Growing a Family Business to $20M with Luke Cellino
Luke Cellino talks about growing Cellino Plumbing from $1M to $20M and the AI tools helping the company move faster without adding friction.
About This Episode
Cellino Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electric has grown from a small family operation to roughly $20 million in annual revenue. Luke Cellino, who became president at 23 after growing up in the business, joins Mustafa on the AI in Trades Podcast to talk about what drove that growth and where AI fits into what comes next.
The company's earlier technology bets, including early SEO investment and a commitment to ServiceTitan, created real competitive advantages. Luke thinks AI will do more. He's already using voice agents for overnight and overflow calls, NotebookLM to make company procedures easier to find, and AI tools to support marketing analysis, field coaching, parts management, and reporting.
As experienced technicians become harder to find and equipment grows more complex, AI gives newer team members faster access to knowledge and helps them handle more challenging work. Getting there, Luke argues, requires building a culture where employees are willing to try things, and that starts with something as small as one prompt a day.
Chapters
- 00:00 Introduction
- 00:23 Growing up in the family plumbing business
- 01:35 How SEO and ServiceTitan accelerated growth
- 02:38 Why AI could surpass earlier technology shifts
- 04:02 What an AI-native trade business looks like
- 05:08 Robots, 3D printing, and the future of fieldwork
- 06:26 Using voice AI for overnight and overflow calls
- 07:43 Building an AI culture one prompt at a time
- 08:19 Making SOPs searchable with NotebookLM
- 08:55 Helping technicians close the experience gap
- 10:29 AI for marketing analysis and field coaching
- 12:08 Training technicians and managing parts with AI
- 13:34 Using AI in accounting and reporting
- 15:31 Where to find Luke and Cellino Plumbing
- 15:52 Closing thoughts
About the Guest
Luke Cellino grew up working alongside the technicians at his family's plumbing business in Buffalo, New York. He took on serious operational responsibilities as a teenager and became president of Cellino Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electric at 23. Over the years since, he has helped grow annual revenue from roughly $1 million to about $20 million by investing in technology, training, and systems that let the company take on more without proportionally growing its headcount.
About AI in Trades
AI in Trades is a podcast from Peaka exploring how artificial intelligence is changing home services, field service operations, contractor growth, and the future of work in the trades. Each episode features operators, technology leaders, and business owners discussing practical ways AI is showing up in the field, in the office, and across trade businesses.
