About Dave Rothacker

Dave Rothacker started working for a large HVAC mechanical contractor in Northeastern Ohio in the early to mid-1980s as a truck driver, following a 10-year career in the grocery industry. After one year, he moved into the office to take a role in service operations. One year later, he began a two-and-a-half-decade tour in management that spanned six companies.

With an educational background in business and accounting, Dave was analytical by nature. That changed in the mid-1990s, when the commercial internet began, and he met his right brain. With the support of Dan Holohan, a talented author and industry legend, Dave started writing and quickly discovered his creative side.

Along with two other gentlemen, he launched AREA51HVAC.COM, the second major online community for HVAC and Plumbing professionals at the time. It became the perfect playground for his pen and business metaphors and was the original launch site of the Starship, which today is the Starship Freedom.

At the same time, Dave belonged to leadership and management communities outside of the skilled trades, where he wrote and continued to learn.

Upon the Service Roundtable's inception, former CEO Matt Michel invited Dave into the community. Over the years, he wrote exclusive business book reviews and articles for Service Nation, the parent company. Dave received the prestigious Servant Leader Award in 2019.

Today, Dave is the author of the Saturday Rabbit Hole, a weekly email column he’s been writing since 2009. He writes a leadership column for ACCA and posts thought-provoking snippets from business, social sciences and books on creativity on Facebook and Instagram.

Along with Ben Stark and Chris Hunter, Dave wrote the book It’s Go Time, a narrative of both Ben and Chris’s journey from single truck owners to owners of multi-million dollar successful operations. It’s the perfect business roadmap for contractors with annual revenue of $15,000,000 or less.

Dave is the husband of Rosie, a proprietor of two eBay shops, Rosie’s Hidden Attic and Butterfly Vintage Books. Rosie is also a romance fiction author and spent over 40 years in the banking and mortgage industries. He’s the father of adult children, Victoria and Carla, and the grandfather of Cecilia, Rocco and Giovanni.

Dave is a leadership guide and former coach for the Go Time Success Group. He’s passionate about leadership, design, design thinking, marketing, branding, psychology, neuroscience, the concept of business WHY, creativity and 21st-century educators. A voracious non-fiction reader hardwired with a growth mindset, Dave, who considers himself an explorer and guide, distills concepts from these disciplines and presents them to business owners and managers for thought, growth and action.

Dave's Purpose: To explore, grow and connect others, so that I can guide and or encourage them to become all that they can be.

Dave's Vision: To be immersed in a world of people dedicated to growing and becoming all that they can be.

Dave’s Definition of Success: To know my purpose; To grow to reach my maximum potential; and to sow seeds that benefit others.