Why She’s in the Spotlight: In 2018, Maddy Fauth co-founded Great Guys Colorado in Denver. Since then, she’s worn many hats at the company — among them: technician. And it all started because she needed a job.  

After leaving stressful positions in corporate healthcare and then the cannabis industry, Fauth found herself without a job and not really knowing what to do. Fortunately, she grew up in a trades family, with a mom who worked in telecom and a dad who worked in HVAC. 

“I hit up my dad, who made an introduction to a friend of ours who was a general manager of an HVAC company, and I started out picking up and dropping off equipment, sweeping the shop floor, organizing — just started from the bottom and learned everything there was to learn,” Fauth said.  

Timing is a funny thing, she said. Since she started in HVAC, she’s definitely had to take a few steps back to humble herself — she wasn’t sure HVAC was the right fit.  

“But then we came into an opportunity,” Fauth said. “There were some houses that needed some rework done based on a mistake made by the builder. They had to pull all of the HVAC equipment out, and I was part of the team that was able to reinstall the HVAC, and it was really just the timing of the opportunity to start to elevate my career, because they needed an extra body and they needed hands. … That's kind of how I really got my specific start in the trade.” 

Thus, Fauth went from being a shop kid to an HVAC tech — one who spends time investing in their community. 

“Maddy has developed a strong sense of devotion to supporting her community through volunteering and supporting fellow members of the LGBTQIA+ community,” said Sonya Fryar, client success manager with CertainPath. “This experience has given her a deep devotion for how nonprofits seek to improve lives for everyone in Colorado. She prides herself and Great Guys on building long-lasting relationships with clients to address their property needs. With a focus on consumer education, service integrity, fair pricing, employee satisfaction, and customer retention, Great Guys has now become one of the fastest-growing companies in the industry.” 

Including the above, there are a combination of things that have kept Fauth in the industry. 

“I have the opportunity to learn something every single day, and at this point, it's really for my team,” Fauth said. “My job now isn't necessarily to sell HVAC; I have the opportunity to lead, and I believe that you lead by serving your team and serving your team well — by being there for them and advocating for their needs of what's going to make them most successful, so that they can focus on what their position and what their objectives are.” 

While there is no crystal ball, it looks like Fauth’s future probably entails a lot more HVAC, plumbing, and electrical work. 

In HVAC and beyond, her goal is to make a positive impact on every single person she meets. 

“Whether that's an employee, a client, an industry partner, a competitor — I want to have the opportunity to be a light and positive impact on those around me. And I know that prioritizing that, is what my future holds. … HVAC may be the vehicle and the categorization of what I do, but I own my business and I run my business with my family to be able to help people.” 

Advice to Future Techs: Have passion and be ready to learn.  

“If you're not passionate about what you're doing, then it’s not the right thing,” Fauth said. “But more so over everything: Be aware and know that there are things that you don't know. You just don't know what you don't know, and if you take that mindset, it's going to put you in a position for lifelong learning.” 

And a technician doesn’t ever want to find themselves in a position where they aren’t learning. 

“As soon as you stop learning, you stop growing,” Fauth said.  

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