The Long Game: Scott Campbell’s Journey from Operator to Owner

From big corporate to startup operator to entrepreneur, Scott Campbell has done what many aspiring entrepreneurs dream about. He took a bet on himself, and built not just one, but a small portfolio of businesses from the ground up. In this feature, we dive into how Scott leveraged the search fund model to transition from a high-growth experience at Spring Venture Group, to the franchise world with Smash My Trash, and into the renovation of professional search services through Exponent.

The Entrepreneurial Spark

Scott's interest in small business was shaped early on as he watched his dad as an entrepreneur, grinding & building his own consulting firm. But it wasn’t until Scott joined an early-stage company, Spring Venture Group, that he truly experienced what it meant to build a business. The pace was fast, the responsibilities broad, and he thrived in the chaos.

With his hands in everything from finance to analytics, sales & marketing, Scott discovered how much he enjoyed the challenge of growing a business from the inside. It was the kind of work that felt both energizing and personal. “That growth experience was sincerely life-changing for me,” he said. “I was so fortunate to have had phenomenal people around me. I loved the build process, the learning curve, and the opportunity to see and be a part of all aspects of a growing & evolving company.” As the company scaled into the hundreds, his role slowed with day-to-day ops and became more focused with ownership of the finance & accounting function. Although there was plenty to tackle and learn through the company’s financial growth, Scott found himself missing the energy of early-stage operations build.

It was during that growth curve that Scott knew he eventually wanted to build something of his own. He stayed for several years, gaining invaluable experience growing the finance function, executing debt & equity transactions, and even leading a tax policy advocacy in D.C after unforeseen consequences of ASC 606. But he never forgot what energized him most: building. When the company transacted to a private equity firm, it created the natural pause he needed to map out his next move. He used that transitional period to gain clarity, build a search plan, and prepare for the leap.

Charting His Own Course

Scott didn’t follow the traditional search fund route. He self-funded, giving himself the flexibility to move quickly and structure deals in a way that aligned with his long-term vision. “I was fortunate to have had tremendous people behind me from my Spring Venture Group days. I had a strong network of operators and investors who were ready to back me,” he said. “But I wanted to find the right deal before building the cap table.”

He approached the process with discipline, mimicking the work-flow fundamentals he’d seen applied so well with his exposure to Five Elms. He built a simplified scoring system to quickly triage opportunities, removing non-fits from his use of time, and pushing high-quality volume through deeper reviews and further scoring. Building deal flow was the hard part, but he pursued it from every angle: brokers, bankers, attorneys, and even off-market outreach. Ultimately, his mindset was simple. Move fast, stay focused, and be honest about what wasn’t a fit & where he couldn’t add value.

The Franchise He Didn't See Coming

Scott didn’t expect to join a franchise, but stumbled across an opportunity that caught his attention: Smash My Trash. “It wasn’t on my radar,” he said. “But within five seconds of seeing it, the value proposition made perfect sense.” That clarity was enough to take a closer look.

After digging into the evolution patterns of franchise systems, he saw an opportunity to get in early, build a team, and scale quickly through acquisition. He partnered with two co-founders and launched the business. “Signing that deal & wiring money was gut-wrenching,” Scott said. “It was my money, my kids’ college funds, and my investor’s money… my investors are people I heavily admire and people that have been foundationally important to my life. But I believed in the model and the leadership within the franchisor.” With a strong operating foundation, they’ve built momentum under the d.b.a. “Middle West Services” and haven’t looked back.

Launching a Data-Driven Recruiting Firm

By 2022, Middle West Services was in a good place, and Scott found himself pulled toward a new investment concept. Along with a new co-founder, he started Exponent, a data-driven search firm (recruiting) focused on finance professionals. “We were talking about general service deficiencies within the broader industry, and how little tech and data is leveraged, and saw an opportunity to do things differently,” he said.

The early days were messy. “We didn’t have one clean MVP,” Scott explained. “We tested everything. Iterated nonstop.” The breakthrough came when they figured out the internal people-model & foundational data-model to support a scalable service firm. “We committed to building our team the right way, and we also found traction with our data-driven process… which is leveraging immense amounts of highly structured data to drive targeted list build, marketing and engagement of top professionals. We think about project execution the same way you would execute upon a buy-side business search.” That approach, paired with a phenomenal team, became Exponent’s engine.

Scaling With Intention

Middle West Services is now in its fifth year, operating across multiple markets in the Midwest and Western U.S., and growing through a mix of acquisitions and organic expansion. Scott remains involved in high-leverage exercises, but has business partners to lean on with continued growth execution.

At Exponent, things are picking up fast. They’ve built three distinct portfolio assets: a proprietary software platform, an executive search firm focused on private equity clients (Exponent Partners), and a platform growth strategy anchored by a key partnership with a St. Louis based recruiting firm. “Our vision is to become the go-to firm for all growth-focused finance professionals and growth-focused companies for career build and team build,” Scott said. “That all starts with great people internally, building smart tech, and delivering real value to candidates and clients. We’ve got a lot of work to do. We’re still very early-innings, but very excited with progress and the opportunity forward.”

Get Connected

Connect with Scott Campbell via his LinkedIn Profile.

For more information on SmashMyTrash visit the Middle West Services website.

For more information on ^exponent visit their website.

If you know of a business owner that should be featured in a future newsletter, please contact JB Mason ([email protected])