Owned and Operated - A Plumbing, Electrical, and HVAC Business Growth Podcast HVAC vs. Security: If You Had $5M, Where Would You Invest?
Feb 24, 2026
Collin Trimble, security operator and Entry and Exit co-host, and Stephen Olmon, commercial security and fire roll-up co-founder, debate where $5M should go. They compare true recurring RMR vs HVAC memberships. They weigh commercial wins, licensing moats in Texas, tech upgrade cycles, roll-ups and geography-driven acquisition math.
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Commercial Security Beats HVAC On True Recurring Revenue
- Commercial security delivers higher true recurring revenue than residential HVAC membership programs.
- Stephen Olmon says security memberships can be ~35% of revenue and service+subscriptions over 50%, while HVAC memberships often represent ~1% of revenue.
Keep Commercial Focused But Keep Residential For Diversification
- Target commercial accounts but keep residential to smooth seasonality and create cross-sell stickiness.
- Stephen Olmon recommends a mix because commercial is higher-margin and residential provides steady service and customer relationships.
Local Security Shop With Generational Stickiness
- John Wilson describes a long-standing local security shop introduced by his dad that had many household and rental accounts.
- That relationship example illustrates stickiness: decades of installs across a family's properties created durable revenue.