Entrepreneur Of The Year® US National Award winner

Reinvention through grit

Nearly two decades ago, Josh Meyerowitz knew as much about plumbing as he did about e‑commerce — not much. But that didn’t stop him from seeing an opportunity to disrupt the plumbing, heating and HVAC supply space.

So Meyerowitz left his Wall Street career and used $25,000 in seed money from his family’s plumbing supply business to start SupplyHouse.com. The goal was to make ordering products easier in an industry that relied predominantly on phones and fax machines.

To fill his knowledge gaps, Meyerowitz called his father for product explanations and hired a firm to build SupplyHouse’s first website. But he faced a cold reception from skeptical manufacturers and suppliers who had traditionally distributed their products via brick-and-mortar stores. Even today, some suppliers won’t sell to the e-commerce business.

Undeterred, Meyerowitz has been winning over other suppliers and persuading contractors to shop online. Through SupplyHouse, plumbers, HVAC techs and electricians nationwide can get answers and products quicker. Its team-to-customer ratio exceeds the industry norm, and its four fulfillment centers enable it to meet 95% of customer-selected delivery windows. SupplyHouse’s selection, which includes its private-label products, also outmatches that of local supply stores.

SupplyHouse has steadily enjoyed profitability, outperformed the industry and increased its market share. In a segment where businesses usually need outside capital, it sustains itself with internally generated profits. Reinvesting them makes continuous improvements possible.

Largely driving this success is Meyerowitz’s approach: putting SupplyHouse’s team first, followed by customers and then profit. To him, employee satisfaction means better service — a key differentiator — and higher profitability.

SupplyHouse engages employees through efforts like monthly Q&As with the corporate team. Its 950 employees have free health care and remote work options among other benefits. And driving SupplyHouse are its core values — generosity, respect, innovation and teamwork — which together spell GRIT (appropriately, the company’s fifth value).