The story of Doran Holdings begins in January 2012 with a leap of faith—a move to Washington State. It would take another decade before the company truly came into being, but the foundation was laid in those early days.
I had just finished my final college classes in December and was set on building a career as an athletic director or coach in Southeast Michigan, ideally at my alma mater. That was the plan—until my soon-to-be father-in-law, Rick, intervened.
During a visit to see my fiancée, Rick pitched me an entirely different path. He owned a commercial construction business and offered me a job working hourly while also encouraging me to start a business of my own on the side. Seeing his success—and the success of some of his friends—I thought to myself, Why not? So, I took the chance and moved to Washington.
My first week on the job was rough. I was out in the field installing fiberglass insulation on HVAC ducts and water mains—going home itchy every single day. At that point, I seriously questioned my decision.
But over time, I got better. I adapted to the work, and eventually, I even took pride in it. One of my proudest moments was crafting a high-temperature pad for an emergency generator muffler at a T-Mobile facility—measured, sewn, stitched, and laced together by hand. Who would’ve thought all those geometry lessons in school would actually come in handy?
In early 2013, an opportunity presented itself. A man named John Duggan, who was retiring from the firestop industry, approached Rick and me about wrapping up some of his projects. Instead of simply assigning me to take it on as part of his company, Rick did something I’ll always be grateful for—he offered me a partnership.
In May 2013, we launched our firestop business together. I continued working in insulation, running projects while simultaneously chasing firestopping work. It was a slow and steady build over the next few years, but with time, my passion for growing the business I had equity in took over.
By December 2016, it became clear that I needed to make a choice. Balancing both roles was no longer sustainable, and my future was in the business I was building.
In January 2017, I took the leap—I bought out Rick’s portion of the company and became a solo operator with no safety net. It was a defining moment.
From that point on, Barrier Tech continued to grow, expanding into Portland and Denver. It was the first of many businesses that would eventually fall under the Doran Holdings umbrella.
And that’s how it all started.
2021 - we launched our Portland division with Isaac Berumen.
2024 - we launched our Denver division with Jeff Leos. (This might be my craziest acquisition story of all...highly recommend you read that story)
