Entry & Exit - Inside the Security & Fire Industry

How do you scale a sales team inside a security or life-safety business—without hiring too fast, burning cash, or building a “hope-based” sales org? In this episode of Entry & Exit , hosts Stephen Olmon and Collin Trimble break down the exact framework they’ve used at Alarm Masters to grow from founder-led selling to a six-person sales team—and the systems that make it repeatable. They cover q...

Avoid expensive post-close mistakes by running a calm, disciplined first 90 days after acquiring a security or life-safety business. In this episode of Entry & Exit , hosts Stephen Olmon and Collin Trimble break down what actually happens after you close—and why most buyers hurt themselves by moving too fast. Drawing from real acquisitions (and real scars), they lay out a practical “stabilize...

Avoid expensive post-close surprises by mastering the first seven days after signing an LOI. In this episode of Entry & Exit , hosts Stephen Olmon and Collin Trimble deliver a brutally practical due diligence playbook for buying a security or life-safety business. Drawing from real acquisitions, they break down exactly how to run diligence without chaos—and why skipping steps almost always sho...

Hosts Stephen Olmon and Collin Trimble sit down with Lee Odess for a wide-ranging, no-nonsense conversation about the forces reshaping the security and life-safety industry—and why operators who keep treating cloud, mobile, and AI like “features” are already falling behind. Lee, one of the most connected voices in access control and physical security, makes the case that our industry is no longer...

Hosts Stephen Olmon and Collin Trimble go deep on recurring monthly revenue (RMR) in the security and fire-alarm industry—why it’s the heartbeat of the business, the biggest driver of valuation confidence, and the single most stabilizing force for operators trying to scale without cash-flow whiplash. They unpack how RMR smooths payroll, fuels growth investments, and answers the only question buyer...

Hosts Stephen Olmon and Collin Trimble tackle one of the most misunderstood parts of a security & fire-alarm business: the service department. Too many owners treat service like a cost of doing business—something you begrudgingly do to keep customers from canceling. That mindset is killing growth and lowering valuations. In this episode, the Alarm Masters partners break down why service is act...

Hosts Stephen Olmon and Collin Trimble get tactical on the question they hear nonstop: “How do you actually find deals worth buying?” After seven acquisitions in three years, the Alarm Masters partners break down why quality lead flow is hard in fire & life-safety, what “deal size” really means in this industry, and how to build a sourcing engine that doesn’t rely on luck. They walk through th...

Hosts Stephen Olmon and Collin Trimble lay the groundwork for M&A in security & life-safety, how to buy your first (or next) company without blowing up your P&L or culture. They unpack how they’ve bought 6 (soon to be 7) alarm businesses in under two years, why they’ve stayed in their lane with RMR-heavy alarm companies, and how to think about platforms, add-ons, and tuck-ins before yo...

Hosts Stephen Olmon and Collin Trimble break down how to fix the bottleneck that strangles growing security & life-safety companies: design and quoting. They share the people/process/tech playbook to get proposals out in 24–72 hours, tighten scopes, and hand ops clean jobs. From building a repeatable estimation playbook to leveraging international talent and AI for door hardware and camera sel...

Hosts Stephen Olmon and Collin Trimble unpack how technology builds sellable, scalable security & life-safety companies. They reveal how connected systems—CRM, billing, and field service—create a “Customer 360” that boosts customer experience, drives predictable revenue, and reduces key-person risk.  If you want to exit someday (or just stop living in spreadsheet hell), this is your roadmap. F...

Hosts Stephen Olmon and Collin Trimble get practical and tactical on winning new logos in security & life-safety. They break down how to niche your ICP, keep your message consistent, split lead vs. sales process, and get multithreaded so you close more deals—without wasting budget on broad, unfocused marketing. From anchor pricing and social proof snapshots to CRM must-haves, this is the field...

Welcome to Entry & Exit — the Owned and Operated series for builders in security & life-safety. Hosts Stephen Olmon and Collin Trimble break down how to make your company sale-ready long before you sell: architecting a team that’s bigger than the owner, shifting from one-time installs to recurring revenue, and building a repeatable sales + service engine that PE buyers love. From SDR/AE/SE...

Welcome to Entry & Exit — the Owned and Operated series for builders in security & life-safety. Hosts Stephen Olmon and Collin Trimble lay out exactly how they’re scaling Alarm Masters past eight figures after buying it at ~$2M revenue — growing to $6M+ in ~24 months through 4 tuck-ins and a 50/50 mix of organic and inorganic growth, with 50%+ RMR growth in Year 1.  From face-to-face selli...

Welcome to Entry & Exit — the new Owned and Operated series for builders in the security & life-safety world. Hosts Stephen Olmon and Collin Trimble share how they grew Alarm Masters from under $2M to ~3× revenue, including +50% RMR growth in Year 1. From recurring revenue (RMR) to acquisitions and organic growth, this episode breaks down what it really takes to scale a security business —...