Day One

We just wrapped up our first day at CleanCon Austin, and one thing became obvious pretty quickly: this isn't your typical industry conference.

Within just a few hours, we had the opportunity to connect and network with Founders in the Residential and Commercial Cleaning Industry representing more than $160 million in combined annual revenue.

But the numbers only tell part of the story.

What really stood out was the openness in the room. Business owners and industry leaders came together to exchange ideas, talk about what's working, discuss the challenges that come with growth, and build genuine relationships with others who understand the cleaning industry firsthand.

The evening kicked off with registration and quickly moved into dinner, networking, and opportunities to meet fellow attendees. The official CleanCon welcome brought everyone together before the evening took on a distinctly Austin flavor with a Texas line dancing lesson.

From there, the energy carried into a live rooftop concert, giving everyone a chance to relax, continue conversations, and connect outside of the traditional conference setting.

Later in the evening, the Founders Update & Awards brought the community back together to recognize accomplishments and celebrate the people helping move the industry forward.

By the time Day One wrapped up, one thing was clear: there is an incredible amount of experience, ambition, and knowledge gathered in Austin this week.

Having $160M+ in combined annual revenue represented among the Founders in the Residential and Commercial Cleaning Industry is impressive. Getting those entrepreneurs together in one place to share experiences, build relationships, and learn from one another is what makes the opportunity even more valuable.

And this was only Day One.

Day Two

Day Two at CleanCon Austin was about the stories behind the businesses, the lessons that come from building them, and what becomes possible when leaders are willing to share both the wins and the challenges.

The day opened with Kristen Hadeed, who shared her deeply personal journey from building Student Maid to eventually leaving the cleaning industry and pursuing her calling in leadership development. Her story offered a candid look at entrepreneurship, leadership, personal growth, and the decisions that can shape an entire career.

Holly Moore followed with lessons from scaling Maids and Moore across Austin and Houston to nearly 150 employees and an eight-figure business. Her experience brought a practical perspective to what it takes to grow a cleaning company while navigating the people, operational, and leadership challenges that come with that growth.

Throughout the day, residential cleaning founders continued to share their experiences openly. The conversations went beyond the usual success stories, touching on setbacks, difficult decisions, leadership challenges, resilience, and the realities of building a business in the cleaning industry.

What made the day particularly valuable was the range of experiences in the room. Every founder had taken a different path, faced different challenges, and built their business in a different way. Yet there were common lessons that connected many of the conversations.

Day Two was a reminder that some of the most valuable insights do not come from a presentation or a playbook. They come from hearing directly from people who have built, struggled, adapted, and continued moving forward.

Different journeys, different perspectives, and different definitions of success, but everyone left with something to take home and put into action.

With more conversations, more stories, and more opportunities to learn from fellow founders, CleanCon Austin continued to deliver what makes bringing the cleaning industry together so valuable.

And there's still more to come.

Day Three

Day Three brought CleanCon Austin to its final day, with the conversations turning toward brand, technology, AI, operations, and what comes next for the cleaning industry.

The morning started with an Impact Talk from Molly Moran before the conversation moved into what makes a cleaning company stand out and become the company clients choose.

Aaron Coleman, Creator and Host of That Cleaning Guy and Owner of Platinum Star Cleaning Services, Jen Rodgers, Founder of Just Peachy Clean and Profit Pathways, and Holly Silva, Co-Owner of Chores & More and Co-Founder of The Hustle Haven, shared their experiences around branding, customer experience, and building a business people remember.

David Loria followed with an Impact Talk before the conversation turned to technology and smarter growth.

Donny Minchillo, Founder of Joy AI, Todd Northcutt, Co-Owner of TnP Cleaning Solutions, and Meaghan Likes, Founder of Jeff Likes Cleans Windows, Likes Accounting Co., Boxed for the Trades and Bookkeeping Academy, shared different perspectives on AI, automation, financial insight, and the ways technology can support a growing cleaning business.

Martha Woodward then joined Drew Larison for a fireside conversation on operational excellence. The discussion focused on moving beyond daily firefighting and building the systems, standards, and teams needed to keep a business running well as it grows.

After lunch, attendees had time to explore Austin and connect with vendors before coming back together for the afternoon Mastermind Session.

This part of the day was different from the sessions on stage. Attendees moved into smaller groups, worked through ideas together, and had the opportunity to talk openly about what they were taking from CleanCon and how they could put it into practice.

The final session, Insights, Commitments and What Comes Next, brought the three days to a close.

Across three days, CleanCon Austin brought together cleaning business owners and industry leaders to talk about the realities of building, leading, and growing a business.

There were different stories, different approaches, and different stages of growth represented in the room. But the openness stayed consistent throughout the event.

People shared what worked. They talked about what didn't. They asked questions, compared experiences, and made connections that went beyond the sessions.

And that may have been the biggest takeaway from CleanCon Austin.

It wasn't just three days of presentations. It was three days of people in the industry learning from one another.

We were glad to be part of it.