Mark Ellefson knows his goal of building Prodigy Sewer & Drain into a premier trenchless services company in Tennessee is only possible with a strong team behind him. So far he’s been successful, either attracting already experienced talent or developing people into elite lining technicians.
It started with someone whose only previous experience with pipe lining was what he saw on YouTube. Now he’s leading the Prodigy lining crew.
“My first hire, he’s Middle Eastern and barely spoke English,” Ellefson says. “I said, ‘I’m going to teach you English and I’m going to teach you pipe lining.’ It was just me and him riding around doing service calls in the beginning.”
Ellefson says he focuses on intellect when hiring because he believes people can be trained faster on drain rehab work.
“Plumbing is vast, there’s a lot to learn in that area of the trade. Drains are more tailored, there’s fewer moving parts. I look for those I know I can groom to be powerful lining technicians in X amount of time. It cuts back on my investment. My first hire, now he’s learned English well and is leading our lining crew. He’s gotten really good and is very valuable to the company.
“You have to have the vision and be good with people, show them a future with them in it being successful and having growth potential. You always have to include people because if they don’t feel like part of the future, they feel disposable, like just a number.”
Part of that is paying attention to employees’ quality of life, not only focusing on profits above all else. That’s key to longevity, Ellefson says.
“I want to create a stage where they become rock stars, seeing their awesome work and being grateful and wanting to be part of the team long-term. I don’t want to simply make as much money as possible, killing these guys in the process. Then they burn out and quit. Delayed gratification is a big focus for me. It’s not how can I make all my money in the next 6 to 12 months and then suddenly I don’t have a team in the next 18 months.”
Read more about Prodigy Sewer & Drain in the October 2026 issue of Cleaner magazine.
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