From $100 to the Screen: Greg Lafayette's Story Comes to Next Level CEO

Our President and Co-Founder sat down with Daymond John's Next Level CEO to tell the story behind Pacific Coast Wire & Cable — the setbacks, the comebacks, and the people who made it possible. The episode is now streaming.

There are stories you tell at trade shows, and there are stories you don’t tell at all. For years, Greg Lafayette kept most of his to himself — the kind of story that doesn’t fit neatly on a business card. This summer, he finally told it, on camera, for an episode of Next Level CEO, the series hosted by Daymond John of Shark Tank. That episode is now streaming, and we couldn’t be prouder to share it.

It’s the story behind Pacific Coast Wire & Cable. But more than that, it’s a story about what it takes to keep going when quitting would be the reasonable choice.

It started with $100

Pacific Coast Wire & Cable didn’t begin with investors, a warehouse, or a plan drawn up by consultants. It began with $100 and a conviction that the work could be done better — and that the people doing it deserved to be treated well. No outside capital. No safety net. Just a belief worth betting on, in an industry measured in billions of dollars.

“We started with $100 and the belief that we could do it better.”

Today, that bet has grown into an employee-owned company supplying specialty wire, cable, and job-ready assemblies — Balance of System solutions — for utility-scale solar, wind, data center, substation, and transmission projects across North America. The journey from there to here is the heart of the episode.

The accident that redefined perseverance

Greg’s story isn’t a straight line of wins. One of its hardest chapters is an accident that left him facing a long road of recovery — 18 surgeries and a daily reckoning with pain that never fully left. Years later, a heart attack at 57 forced another reckoning, this time with how he was living.

What carried him through wasn’t a motivational slogan. It was a question he kept coming back to, one that shows up again and again in the episode:

“What kind of example am I setting if I quit?”

That question — about responsibility, about the people watching, about the example a leader leaves behind — became the thread running through everything: how he built the company, how he leads the team, and how he thinks about legacy.

A faith-driven, people-first company

Anyone who knows Greg knows he won’t take sole credit for any of it. The episode makes that clear. Pacific Coast Wire & Cable is employee-owned, and the people who show up every day are the reason customers get what they need, when they need it — even when the timeline looks impossible. It’s the standard we hold ourselves to, and it’s why Greg is quick to say his story is really the whole team’s story.

The values that shaped his journey are the same ones that shape how we work: Commitment to Service, Purpose-Driven Work, Peace Under Pressure, Teamwork, Courageous Action, and Integrity. They’re not words on a wall. They’re the operating system of the business.

Why this matters to our customers and partners

We’re sharing this for a simple reason: if you’ve worked with Pacific Coast Wire & Cable, you’re part of this story. The customers who trusted us before there was much to see. The partners who bet on us. The contractors who called when a project was on the line and needed the right cable, cut and assembled, faster than seemed possible. This episode is a chance to show the people and the principles behind the company you’ve come to rely on.

Watch the episode

Greg’s Next Level CEO episode is streaming now. It runs about half an hour, and whether you’re an entrepreneur, a contractor, or someone facing a hard stretch of your own, we think you’ll find something in it worth your time.

▶  Watch the full episode: insidesuccess.tv/programs/nextlevelceotv_greg-lafayette

▶  Learn more about Greg’s story: cast.nextlevelceotv.com/greg

Our thanks to Daymond John and the Inside Success TV team for the opportunity — and to everyone who has been part of the Pacific Coast Wire & Cable journey from the beginning. Here’s to what’s next.

About Pacific Coast Wire & Cable

Pacific Coast Wire & Cable is an employee-owned, Minden, Nevada–based distributor of specialty wire, cable, and job-ready assemblies, supporting utility-scale solar, wind, and electrical infrastructure projects across North America. Learn more at https://www.pacificcoastwire.com.