How All U Need implements a hybrid approach to growth

Kyle Selbach

Founded in 2003 as a two-person business, All U Need Pest Control has since transformed into a thriving enterprise, with multiple locations across Florida and Texas. The Fort Myers, Fla.-based firm’s success story is a testament to the power of mentorship, adaptability and a commitment to employee satisfaction.

Steve Groeper is a serial entrepreneur with experience in banking, real estate and home improvement. In 2017, while waiting in an airport for a flight home to Florida, Groeper was thumbing through a business magazine that had an article about pest control and its potential for recurring income. He decided to reach out to both Sean Hearn and to one of his son’s best friends, Kyle Selbach, who has teasingly described spending his school years hanging out at Groeper’s house “like Kimmy Gibbler did on ‘Full House.’” Groeper had also served as a longtime mentor for Selbach and continues to do so today.

At the time, Selbach was fresh out of college with a bachelor’s degree in biology, and not sure what his next move was going to be. He assumed it would be in medical device sales, but that was hardly his dream job. On that fateful day, as Selbach was on his way to a part-time job that was tiding him over, Groeper called him and opened the conversation with “I’m going to buy a pest control company.”

“It was completely out of left field,” Selbach recalls with a laugh. “In Florida, you have to have three years of experience to start your own pest control company and, at age 50, Steve didn’t want to start as a technician. So, he went on a search to buy one and asked Sean and me to come in and help build the brand.”

At the time, All U Need Pest Control was worth about $250,000, and had just shy of 250 accounts. Groeper saw the potential and knew he could rely on his experience building a home remodeling service years before in his native St. Louis, Mo., to grow the company rapidly.

For the first two years, Selbach and Hearn went door-to-door selling pest control services while two technicians performed the services. As word of mouth — and the team — grew, Selbach moved to a hybrid position of selling along with managing operations. By 2020, he became director of operations.

From left are Kris Bagnara, director of technical service; Kyle Selbach, director of operations; and Sean Hearn, director of business development. The trio has been a part of All U Need’s success since Steve Groeper purchased the company in 2017. (Photo: Christy Kosnic Photography)

The COVID-19 factor

The pandemic was good for some pest control companies and bad for others. It definitely was good for All U Need.

“People were staying home and noticing the bugs,” Selbach says. “Our sales went up exponentially from every entry point — digital marketing, customer service representatives, phone leads and door-to-door leads. Since then, we have conducted both door-to-door and in-house sales with unbelievable dividends. It’s really a 50/50 split of leads for us.”

All U Need is nearly 100 percent residential. Its lawn division was worth $850,000 when it was sold in April 2024. Selbach says that at least for now, the team wants to stay 100 percent general household pest and termite, and to be the best in the field in those areas.

“At first, we all had the ‘we can do it all’ mentality, but reeling it back in lets us keep only the customers that fit our business model,” he adds.

The company now boasts 161 employees, 10 locations across Florida and Texas, and a fleet of 120 vehicles. All growth has been organic, and Selbach says having the ideal customer in mind helps that along.

“Our ideal customer is a new homeowner who doesn’t have time to do pest control,” he says. “Their home value is anywhere from $300,000 to $2 million. We want to be a service company just like the pool cleaners and house cleaners who maintain the house and its grounds.”

Employee-centric culture

All U Need’s commitment to its employees is at the heart of its success. The company offers vesting opportunities to those who have been with the company for two years or more.

“I know it sounds cliché, but growth is really not possible without employees buying into the vision,” Selbach emphasizes. “None of our success would be possible without everyone rowing in the right direction. It takes a special candidate to work here, and we want to reward them for their work.”

All U Need also prioritizes competitive pay and a strong company culture. “We try to be leaders in compensation to attract and retain talent,” he explains, adding that this approach has helped the company navigate the challenges of a tight labor market.

With the purchase of a new headquarters and plans for continued expansion, All U Need Pest Control shows no signs of slowing down. The company’s journey from a small startup to being listed on the Inc. 5000 list for the past three years — No. 935 in 2024 — serves as an inspiring example of what can be achieved with vision, hard work and a commitment to both customers and employees.

COMPANY NAME: All U Need Pest Control
HEADQUARTERS: Fort Myers, Fla.
2023 REVENUE: $14.13 million
PROJECTED 2024 REVENUE: $21.7 million
PROJECTED INCREASE: 54 percent
STEVE’S BUSINESS TIPS:
1. Start documenting all processes from the start. When you’re small, you quickly know how to perform all the techniques and programs by heart. But from that first hire, you’ll find it’s way more time-consuming to train someone what you want them to know unless you have a written document as reference.
2. Network! Pest control is unbelievably welcoming. We had a couple of people generously show us the ropes, and now it’s our turn to pay that forward. Steve always wants to turn ‘the ordinary into the extraordinary,’ so he’s mentoring four other small businesses.
3. We try to be compensation leaders to attract and retain talent. Employees have vesting opportunities in our company after two years, so our growth goals become theirs.