Thomas D'Eri

Tom and his family built Rising Tide Car Wash with the mission of employing his brother, Andrew, and others with autism for 80% of their staff. The business has become a successful chain that washes over 500,000 vehicles per year. You might think that Rising Tide has been so successful because people have celebrated its social mission. That’s true, but the mission alone doesn’t explain the excellence that permeates every aspect of the business: service quality, customer experience, teamwork, management, and organizational design. Put any aspect of Rising Tide’s operation against other businesses, and you’ll find they have the edge.

In this session, Tom tells the inspiring, surprising reason why: The wash’s excellence isn’t in spite of their unusual workforce, but because of it.

Tom will walk the audience through how Rising Tide built a thriving business by:

• Developing highly accurate hiring practices
• Designing the work environment to empower all of its team members
• Developing managers who care enough to coach
• Building a culture of accountability and psychological safety