Finding Purpose in a Unique Industry
Let’s face it – waste management isn’t the kind of industry most people grow up dreaming about. It’s heavily regulated, not sexy, and often misunderstood. But the truth is, the way we manage waste – especially medical and hazardous waste – has far-reaching implications for public health, the environment, and even healthcare equity.
At PureWay, we decided early on that we weren’t just in the business of manufacturing and shipping containers – we were on a mission to improve the patients’ overall experience and to make healthcare safer, and more sustainable, starting from the bottom up.
From Door-to-Door to Disruptor: My Journey into Waste Management
My professional journey began out of necessity, not ambition. After dropping out of college, I worked in high-pressure, door-to-door residential, 100% commission sales. By the time I was 24, I had three kids and zero margin for error. Every deal mattered. Every lesson had to be learned and not repeated.
Over time, I launched ventures in media and logistics, each teaching me what not to do – and fueling my fire to build something with lasting impact. I entered the medical waste industry through a small public company in 2008, where I saw firsthand how underserved small generators were: dentists, veterinarians, home health agencies, and pharmacies. These weren’t massive hospital systems – they were independent, essential healthcare providers with no scalable support.
That insight sparked the founding of PureWay in 2013. Our goal? To transform medical waste from a compliance headache into a smart, eco-friendly, and tech-driven solution that enhances overall patient care and in a sustainable manner, hence the name “PureWay”. What was once unsexy is now a platform for innovation, visibility, and real impact across healthcare.
Culture Shift: Building a Team That Out-Executes the Founder
When we crossed $10 million in revenue, we faced a tough truth: the same team and mindset that helped us grow wouldn’t get us to the next level.
I had to let go of total control. We had to make hard decisions. We brought in new leadership talent, upgraded systems, adopted AI, and built structures that could scale – not just survive.
That shift was painful. But it also transformed PureWay from a founder-led hustle into a mission-driven growth engine and high-performance team.
One of the best lessons I’ve learned? Build a team that can execute better than you can. You need people who see around corners, who can execute, and who elevate your blind spots.
Turning Waste into a Tech-Forward, Education-First Experience
Most of our competitors are glorified logistics companies. They pick up boxes.
We’re not just picking up waste – we’re educating our customers on how to handle it responsibly, stay compliant, and protect their staff and communities. We serve the “small quantity generators” often overlooked by the industry, and we do it with software, not just trucks.
A few years ago, we had a client’s pharmaceutical take-back program explode in volume. We were unprepared. Labels jammed, printers overheated – it was chaos. But that crisis led to the creation of our own proprietary software ConnectHub, our software platform that now powers smarter compliance and customer experiences across sectors.
Sometimes, your biggest headaches create your biggest breakthroughs.
Leadership Traits That Matter: Persistence, Curiosity, Vision
Over the years, I’ve leaned on three core traits:
- Live in “Uncomfortable” : In my early sales days, no deal meant no food. That fire never left me. Persistence is about staying in the game when it gets uncomfortable. And in our industry, it always gets uncomfortable.
- Strategic Curiosity: I question everything. Not out of doubt, but out of hunger to learn. If something’s broken, I want to understand why, and how to fix it at the root, not just the surface.
- Stubborn Vision: You need to be flexible in your methods but unshakable in your mission. That stubbornness – when harnessed right – is what pushes companies through plateaus and into transformation.
How to Lead in Uncertain Times
Leading a company through rapid change and market disruption comes down to a few key behaviors:
- Create a team not timid to challenge the status quo: Change is required, when, how and how fast is fueled by the right team. The wrong team shares problems, the right team creates solutions and uncovers opportunities constantly.
- Test Fast, Fail Small: Run small pilots before big investments.
- Stay Close to the Frontlines: Daily feedback from customers and active listening is required.
- Support Your People: Redline efforts can’t last forever without rest, purpose, and flexibility.
We encourage innovation by empowering teams to test, experiment, and even fail. Because when you create a culture where resilience is celebrated and not feared, people perform at their best.
Finding Purpose in a “trashy” Job
Yes, we’re in a “trashy” business, pun intended. But the work we do – helping patients and small providers safely dispose of regulated waste – protects public health and the environment. It gives dignity to caregivers. It supports patients in their most vulnerable moments.
As we pass the $20 mil mark, our mission has never been more clear. Scale and continue to build awareness around the importance and the “PureWay” process for safely containing, transporting, treating and recycling of waste.
Final Thoughts: Why Mission Matters
The real mentorship lesson here is this:
Don’t underestimate the power of purpose and empathy in any industry.
It’s easy to find purpose when you’re building apps or saving whales. But real leadership shows up in the places people overlook – in waste, logistics, compliance, sanitation, caregiving.
When you lead with a mission, people notice. Customers stay longer. Teams work harder. And the industry – even a “trashy” one – becomes a little better because you decided to show up differently.
So, to all entrepreneurs looking for a space to build something meaningful: don’t be afraid of the trash. There’s gold in it if you’re willing to dig.
About the Author:
Jeff Miglicco is the co-founder and CEO of PureWay, a compliance and healthcare waste management company serving biotech, pharmaceutical manufacturers, medical, dental and veterinary organizations across the U.S. He currently lives in Houston, TX, with his wife and four kids.
Connect: LinkedIn
By: Jeff Miglicco, CEO and Co-founder of PureWay
