{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"From Med School to 100,000 Sq Ft: Matt Thornton on Taking Over the Family Business","description":"Matt Thornton had eight East Coast med school interviews lined up. A week before the first one, he took his dad to lunch and asked if it would be weird to walk away from medicine to stay in the family flooring business. His dad said he was cool with it. Matt never looked back. That was 1997. In 2016, he bought his parents out completely. Today, Thornton Flooring operates out of a 100,000+ square foot showroom off I-29 in Tea, South Dakota, with additional locations in Sioux City and Rapid City \u2014 grown from the single garage stall where his parents started the business in the early 1980s. Brad and Brian Jans of Jans Corporation sit down with Matt for a real conversation about taking over a family business, working side-by-side with your parents for 15+ years, and what it actually takes to grow something your family built without losing what made it worth building in the first place. In this episode: Why Matt walked away from medicine to join his parents' flooring business Working alongside his mom and dad for over 15 years \u2014 and the day his mom "quit" over lunch Buying his parents out in 2016 and what that transition actually looked like The values his parents instilled that he still leads with today \u2014 "you wear your name with pride" Why culture is the thing he protects most as the business grows Going from a 40,000 sq ft warehouse to a 100,000+ sq ft showroom across three states Staying growth-motivated even after building the business he always dreamed of How Bob Shaw, founder of Shaw Industries and now Engineered Floors, still meets with customers at nearly 90 years old Surrounding yourself with people smarter than you \u2014 and letting them carry the business with you What's next for Thornton Flooring in the next 3, 5, and 10 years Guest: Matt Thornton, Owner, Thornton Flooring  Hosts: Brad Jans & Brian Jans, Jans Corporation Visit Thornton Flooring: thorntonflooring.com Locations: Tea, SD (I-29 exit) | Sioux City, IA | Rapid City, SD 2 B's in a Podcast is real conversations with family business owners, community leaders, and the people building South Dakota.  Produced in Sioux Falls, SD Hosted by Brad and Brian Jans of Jans Corporation  commercial construction built on relationships.   ","author_name":"2 B's in a PODcast","author_url":"https:\/\/sites.libsyn.com\/597125","html":"