Read Time: 8 minutes

Entrepreneurship often starts with a spark of inspiration and a leap of faith. For Jake Still, Co-founder & CEO of Junk Rescue, that spark ignited a journey of determination and growth. In this interview, he shares his story, offering insights into the challenges he’s faced and the values that drive his success.

Get ready to be inspired by his candid reflections and valuable lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs.

I’m thrilled to have this conversation with you, Jake, and I’m sure our readers will find your story both inspiring and insightful. Let’s dive right in—can you share your entrepreneurial journey and what inspired you to start your business?

In the summer of 2015, my brother-in-law and I were on our way to a Phillies-Yankees game in New York City.

At the time I was working in the Philly area as a medical device rep selling aesthetic lasers to plastic surgeons, and he was a Civil Engineer. During the 2-hour car ride, he asked if I was happy with what I was doing, and truth be told, neither of us were with our current situations.

He asked me what I really wanted to do. The answer for me was simple, I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur and create something from the ground up. To which he replied, “Okay, so like what would you actually do though?”

I explained I had worked for a junk removal company in college, and out of all the odd jobs I had in my life, I really loved the idea of building a white-collar business in a blue-collar space—taking a gritty manual labor business and applying better business practices to provide a new, amazing experience for the customer.

He replied, “Well, what’s stopping you?” At the time my answer was typical: “Not enough money, didn’t know where to start, didn’t know how to start.” But in reality, what was stopping me was self-doubt and the fear of failure. In simple terms, I was scared.

Well….

Two weeks later, we were on vacation with our families in LBI when he gave me some shocking news by saying, “Congrats, we’re business partners!”

He had taken the liberty of creating the LLP “South Jersey Junk Removal,” which he will be the first to admit I immediately hated, lol. But then he replied, “Relax, it takes a year to get your license to haul trash in New Jersey anyway…”

One Year After Filing for the Business License

Fast forward a year later to May 2016. We got the news that our trash hauling license had been approved.

It just so happens that the medical sales company I was working for had recently dissolved my division around the same time, and I was out of a job.

I had to really think about my future. Do I stay in the cushy medical field or tell my parents I wanted to haul trash for a living?

Obviously, I did the sensible thing… and became a trash man!

But only under one condition: we had to agree to put any and all differences aside and commit everything we had into building Junk Rescue.

It’s at this moment we adopted the motto “ALL IN or ALL OUT,” and we were all in.

Fast forward to 2024, and we are now the largest non-franchise junk and dumpster company in the region with no outside investors. We now have 15 trucks, 30+ employees, and double the 5-star reviews of any company in the region, with over 4,000+ online. We will begin to scale the business model nationwide starting in 2025.

Wow, what an incredible story! It’s amazing how one conversation and a little push turned into such a successful business. So, let’s talk challenges— what were some of the biggest obstacles you faced when starting out, and how did you get through them?

One of my proudest stories within the company came after I worked with the consultant, Eric Flamholtz. Eric is best known for consulting Howard Schultz of Starbucks prior to and during the crossing of the $1 billion in annual sales mark. One of the most profound lessons Eric taught me was a graph with an inverted “U” in between a Y/X axis with a horizontal line splitting it in half and a “V” in the center of the “X” axis. On the “X” axis, you have self-esteem from low to high. On the “Y” axis, you have effectiveness.

He explained to me how all team members follow the curve. Some can be effective in their role with low self-esteem, while employees with too much self-esteem will eventually become ineffective, as too much self-esteem actually leads to arrogance and the inability to take constructive criticism.

I put every employee I was having trouble coaching through this test, and it helped me pinpoint how to be more effective in my communication every time. However, he told me not to waste my time on anyone in the bottom left corner who has very low self-esteem and low effectiveness.

He called these employees an “Emotional Vietnam,” as you’re fighting a battle that you will never win and that will leave many casualties the longer you let the fight go on. Amazing advice, as he was so right, but I am stubborn and a sucker for an employee who I believe has great potential just waiting to be awakened.

I had one employee who fit this description perfectly. I kept trying to get through to them, and I kept failing. This went on for three years! Until one day, we made a book mandatory for all employees to read. The book was Extreme Accountability by Jocko Willink. The words of Jocko did in one month what I failed to do over three years.

However, if you are on my team and you show up every day, I won’t give up on you. I will keep trying, as that is my job as a leader. This employee is now a respected leader in the organization and making outstanding growth every day without intervention. They take accountability and make the organization better.

The fact that I never gave up on this employee, even when it tore my soul sometimes, and they’re now thriving, is my greatest accomplishment as a leader.

How has your personal background and experiences influenced your approach to entrepreneurship?

My personal background and experiences have had a profound impact on my approach to entrepreneurship, especially the lessons I learned from sports and my parents. Playing sports taught me the value of discipline, teamwork, and resilience. Whether it was training hard, competing under pressure, or learning from losses, sports instilled a mindset that you have to show up consistently, adapt to challenges, and rely on your team to succeed. That same mentality carries over to running a business—every day is like game day, and you have to give it your all.

My parents also played a huge role in shaping my entrepreneurial journey. They showed me the importance of hard work, integrity, and always striving to do better. Their example taught me to dream big while staying grounded in strong values. Watching their dedication and sacrifices inspired me to build something meaningful and lasting, not just for myself but for others. These experiences gave me the foundation to approach entrepreneurship with both grit and heart, always striving to create a positive impact.

It’s amazing how your background in sports and the values your parents instilled have shaped your approach to business. It really shows how those lessons can make a big impact.

Thank you, Jake, for sharing your incredible journey and the powerful influence of your background on your entrepreneurial path. Stay tuned for part two, where we’ll explore more of Jake’s challenges, triumphs, and the values that continue to drive his remarkable success!

Marc J. Bernstein JD, ChFC®, CLU®, CAP®

Financial Planner and Consultant, Bestselling Author, and Creator of the Forward Focus Forums

Marc helps high performing entrepreneurs and business owners create a vision for the future, accomplish their business and personal goals, financial and otherwise, and assists them in following through on their intentions.  Marc recently co-founded March, a forward-looking company with a unique approach to wealth management.  He captured his philosophy in his #1 Amazon Bestseller, The Fiscal Therapy Solution 1.0.  Marc is also the founder of the Forward Focus Forum, a suite of resources tailored specifically to educate and connect high performing entrepreneurs, and to help them realize their vision of true financial independence. The forum includes;

• the Founders’ Forward Focus Forum: a series of articles focused on entrepreneurship
• the Founders’ Forum Radio Show and Podcast: featuring interviews with some of the area’s top founders and their experiences in business
• the Manufacturers’ Forward Focus Forum: a specialized resource group for owners/founders of manufacturing companies, including a private Facebook group; a private discussion group for high performing leaders of manufacturing companies to share resources, news, network with each other, and collaborate