He built three companies, became a CEO twice, and credits it all to his 6th grade teacher

When David Royce looks back on his journey from a restless child struggling with undiagnosed ADHD to the founder of three multimillion-dollar companies, he doesn’t begin with business plans or boardrooms. Instead, he begins with a name etched in his heart: Lynn Luft, his sixth-grade teacher.

Today, Royce is a celebrated entrepreneur, the founder and former chairman of Aptive Environmental, a company that in less than a decade became the third-largest residential pest control firm in North America, earning over $500 million in annual revenue. He’s also a two-time CEO and an Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur of the Year winner. But for all the headlines and accolades, Royce says none of it would have been possible without the transformative role of one teacher who believed in him before he believed in himself.

This moving account was recently shared in an interview with CNBC Make It, where Royce opened up about the critical early intervention that changed the trajectory of his life.

A Classroom That Changed Everything
In elementary school, Royce often felt like an outsider, especially when some teachers failed to understand his learning needs. One painful memory from fifth grade stands out: classmates laughing at him, and the teacher joining in. “It was not an environment that inspired confidence,” he recalls.

Then came sixth grade and Lynn Luft.

“She created a safe space for all students to learn,” Royce said. Luft ensured that no teasing went unaddressed, lovingly correcting students and promoting empathy. It wasn’t just academic help; it was emotional scaffolding. Her classroom became a sanctuary, a place where Royce felt seen, understood, and empowered.

Lessons in Leadership
What stuck with Royce wasn’t the syllabus, it was the spirit. Luft, he says, taught him a different kind of curriculum: how to lead with compassion, how to lift others up, and how to foster belonging.

“She taught me the importance of not just being respectful,” Royce told CNBC, “but actively searching out ways to make others feel good about themselves.”

That became the bedrock of his leadership philosophy. At Aptive, one of the core values is “elevate the tribe” — a direct inheritance from Luft’s classroom culture. Whether leading startups or training sales teams late into the night, Royce continued the tradition of building people up.

Giving Back, One Entrepreneur at a Time
Royce’s passion now extends beyond pest control. He regularly speaks at universities and serves as a judge at business competitions, sharing his story to inspire future leaders. On his LinkedIn profile, he lists his core interests as entrepreneurship, strategy, and manager development and business culture.

Through all the scale and success, he’s never lost sight of his roots. “Everyone learns at a different pace,” he says, remembering how Luft patiently tutored him after class to help him grasp the material.

It’s this philosophy, one that champions individual growth, patience, and empathy, that Royce has scaled just as ambitiously as his businesses.

David Royce sees himself as a product of belief; not only his own, but someone else’s, a teacher who saw promise in a child struggling to stay still, and who chose kindness over criticism.

“She changed everything,” Royce says. And in doing so, she may have shaped the future of an industry and the lives of countless employees inspired by Royce’s leadership.