Chad Romans, 22

Chad Romans is a surefire contender for most unusual backstory of the 40 Under 40 Class of 2025. At age 11, he got into BMX racing — so much so he discovered he had immense talent for the sport. He turned pro, competing in events at far-flung locales worldwide, including Belgium, Turkey and his personal favorite, Baku, Azerbaijan. 

“It’s like a miniature Dubai between Iran and Russia,” he says of Baku. “Anytime you mention it, people are like, ‘Where the heck is that?’ It’s a complete culture shock. It’s fascinating to me.” 

Photo by Mark Wemple

Romans, however, knew BMX racing wouldn’t be a long-term career, and by age 18, with a few injuries along the way, he’d begun to wind it down. Romans’ father, Ben, meanwhile, owned companies in landscaping. Much of their business came from HOAs, and the elder Romans would outsource pest control services to firms such as Pest Patrol of Southwest Florida, which hired Chad Romans. 

“I worked for them in the summers, so I could get experience under my belt and get my license,” says Romans, who lives in Port Charlotte. “Around that time, the owner decided he wanted to sell it…We were like, ‘Well, shoot, we'll buy it.’ Everybody already knew me from working for the company, and the customer base knew me.”

Tragedy struck in early 2024, though, when Ben Romans died unexpectedly, leaving Chad and Chad's mother, Sherry, to take over the business. Chad Romans quickly discovered Pest Patrol of Southwest Florida was not doing nearly as well, financially, as he assumed. 

“We were in the negatives every month,” he says. “My father didn’t hand me a golden ticket, but he did leave me with a bunch of connections. Now, I’m friends with all my dad’s friends who are successful business owners. That’s been the No. 1 thing that I’m thankful for. I no longer have my main mentor, but instead I have a whole Rolodex of mentors I can call anytime.” 

Romans has already transformed the company’s fortunes, tripling its workload in the past three months alone. He’s done that with just seven full-time employees and two seasonal workers, and without a formal management structure.

“I don’t want us to get too big,” he says, “but I’d like to be a medium-sized business where people recognize our trucks, and we have an office staff. I think we can do that in two to three years.”