Two Gen Vets built a business. Now, they are helping champion veteran entrepreneurship.
Two Gen Vets, the Seymour-based dumpster rental and junk removal company founded by Tom Richards and his son Nick, is about as unglamorous as a business gets. But, it's a needed service that allows them to play part in a bigger picture.
How did Two Gen Vets come to be?
Tom spent 32 years with the Los Angeles County Fire Department after getting out of the military in 1990. Nick completed 10 tours in Iraq and Afghanistan through active duty and private contract work before settling in Seymour, Tennessee. When Tom and his wife retired and moved to Blount County to be closer to their grandkids, his retirement lasted about 18 months.
“I was so bored,” Tom said. Nick had just sold a restoration company, but kept his dump trailer. One thing led to another. What started as a father-son duo hauling junk a couple of days a week has grown, in just under three years, into a fleet of four trucks and 100 dumpsters, with plans to add 16 more.
They’re also pursuing a compactor approval that would let them separate loads, compact waste for landfill efficiency, and recycle metals and concrete.
But above all, their dedication to service, which is no doubt influenced by their military past, is what sets their business apart.
“The only way to be competitive is to provide excellent service. You’re going to get a little less profit, but service is our goal — and that’s how you compete with the big guys. People here are very loyal,” explained Tom. “If you prove yourself to them, they don’t care about paying a little more. They like the friendship part, and they love the service part.”
Nevertheless, the business growth is only part of the story.
Both Tom and Nick chair the Blount Veterans in Business group through the Blount Partnership, which they credit as central to both their company’s trajectory and the success of other veteran companies.
With McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base nearby and a region that Tom says “produces veterans at a rate most people don’t realize,” the program has become a resource for veterans at all stages of business over the last two years — connecting them with SBA support, networking, guest speakers, and more.
It’s built on a simple idea premise: veterans make good entrepreneurs, and East Tennessee has great resources and community to help prove it.
Sure, the Richards have learned from the group themselves.
“I initially put in a lot of capital to grow Two Gen,” said Tom. “Going through these meetings, I realized that’s not necessarily the best way.” He has since built a working relationship with a local bank to finance equipment rather than drawing down personal reserves — a lesson, he said, he wishes he had learned earlier.
And sure, being involved in the community in this way has helped spread awareness for their business by word-of-mouth.
But more importantly, their business and this initiative help connect transitioning service members to entrepreneurial resources. Overall, this keeps talent and businesses anchored in the region and drives economic and community development.
“It isn’t always just about the money,” Nick said. “The bigger you make your business, the more you can do for people.”
Follow Two Gen Vets on Facebook.
Two Gen Vets serves Sevier, Knox and surrounding counties. The next Blount Vets in Business meeting will take place at 10 a.m. on Aug. 6.
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