JOHN PRITTIE PRESIDENT & CEO, KOALA INSULATION CANADA
“I’ve had an entrepreneurial drive for two decades. The time is right. I want to start my own business.”
Cameron Sullivan was sixteen when he tried to start his first business: a staffing agency matching his sports teammates with construction crews that needed summer labour. He and a friend chased the idea for a year and, by his own admission, had no clue what they were doing. The business went nowhere, but that ambition went everywhere with him.
What followed looks, in hindsight, like a twenty-year apprenticeship for ownership. He studied marketing at the University of Alberta, then chose a Queen’s MBA deliberately to master the harder skills of entrepreneurial finance: balance sheets and cash flow, the language of ownership. He built his career almost exclusively inside hyper-growth companies, most recently helping a digital advertising agency climb from under a million dollars in revenue to more than $200 million, learning along the way how to scale teams through rapid change without letting quality crack under speed. But all of that growth belonged to someone else. Two decades after that first failed venture, the itch had only sharpened. The time, he decided, was right. Today he owns Koala Insulation of East Toronto.
The Search for a Future-Proof, Values-Aligned Business
So he ran the decision like the operator he had become. He analyzed more than sixty ventures, from franchise concepts to outright acquisitions to plans he could build from scratch, and pressure-tested each one. Is it a real need, not a nice-to-have? Can it scale without heavy capital or an expensive storefront? Then he added two filters of his own: future-proof and values-aligned. Don’t compete with e-commerce. Don’t compete with AI, either. He had watched artificial intelligence begin to reshape digital advertising firsthand. “It’s not something Amazon.com can take away,” he says. “And it’s going to be a long time before the robots come into the attic.” His grandfather and father were both mechanics, and he grew up on construction sites earning five cents for every nail he picked up. Here was a trade built on real, essential demand, one where technology works for the owner rather than against him, and where every finished job leaves a warmer in winter, cooler in summer, cheaper to run, and lighter on emissions.. It checked every box.
Bigger Than Insulation
Settling on insulation answered what. The harder question was who to build it with. Cameron wasn’t shopping for an insulation company so much as a proven playbook and the people behind it. He has sat in enough boardrooms to tell the difference between a company that has its act together and one that’s just pretending, and Koala had its act together: technology purpose-built for owners working out of a truck rather than a downtown office, established supplier relationships, and coaching from operators who have done this before. Behind it all stands Herity, the same group that made TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® a household name across Canada. That history of growing brands sealed it for him. “They have a quiet confidence. They’re operating at another tier, and they’ve done this before,” he says.
The corporate world taught him to value one more thing: a team around him. Koala protects every owner’s territory, so no two franchisees compete for the same customers, turning fellow owners into a support network instead of rivals. “Entrepreneurship can be a lonely journey,” Cameron says, “and I want an environment that has peers to bounce ideas around with.”
Winning on Efficiency and Reliability
Cameron knows the customer’s side of this trade personally: when he set out to insulate his own postwar home, simply getting a contractor to show up was the hardest part. That experience shaped his plan, and it is simple: to execute at a high level and deliver more than people expect. Clear quotes, honest timelines, and a tidy job at the end. In a fragmented trade, that alone sets a business apart.
A Venture With Meaning
Ask Cameron what success looks like, and the numbers come last. He grew up in the Rockies, the kind of childhood that still has him chasing double-black diamond trails, and he has watched the winters there grow shorter and less reliable than the ones he knew as a kid. “I want to help save winter,” he told us, so his two little girls can grow up with the same seasons he did. With a huge share of Canadian homes under-insulated, every job he completes means lower bills, lower emissions, and a home that stays comfortable in every season. He measures success in three parts: doing right by people, doing right by the environment, and building a robust business. He intends to make all three work at once.
Twenty years after that first venture went nowhere, his advice to anyone carrying the same ambition is simple, but not easy. Be honest with yourself about what you want. Then, as he puts it, “Make a plan and get after it.” He did, and we’re glad he brought that ambition to Koala.
Welcome to the family, Cameron.
About Koala Insulation Canada
Koala Insulation Canada is a national franchise network dedicated to improving residential and commercial energy efficiency. We specialize in a full range of modern insulation solutions, including blown-in and batt insulation, spray foam, air sealing, and insulation removal, helping customers across the country reduce energy costs and increase home comfort.
Cameron Sullivan is a new franchisee for Koala Insulation Canada, proudly serving the East Toronto territory.
We are happy to welcome Cameron to the Koala Insulation Family!