He started & sold 2 companies for 8-figures (Here's how)

Most entrepreneurs struggle for a decade before making the decision to change...

Mike Agugliaro was no different.

At 15, he was already living on his own after his parents’ brutal divorce. He went to trade school because, as he put it, "there was like a conveyor belt—you're either built for college or you’re built to be [something like] a plumber or an electrician."

Mike became an electrician, started his own company, and quickly realized something humbling:

"I thought my boss was such an idiot; I should be able to do this so much better... So what do all entrepreneurs do? You start your own company, but I found out I was an idiot, just like my boss was."

But here's where Mike's story takes a different turn than most:

THE TURNING POINT

The night his first son was born, Mike was putting together a rocking chair at 11 PM. He was alone, exhausted, and he broke down crying:

He thought: "I'm going to become just like my dad. I'm going to work a million hours. I'm going to miss everything."

That moment changed everything.

Mike made a decision: learn marketing, sales, operations, and systems… or stay stuck.

He chose to learn.

The result?

He took his plumbing, HVAC, and electrical services company from under $1 million to $32 million in revenue.

Then, he sold it for a high multiple without staying on for any earn-out or consulting agreement. He handed-over 165 trucks, 200 employees, a 15,000 square foot building… and walked away.

HIS SECOND ACT

But Mike didn't stop there...

After selling his blue collar service company, he noticed something that frustrated him — every time he talked to friends in the trades, the conversation went the same way:

"How's your plumbing business going?"

"Horrible. Can't hire good people. How about you, Mike?"

"Oh, mine's okay." (When he'd actually just done $6.5 million more that year and hired 30 people with a 200-person waiting list.)

Instead of shining, Mike felt he had to dim his light around people who were suffering.

So in 2014, he made a decision: "I'm going to shift the whole industry."

He created CEO Warrior to revolutionize how business was done in the blue-collar space — teaching professional processes, systems, and marketing to an industry that desperately needed it.

In just 5 years, CEO Warrior coached 1,000+ business owners before Mike sold it to private equity in 2020.

Two companies. Two industries. Two 8-figure exits.

THE BLUEPRINT THAT MADE IT HAPPEN

So what separated Mike from the thousands of other electricians and business coaches who never break 7-figures?

Here are some moves he made:

1. He invested obsessively in wisdom, not just knowledge

"Knowledge is becoming useless. AI can tell you how to make better scrambled eggs, but wisdom is your experience solidified into new action."

Mike and his wife invested over $300,000 in their education in 2024, and even more in 2025.

His advice: If you're not doubling down on investing in yourself right now, you're going to struggle. The rate of speed in business demands you become one of the wisest, not just the smartest.

2. He built life, business, and wealth by design

Mike didn't sacrifice his family to build wealth…

He attended daddy-daughter dances. He trained martial arts for 40 years. He was present.

"I don't believe you sell a company. I believe you sell yourself into a different future. Your biggest future is already created—it's just waiting for you to catch up."

3. He surrounded himself with the right team immediately

"Some of you are like, 'Mike, I'm just starting. I don't have a team.' No, no—find out how Ross can be on your team if they have a program. Your accountant, your attorney. Even if you don't employ them, you want to have them so you can call in."

And here's a critical distinction Mike makes:

"It's not always who you're around; it's also how you're around them… Invest in your mind, your thinking, and your training."

4. He understood his own values & his team's

"If you don't know someone's values and you pay them money, but one of their values is experiences, the company could goes from $1M to $5M, but you don't have mechanisms in place… Now, they're all traveling all over New Zealand and Australia, and you're like, 'Where are you?' But you didn't know their values, so you get hijacked."

Mike's personal values in order: Learning, creating, teaching, health, then experiences. Even shopping trips with his wife became opportunities to learn about marketing.

THE LIMITING BELIEF THAT KILLS SUCCESS

Mike sees one limiting belief sabotaging entrepreneurs more than any other:

Worthiness.

"People don't feel worthy today. They come from generational belief systems — my dad was a mason, his dad came from Italy... Success is actually sabotaging for people."

He's seen it play out, repeatedly. Family members who don't understand you… "Oh, look at you in your nice car. Isn't God so nice to you?"

His response?

"Yeah, it's the same God you have. He didn't select me as the golden child. He just gave me the ability to endure what you're quitting on too early."

This is why lottery winners go broke… They win a fortune, but they never had the skill sets or temperament to maintain the money because — deep down — they don't believe they're worthy of it.

Mike's exercise for you:

Look in the mirror tomorrow morning and say, "I am worthy."

…Because you are.

YOUR MOVE

Mike's final lesson hits hardest:

When his dad was dying in the hospital recently, he grabbed Mike's hand and said, "Michael, I'm very proud of you."

Mike looked back at him and said, "Thank you, Dad. But I've been proud of me for a long time too."

That's the shift:

Stop waiting for external validation. Stop craving it from a fancy car or big house or someone else's approval.

Be proud of yourself right now, exactly where you are.

And here's Mike's prediction: More wealthy people will be created from now to 2030 than in the 1920s. This is the new industrial age of wealth, and it's not age specific.

The question is: Will you be one of them?

If Mike could take an electrical contracting business from under $1M to $32M…

Then turn around and build an entirely different company in an entirely different industry and sell it to private equity…

What's possible for you?

The blueprint is simple:

• Invest in wisdom obsessively

• Build life and business by design (not by default)

• Surround yourself with the right people

• Know your values and your team's values

• Believe you're worthy of the success

Your biggest future is already created; it's just waiting for you to catch up.

Thanks for reading Acquiring & Exiting.

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