Ryan Clark on Building PeopleShare to $200M and What Comes After | Out of Line Ep. 5

What does it actually take to build a staffing company from two people and zero dollars to 40 branches, 8 states, and damn near $200 million in annual revenue? Ryan J.Q. Clark did it and this conversation doesn't skip the hard parts.

Ryan co-founded PeopleShare in 2005 out of King of Prussia, PA with nothing but a bet on themselves. He was Co-CEO from day one - he was also recruiter, sales guy, receptionist, accountant, and customer service -- you name it, he did it while they built. They survived the 2008 recession, scaled to one of the fastest-growing staffing companies in Pennsylvania, won Best Places to Work from the Philadelphia Business Journal every year since their first year of eligibility — and then sold the company to a international staffing company in 2023.

In this episode, we cover:

• Starting with nothing — two people, self-funded, first office in "KOP" - King of Prussia
• What almost killed it early on, and how they survived 2008
• The moment "survival mode" became something real
• Going from one office to 40 — what broke and what had to be rebuilt
• Private equity, the acquisition, and what it felt like
• What Ryan knows now that he wishes he knew in 2005

Connect with Ryan:

🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanjqclark

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