“I think there’s a lot of value to someone having boots on the ground in the area, especially if they’ve grown up in the area,” Vangas said. “I know the area, the people. I have a lot of connections in general.”
In a service-based business, you can automate a lot of functions and processes, he said. “But at the end of the day, if something goes wrong, you want someone there who can get to a customer and ... get to their door.”
Vangas’ background is straight out of the Miami Valley. The Oakwood resident and 2006 Chaminade-Julienne High School graduate grew up working at Charlie’s Deli in North Dayton, working for his parents at the counter, before graduating from Ohio State University and starting a career in marketing and finance. He worked as a fractional chief financial officer for Brite Energy Innovators, a Warren, Ohio energy business incubator, among other roles.
“It’s very unique. It took a lot of twists and turns,” he said of his career.
Some hard-earned business wisdom passed down from his grandfather, via his father: “It takes years to get a customer; it takes one day to lose them.”
“You’ve got to prove you’re the right contractor to earn (a customer’s) business continuously,” he added.
Vangas met most the recent owner of Stanley, Jason Stanley, through a mutual acquaintance. They spent a lot of time together, and Vangas believes he did his due diligence on both personal and business levels.
The moment to sell —and to buy — was right. And though he did not talk precise numbers, he acknowledges that the move was “an enormous investment compared to anything I’ve done in the past.”
The two shared their values and goals and what they wanted for the business, as Vangas tells it.
“I’m a very detailed-oriented person,” he said. “We took a ton of time together.”
He recognizes that the HVAC industry has a certain staying power, particularly in a place like Dayton, where hot, humid summers and cold winters tend to give HVAC systems a workout.
“I don’t think AI is going to take it over anytime soon,” Vangas said.
He has about ten employees right now, and he is weighing his options, but carefully, he said. “I have lots of dreams of growth. I have to dial it back in a way.”
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