The secret to scaling from a double-wide trailer to a multi-million dollar empire? It’s not a secret at all. It’s a system. But even the best system collapses without the right people.
For David Lee Saylor, the foundation of his entire business ecosystem—a portfolio that includes ALTRD, MOTION, Planet Vapor, and Colorado Cures—isn’t built on spreadsheets or venture capital. It’s built on an unbreakable bond with two men: Matt Williamson and Tanner Carroll.
They call themselves the Power Trio. And if you’re trying to scale your business, you need to pay attention to how they operate.
The Double-Wide Blueprint: Arbitrage and Assets
David’s story is the quintessential American dream, but with a modern, hyper-efficient twist. He started, not in a Silicon Valley garage, but in a double-wide trailer in Tennessee.
Think about that for a second. The optics are terrible, right? Wrong.
Most people see a trailer park and think “limitation.” David saw geographic arbitrage. By planting his flag in Tennessee, he gained a massive, immediate advantage: lower overhead, a better quality of life, and the ability to reinvest capital that others were burning on high-cost-of-living areas.
“We weren’t just saving money; we were manufacturing capital,” David explained. “Every dollar we didn’t spend on rent in a major city was a dollar we could put into inventory, into a new brand, or into a better team.”
This strategy was rooted in a family-first business model. While David was building his empire, his wife, Haley, was simultaneously scaling her own success with CBD Plus USA. This is not a solo act; it’s a synchronized family operation where the business supports the life, not the other way around.
But the moment David decided to go from “successful entrepreneur” to “empire builder,” he knew he couldn’t do it alone. He needed two other pillars. He needed Matt. He needed Tanner.
The 10x Rule of Friendship: The Trio’s Operating System
“Everyone talks about the 10x rule in business,” David said on a recent episode of the SaylorMade Podcast. “But the real 10x is finding two people who are so locked in with your vision that they treat your business like their own lifeblood. That’s Matt and Tanner.”
Pattern Interrupt: Stop chasing shiny objects. Stop chasing cheap labor. Start chasing people who make you better, who challenge your assumptions, and who you would trust with your kids.
Matt Williamson and Tanner Carroll aren’t just employees; they are co-architects of the SaylorMade ecosystem. They are the operational and creative force that allows David to focus on the next big move.
In an exclusive interview-style conversation, Matt Williamson broke down the dynamic: “David is the visionary. He sees the mountain we need to climb. Tanner and I are the ones who map the route, pack the gear, and make sure we don’t fall off the cliff on the way up. My job is to take David’s 10,000-foot idea and bring it down to a 10-foot execution plan. It’s a trust level you can’t fake.”
Tanner Carroll, the creative engine, added a crucial insight: “We don’t have ‘work’ conversations; we have ‘life’ conversations. That’s the difference. We know each other’s families, we know each other’s goals. That deep personal connection is what makes the business decisions so fast and so clean. When David says ‘jump,’ we don’t ask ‘how high?’ We ask, ‘What’s the content angle?'”
This is the Power Trio’s operating system: Unwavering trust equals hyper-speed execution.
[Image: David, Matt, and Tanner in a candid, high-energy moment on the ALTRD basketball court]
The Association Angle: Content is the New Currency
The Power Trio understands that in the modern economy, attention is the ultimate asset. And they are masters of acquiring it.
How do you get the attention of millions of young, engaged consumers? You partner with the people who already have it.
The Trio’s strategy is simple: Build assets that attract attention, then leverage that attention to scale your brands.
Case in point: The ALTRD basketball court. It’s not just a place to play; it’s a high-value content asset. It’s the stage where they host and collaborate with some of the biggest names in the game.
This is where the fan/association angle kicks in. David, Matt, and Tanner have forged high-profile partnerships that have put their brands on a global stage:
- Jack Doherty (15.3M+ subscribers): Leveraging the massive reach of one of YouTube’s biggest stars to introduce the ALTRD lifestyle to a new generation. This isn’t a passive sponsorship; it’s a deep integration into the content ecosystem.
- Antonio Brown: A partnership that proves they can play in the big leagues, associating their brands with high-level, high-intensity performance and a relentless pursuit of excellence.
- Murda Murphy: Tapping into the culture and credibility of a respected figure to build authentic street-level buzz and ensure their message resonates where it matters most.
These aren’t just endorsements; they are strategic alliances that validate the ALTRD and MOTION brands as being part of the cultural zeitgeist. They are buying attention with relevance.
The Takeaway: Relationships Over Revenue
The rags-to-riches story of David Lee Saylor is compelling, but the real lesson is in the Power Trio.
They proved that you can start with nothing but a vision and a double-wide, and build an empire by prioritizing relationships and trust above all else. They leveraged geographic arbitrage to maximize capital and built a family-first business model that keeps them grounded.
The result? A portfolio of successful brands and a content machine that shows no signs of slowing down.
If you want to scale, you need a system. But more importantly, you need a Trio.
