When University of Georgia graduate Ron Holt learned that legendary Bulldogs football coach and athletic director Vince Dooley wanted to partner with him, he couldn’t believe his ears.

“I still get chill bumps thinking about it,” Holt said. “It’s a pretty big deal for us. He brings so much to the table. When you think of Vince Dooley, you think of nothing but trust and integrity. He’s a proven leader.”

It’s the latest win for the Birmingham, Ala.-based Two Maids & A Mop, which is one of the country’s fastest-growing businesses. The home cleaning franchise has been named to the Inc. 5000 list every year for the past four years, and was also honored by the magazine as one of the fastest-growing companies in Alabama. Founded in 2003, the company boasts franchise network sales near $20 million and yearly revenues between $17 and 20 million, according to Holt, who oversees 400 employees and more than 30 franchise owners.

The company’s success may now appear ensured, but it got off to a rocky start.

“I lost money for the first two years. I didn’t even receive a paycheck,” said Holt, who founded the company on April Fools Day in Pensacola, Fla.

But things eventually began to turn around as Holt developed some competitive advantages and operational efficiencies.

“Once we recognized the model was not only profitable, but scalable, I started thinking big,” he said.

Holt figured he was on to something special when he opened his fourth store in the company’s future home base of Birmingham. It was Two Maids & A Mop’s first store outside its Florida confines, and he realized that his baby was finally ready to spread its wings and fly on its own.

“That was the first store that I was not actively involved in every single decision and task,” Holt said. After several years of handling just about every aspect of the business but the house cleaning itself, he was gratified to realize this store could thrive without his control.

“The business proved that it could scale itself and grow without me being the most important person in the world,” Holt says. “That store really changed everything for us and allowed me to think much bigger—and continue to think big today.”

Before long, the company had grown to 12 corporate stores in five states throughout the Southeast, and Holt’s business model began to shift toward franchising.

“That gave us the opportunity to really grow across the country, not just in the Southeast,” Holt said. “It allowed us to grow much faster, and, on top of that, it allowed us to partner with people who were business owners, instead of employees.”

Somewhere along the way, the company made a serious impression on a couple of customers who also happened to be the wife and daughter of Vince Dooley, the coach who is still considered a god in Georgia for coaching Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker and leading the Bulldogs to their last national championship in 1980. Dooley reached out to Holt—and just like that, a partnership was born.

“If people look into Two Maids & A Mop and study it, I think they’d be impressed by the [company’s] record of success. Hopefully, that will lead to more success in the future,” Dooley said.

Dooley is not a direct investor in Two Maids & A Mop, but the two are partners in virtually every other sense.

“He brings so many skills and traits to the table,” Holt said of Dooley. “I’ve learned so much from Coach Dooley’s life, and we’ve used that just in the last few weeks within our own business.”

Dooley is quick to remind people that he once oversaw a $120 million program as Georgia’s athletic director, so he has lots of direct business expertise to offer as well.

Holt said he sees Dooley’s involvement in Two Maids & A Mop as a golden opportunity for his business, which he wants to expand throughout the lower 48 states within 10 years. For the first time in the company’s 13-year history, Two Maids and a Mop will actively advertise its services—and Dooley’s endorsement will play a key role in that marketing push.

“We expect for something big to happen, honestly,” Holt said. “We fully believe that with the UGA community – whether it’s a fan or an alumnus, we feel that Coach Dooley’s partnership will really allow us to grow very quickly. Once people hear our story … we’re certain that our growth is going to take off.”