John Holsapple

In 2007, John Holsapple cancelled his return ticket from China to the United States. A semester into his study abroad program in Beijing, John’s interest shifted from attending school to starting one. He recognized the enormous opportunity for language instruction schools in China, and he was determined to build the most successful one. There were, however, a few obstacles to this: John did not speak Chinese, had no business experience, and had no money. Three years later, John’s school had provided instruction to more than 7,000 students. Against the odds, John’s first foray into entrepreneurship succeeded. The scrappiness and grit that made his success possible continued to serve John well in his next venture and in his career since then. In 2018, John prepared to embark on another entrepreneurial journey. John and his partners, Greg Shapiro and Zach Cooper, acquired Stanley Ruth, a residential HVAC business based in New York City. Stanley Ruth was founded as a clock-repair shop in the 1890s, but pivoted to electronics repair and electrical contracting before becoming an HVAC provider. When we met John in 2024, he had grown Stanley Ruth into one of New York’s leading residential HVAC platforms through a combination of organic and inorganic growth. We were impressed by John’s long-term vision for the business and wanted to find a way to partner with him.

Pacific Lake’s long-term mindset and ability to provide flexible capital resonated with John. He wanted a partner that could adapt to his needs and help scale Stanley Ruth with best-in-class operating resources – like the Pacific Lake Value Creation Team. LTH led an investment in Stanley Ruth in October and is excited to support the Stanley Ruth team during the next phase of the journey.