Owner of Spartan Gutter Guards, Jake Freeman
Off the Ladders & Out of the Gutters
July 2021
by anna rogers | photos courtesy of Spartan Gutter Guards
Take your mind off the gutters… forever.
Imagine never having to clean your gutters again. Sounds exciting, right? Now imagine a Billings-based company that sets you up with state-of-the-art, revolutionary gutter guards that make this hypothetical scenario a reality.
Meet Spartan® Gutter Guards, a Montana-based, disabled veteran-owned and operated company whose gutter guards are changing the game for homeowners. Spartan is a first-of-its-kind, patented, machine-pressed, aluminum-framed gutter protection system with a raised marine grade stainless steel micromesh that can defeat everything from leaves to pine needles.
The Product
“We are the strongest, most robust, most technologically advanced guard on the market,” says Jake Freeman, Founder and CEO of Spartan Home Services. Spartan Gutter Guards can withstand rain, snow, sun, and hail and can even be integrated with heat cables if the home is prone to ice buildup.
Spartan was recently tested to be in compliance with Class A fire resistance standards, which is the top rating you can get. The hope, particularly in Montana, is to keep people off their ladders and out of their gutters and save as many homes as possible from the summer wildfires, as many house fires start in gutters when embers blow across the roof and catch pine straw on fire.
Spartan was developed from years of customer and distributor feedback on what worked and what did not across the country. This is a product that works well for temperate climates and in severe hail and extreme temperatures.
Jake was brought on as CEO to an organization called NextGen Leaf Solutions and rebranded it as Spartan. He relocated the company to be headquartered in Billings because he wanted those in charge of the company to always have severe weather and climate at the front of their minds. The result is a guard that withstands hail, is fireproof, and comes with a lifetime transferrable warranty. But it’s not just gutter guards that Jake Freeman is passionate about.
Beyond the Product
Jake is a Major in the Reserves who served two tours in the US Marine Corps, followed by half a decade with Amazon / Amazon Web Services. His family moved to Montana from Stockholm, Sweden.
“My wife of 16 years, Janet, and I run our own homestead in the Bull Mountains (south of Roundup) and homeschool our four kids. We also support a young Filipina woman I extracted from a human trafficking situation on my last tour there. Her name is Abigail and we’ve put her through her 4th year of a 5-year civil engineering program.”
Jake is establishing a 501(c)(3), Spartan Life Services, to properly allocate funds to human trafficking interdiction methods. He recently finished the academic portion of a Marriage and Family Therapy master’s degree and is pursuing licensure.
“As a combat vet who has my own PTSD diagnosis, I can tell you that it is a rare therapist who can reach our Vietnam and more modern vets scattered in our area. Say the wrong, patronizing thing to these guys and gals and often they will totally disregard you. When I finish licensure, I will focus my efforts through Spartan Life Services on reaching some of these veterans.”
Jake's personal commitment and passion for serving the community around him bleed into the culture at Spartan.
Company Culture
Spartan invests in its employees and creates a company culture that values hard work and taking care of people. Jake doesn’t beat around the bush about Spartan Gutter Guards’ company values:
- Never lie.
- Be aware of competitors but obsess over customers.
- Keep it simple.
The goal of keeping people off of their ladders is a constant motivation for Spartan, as falls from short ladders are a primary cause of injury and death for Americans over 55. Jake recommends a hardened product like Spartan to prevent gutter clogs and take care of the problem forever.
As one client recently said, “When I look at the price of Spartan versus the cost and suffering of me falling from my roof, it’s not even a question. Easiest purchase I have made this year.”
With a quality product, excellent values, and dedicated service, Spartan is experiencing rapid growth. They are currently scouting missions in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and Spokane, Washington, have early-stage growth in Rapid City, South Dakota, and recently opened an Austin, Texas location. They currently operate in most of Montana, Northern Wyoming, and Rapid City and expect to open seven new offices this year!
Learn more about what makes Spartan Gutter Guards special and get a free quote at spartangutterguards.com.
Originally printed in the July 2021 issue of Simply Local Magazine
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