TRG Ventures Names Scott Specker CEO and Brian Ammerman COO

MACON, Ga., Nov. 10, 2026. TRG Ventures, the corporate home of Top Rated Gutters, has named co-founder Scott Specker Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Brian Ammerman Chief Operating Officer.

TRG Ventures was formed by six co-founders, all Five Star Painting franchisees. Five of them have been named National Franchisee of the Year by Neighborly and Five Star Painting, in 2016, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. Top Rated Gutters is an emerging brand, with locally owned teams serving homeowners and businesses across Georgia, Ohio, Indiana and Michigan and a 4.9-star rating across 184 Google reviews.

“It means the world to me to be trusted by my business partners, and frankly my friends, to guide the future of this venture,” said Specker. “The gutter industry today is where the painting industry was 15 years ago. It’s extremely fragmented. There are high-quality workers, but not many operators running great businesses. Homeowners deserve a simple way to get a quote, clear communication and a great experience, and we believe the time is right to deliver that.”

Scott Specker, Chief Executive Officer

Specker brings nearly two decades of executive marketing and sales leadership from the consumer packaged goods industry. He served as Global Client Director at The Nielsen Company, where he led work on the Coca-Cola account, and he worked with brands including H.J. Heinz and Georgia-Pacific. He credits his corporate career with instilling a discipline of organization, a habit of looking down the road, and an understanding of when to delegate responsibility to the people who can drive success.

In 2012 he left corporate life to build service businesses. He founded Five Star Painting of Cumming, Alpharetta, and Buford, which has served more than 14,000 homes and completed over 6,000 jobs, and he was named National Franchisee of the Year in 2016.

In 2023 Specker launched Top Rated Gutters of Northeast Georgia, based in Cumming. He grew it deliberately so that service never suffered. He met with area vendors, industry marketing experts and local contractors to understand the competitive landscape. Just as he did when he started his painting business, he handled everything himself, from sales and project management to back-office work, and he spoke directly with customers about what the industry was missing.

“Customers told us the same things over and over: no follow-up, no quotes, poor customer service,” Specker said. “We saw a huge opportunity for a high-service, mid-priced local company.”

Over the next six to 12 months, Specker’s priorities are twofold. The first is refining the company’s systems from operations to marketing. The second is continuing the conversations under way across the founders’ extensive industry network as TRG Ventures finalizes its growth plan within the year.

“What makes this group unique is that we’re all friends,” Specker said. “We’ve traveled together, our families know each other, and most of us have been in business for more than 10 years. How many times in life do you get a shot at building a brand with your friends and have fun doing it? We’re an honest, hardworking group of owner-operators building a leaner, meaner operating system for home services, so homeowners can get work done on their homes easily.”

On his partnership with Ammerman, he added: “Brian and I can be completely honest with each other, and that’s the best quality of our relationship. He’s more deliberate than I am, and I can be spontaneous. That balance is exactly what we need to stay disciplined and get things done.”

Specker’s family has watched the risks and rewards of the home-services business up close for 13 years, and they are more involved this time around. “They say business isn’t personal,” he said, “but this sure feels personal to me.”

Brian Ammerman, Chief Operating Officer

Ammerman brings more than three decades of operations, sales and business-ownership experience to the role. He began his career managing a fast-food restaurant, then joined Explorer Van Co. in September 1991 as a production line worker. Over 25 years with the company, he rose to lead final finish manager, moved into sales, and ultimately became Regional Sales Director.

In 2016 he became a business owner, opening Five Star Painting of Orland Park, Ill., in March. By September of that year he had purchased Five Star Painting of Naperville from its existing owner, and over the next four years he grew the two businesses to more than $1 million in sales. In 2020 he acquired Five Star Painting of New Orleans and Five Star Painting of Mandeville, La., to be closer to his wife’s family. He sold the Illinois locations in 2021.

As a co-founder, Ammerman has been instrumental in creating the Top Rated Gutters brand. He has shaped the operations and marketing strategy that support its local offices.

“We’ve been working toward this day for several years,” said Ammerman. “Now it’s time to reach for new heights and push this business toward the success it deserves. We have some great technologies on the cusp of becoming reality, and my first priority is getting them across the finish line over the next six to 12 months.”

Ammerman credits the founding group as a key advantage. “Our founders are the best of the best within the Five Star Painting family, and their knowledge and expertise show,” he said. “We’re building Top Rated Gutters on the strengths we developed there and the lessons we learned along the way, so our systems let us grow quickly and seamlessly.”

On partnering with Specker, he added: “It’s an honor to work alongside Scott as our CEO. We’ve been friends for years, I can’t think of a better person to take this journey with, and our strengths complement each other perfectly.”

Ammerman lives in Mandeville, La., with Sherri, his wife of 20 years, their daughters Emma and Elin, and their German Shepherd, Koda. He is a devoted LSU football and NASCAR fan and tries to catch both in person several times a year.