Twenty-five years ago, Josh Sparks had $20,000 in the bank and a Yellow Pages ad when he decided to “make a go at it” in roofing.

Sparks’ passion for the trade began straight out of high school, when he traded his McDonald’s job to work with a friend at a local roofing company. Starting with cleanup duties, he quickly advanced to an installer and foreman by summer’s end. During college, he handed out flyers for side jobs to earn tuition money — and Infinity Exteriors was born. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and gaining leadership experience, Sparks returned to Milwaukee focused on growing the business. When his wife, MaryJean, joined the team, the company took off.

In 2021, Sparks transitioned from day-to-day leadership at Infinity Exteriors to found and lead Infinity Home Services as CEO, passing operational control to Mike Saglin, a longtime team member who — like him — worked his way up from field work to operations oversight. Under Saglin’s leadership, Infinity Exteriors has experienced significant growth and remains the largest brand among its 25 companies.

Today, the private-equity-backed platform forecasts serving 75,000 customers by year-end 2025, while maintaining the operational excellence that made the original Infinity Exteriors a market leader.

Mission-Driven M&A

Unlike many private equity consolidators that prioritize rapid growth through financial engineering, Sparks built IHS around integrity and culture.

“I don’t even look at financials first,” he said. “Our mission is to rid the world of unscrupulous contractors by partnering with people who care about their teams and customers...Each brand retains its local leadership, culture, and identity, which is something we’re incredibly proud of.”

This values-first philosophy sets IHS apart in a crowded PE landscape. Sparks defines market leadership not by share, but by reputation—brand recognition, homeowner trust, and alignment with IHS values. His team spends as much time assessing leadership style as financials. “Are they command and control, or democratic? Do they want the best experience for their customers and people?” he asks. The best partners, he’s found, are humble, hungry, and growth-minded.

In February 2022, Sparks’ original company — Infinity Exteriors LLC — joined forces with Overhead Solutions, Inc. and Premier Roofing & Exteriors LLC to form Infinity Home Services corporate entity.

Since then, IHS has expanded far beyond its Wisconsin roots, establishing a presence across the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, and Pacific Northwest, and even into Canada. The company now partners with 28 roofing and exterior brands and ranked #6 on RC’s 2025 Top 100 list, reporting just over $500 million in revenue for 2024. This scale underpins Sparks’ mission-driven approach to acquisitions—balancing growth with culture and customer care.

Breaking The Industry’s False Choice

Sparks sees the roofing industry as split between two camps: companies strong in operational excellence but weak in sales and marketing, and “marketing companies that happen to do roofing,” which prioritize selling over quality.

“The quality of the customer experience was second after they sold the job,” Sparks said. “Super high pressure, targeting customers who don’t have much money, and selling high-priced financing.”

IHS aims to combine the best of both worlds — operational discipline with sophisticated marketing. Its “smart customer experience” platform delivers Amazon-like transparency, allowing homeowners to track their projects in real time.

“There hasn’t been a company of scale that was able to thread the needle between the two, and that’s what we’re trying to achieve,” he said.

Success and Growth Strategy

Sparks measures success by one core metric, using Net Promoter Scores to ensure it delivers.

“If I look at the single most important metric for us, it’s customer satisfaction,” he said.

By the end of 2025, IHS plans to “take 70,000 to 75,000 customers out of harm’s way” — Sparks’ phrase for completing projects responsibly. The company continues expanding geographically in a $90 billion total addressable market.

While other PE-backed platforms pursue uniform growth models, Sparks believes IHS’ approach — centered on integrity and partnership — is more sustainable.

“A lot of them are trying to force this industry into a single box, and I think that’s going to be difficult,” he said, noting the backlash from founders who’ve been pushed out by other consolidators.

While Sparks acknowledges the downsides of private equity, which include financial engineering that adds no value and inflates costs, he credits it with improving compliance, marketing and technology adoption. The industry is now far more sophisticated, although scaling is more challenging. Where Sparks once grew from $0 to $20 million “really easily,” today’s contractors face national competitors with centralized systems and costly digital marketing experts.

Labor constraints pose the biggest industry challenge, though IHS has largely avoided them through strong contractor relationships.

“We don’t play games with our partners or subcontractors,” Sparks said. “We pay them on time and what they’re owed. Unfortunately, that’s not normal in our industry.”

By including subcontractors in company events and treating them as part of the team, IHS builds loyalty and reliability. Macroeconomic forces — housing sentiment, construction levels, and interest rates — will continue shaping demand, but IHS is outperforming industry trends.

Pricing disparities in roofing remain extreme. Sparks recalled a homeowner being charged $58,000 for a job IHS would complete for $24,000 — at a healthy 40% margin. He believes such predatory models are “houses of cards” that AI will eventually topple.

The company’s motto has evolved from “rid the world of unscrupulous contractors” to “saving our communities from unscrupulous contractors.”

“Karma has a weird way of catching up to people, and I hope it does,” Sparks said.

For small contractors worried about PE consolidation, Sparks offers reassurance — with a caveat. Shops that take care of customers, rely on referrals, and provide good experiences will thrive, but scaling from $10 million to $50 million will be far tougher against national platforms with sophisticated marketing.

As part of his mission to encourage honest, successful contractors, he launched "The Long Game" in 2025, a podcast designed for entrepreneurs and business leaders in the roofing and home services industries who are focused on sustainable growth over quick wins. The biweekly podcast features candid conversations with contractors, brand presidents and industry veterans about leadership, scaling businesses, and building lasting legacies.

As IHS nears its 75,000-customer goal, Sparks’ model offers a blueprint for responsible growth in a fragmented industry. Twenty-five years after hanging his first shingle, Sparks has shown that doing good and doing well aren’t mutually exclusive — redefining what sustainable, values-based growth looks like, one customer at a time.