDigm

09:09 • 3min

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Pivotal moments and early challenges

12:11 • 2min

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Raising capital and investor alignment

14:35 • 3min

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Culture, decentralization and rolling snowballs

17:10 • 4min

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What Evergreen won't delegate: capital allocation

21:15 • 4min

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Performance metrics: retention and NPS focus

24:53 • 2min

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Customer service philosophy

26:39 • 2min

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Staying connected to operating companies

28:21 • 2min

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Acquisition insights from Home Depot

30:16 • 1min

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Acquisition criteria and evolution

31:30 • 2min

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Backing entrepreneurs and talent placement

33:30 • 5min

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Capital allocation: redeploying versus distributing

38:14 • 2min

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Staying private or going public

40:35 • 1min

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Leverage and deleveraging stance

42:01 • 2min

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Home Depot after the founders

43:54 • 2min

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Succession planning and Evergreen's long-term identity

45:37 • 3min

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Jeff's favorite business books and reading focus

49:00 • 2min

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AI curiosity and writing ambitions

• Mentioned in 7 episodes

The Compounders

From Small Acquisitions to Giant Shareholder Returns

Adnan Hadziefendic

#1039

• Mentioned in 38 episodes

Made In America

John Huey

Sam Walton

In this autobiography, Sam Walton shares his life story and business philosophy, detailing how he transformed a small dime store into the global retail giant Walmart. The book is rich with anecdotes and insights into Walton's leadership style, entrepreneurial spirit, and the 'rules of the road' that guided him on both Main Street and Wall Street. It highlights his humility, frugality, and commitment to customer service, as well as the challenges and setbacks he faced along the way. The narrative provides a deep understanding of Walmart's culture and foundational principles, making it a valuable resource for entrepreneurs and business leaders.

#4334

• Mentioned in 12 episodes

The New Money Masters

John Train

The New Money Masters by John Train is a sequel to his earlier work, The Money Masters. It profiles eight prominent securities traders and mutual fund managers from the 1980s, offering insights into their investment techniques and philosophies. The book includes profiles of notable figures such as George Soros, Peter Lynch, and Jim Rogers, providing a glimpse into their approaches to investing during a volatile period in financial history.

#8937

• Mentioned in 6 episodes

Built from Scratch

How a Couple of Regular Guys Grew The Home Depot from Nothing to $30 Billion

Arthur Blank

Bernie Marcus

Built from Scratch is the firsthand account of how Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank, after being fired from their previous jobs, created one of the greatest entrepreneurial successes of the last twenty years. The book tells the colorful stories associated with The Home Depot's founding and meteoric rise, highlighting the company's focus on low prices, excellent customer service, and wide availability of products. It also provides lessons on business growth, market leadership, and community responsibility, making it valuable for entrepreneurs and business leaders across various sectors.

#182

• Mentioned in 129 episodes

The outsider

Colin Wilson

In 'The Outsider,' Colin Wilson examines the psyche of the Outsider through the lives and works of various literary and cultural figures such as Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, Ernest Hemingway, Hermann Hesse, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky. The book delves into the Outsider's experience of dislocation and his struggle to find meaning and purpose in a world that seems devoid of it. Wilson argues that the Outsider is a metaphysical man who seeks a transcending meaning and purpose for human existence, often feeling isolated and disconnected from society. The book is both a study of the Outsider's predicament and an impassioned call for a new form of existentialism that could provide a satisfying and objective religious understanding of life.

#567

• Mentioned in 60 episodes

100 baggers

Christopher Mayer

#588

• Mentioned in 58 episodes

The snowball

Warren Buffett and the Business of Life

Alice Schroeder

This book provides an unprecedented look into the life and investment philosophy of Warren Buffett. Written by Alice Schroeder, who gained unparalleled access to Buffett and his inner circle, it delves into the complexities and paradoxes of Buffett's life. The book covers his work, opinions, struggles, and triumphs, and highlights key principles such as intrinsic value, margin of safety, and long-term perspective. Buffett’s legacy is not just his wealth, but the principles and ideas that have enriched people’s lives.

Jeff Totten, founder and CEO of the US-based holding company Evergreen Services Group, is a thoughtful and driven entrepreneur with an investor mindset. We discuss 'Built from Scratch', written by the founders of Home Depot, which offers numerous lessons on decentralization, funding, and capital allocation.

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Our conversation with Jeff Totten was recorded on 10 April 2026.

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For more info about the podcast, make sure to follow us on X/Twitter. We love to hear your thoughts, so please rate and review us. And feel free to tell us about great authors, books, and investors. Thank you. /Eddie with team

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Episode Chapters

(00:00) Intro by Eddie

(00:57) Welcoming Jeff

(01:17) Entrepreneurial and investing background

(03:58) The founding of Evergreen Services Group

(05:50) Growing families, scaling Evergreen

(06:47) Intro to Built from Scratch

(07:58) When Jeff came across the book

(09:03) Role models for Evergreen

(10:14) Evergreen’s verticals

(12:02) Pivotal moments

(14:35) Funding a young company

(17:17) Corporate culture – rolling snowballs

(21:15) Decentralization

(24:52) Evaluating performance

(26:39) Customer service, always worth it?

(28:21) Jeff’s time allocation

(30:15) Acquisitions: Inspiration and criteria

(38:20) Redeploy vs. distribute capital

(40:35) Staying private or going public?

(42:01) Leverage of the business

(43:55) Home Depot after the book

(45:37) Legacy and succession planning

(48:58) Jeff’s favorite books

(51:45) Writing habits and ambitions

(52:30) Concluding remarks

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Books Mentioned

Built from Scratch – Bernard Marcus, Arthur Blank
The Snowball – Alice Schroeder
The Outsiders – William Thorndike
Made in America - Sam Walton
The Compounders – Oddbjørn Dybvad, Kjetil Nyland, Adnan Hadziefendic
100 Baggers – Chris Mayer
The Money Masters – John Train

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Companies Mentioned

Evergreen Services Group
Home Depot
Berkshire Hathaway
Constellation Software
Swedish serial acquirers
Transdigm

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More on Jeff Totten

Evergreen Services Group: https://www.evergreensg.com/
Jeff’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhtotten/

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About the Podcast

Intro episode: https://www.redeye.se/podcast/investing-by-the-books/817383/0-intro-to-investing-by-the-books

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What is Investing by the Books?

Investing by the Books was founded by Henrik Andersson, Bo Börtemark, Mats Larsson and Michael Persson. It has published hundreds of book reviews in the past 10 years and operates on a non-profit basis.

Visit the website: http://www.investingbythebooks.com/

Follow on Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/Investbythebook

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What is Redeye?

Redeye is a research-centered boutique investment bank from Stockholm. Founded in 1999, Redeye cultivates investors through timeless knowledge, a humble attitude, and a strong focus on quality.

Visit the website: https://www.redeye.se/

Follow on Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/Redeye_

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Disclaimer

Notice that the content in this podcast is not, and shall not be construed as investment advice. This information is meant to be informative and for general purposes only. For full disclaimer, visit Redeye.se

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