Today we’d like to introduce you to Travis Studer.
Hi Travis, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
In 2010, I was a mess.
I was 21 years old, unemployed, and a full-blown alcoholic, running around with my then-girlfriend causing chaos and going nowhere fast. Everything changed the day I found out she was pregnant.
Something in me shifted. My parental instincts kicked in, and I knew I had two choices: keep destroying my life or become the man my child needed me to be.
I chose change.
I admitted myself into Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation in Center City, Minnesota, and successfully completed their 30-day treatment program. That was the beginning of rebuilding my life.
I earned my GED after wasting too much time messing around in high school. From there, I enrolled at Century College to take my generals and prove to myself that I was capable of more. I earned straight A’s and was later accepted into the University of St. Thomas Schulze School of Entrepreneurship.
I did well there too, even making it to the semi-finals for nationals in an entrepreneurship business ideas competition.
But life was far from easy.
While my then “wife” was running around doing who knows what I was grinding, I found myself raising four boys on my own. Balancing fatherhood, school, cleaning up after my wife, and work at the same time was one of the hardest seasons of my life. There were no shortcuts—just long days, hard choices, and a constant decision to keep going.
After college, I still didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do. I tried a few office internships, but desk jobs were not for me.
With zero electrical experience, Southside Electric gave me a shot and the rest is history. I started in the back of the shop making $12 an hour, sorting parts and cleaning. Eventually, I learned the inventory so well they moved me into the field as an apprentice. I think I started at $15 an hour, and for the first time, I felt like I had found something real.
But addiction came back to haunt me.
Relapses were brutal. I would disappear from work for weeks at a time, lose jobs, and have to start over. I worked for five different electrical companies because of my drinking. It was painful, but it also gave me a unique perspective—I saw how different companies operated across the Twin Cities, and with my entrepreneurship background, I was constantly learning what worked and what didn’t.
Every setback taught me something.
I also went through divorce, incarceration, betrayal and the mental and emotional weight of trying to hold everything together while raising kids, working, and rebuilding myself. It was heavy. But every time life knocked me down, and kicked me while I was down, I got back up stronger adding fuel to the fire, now almost five years sober.
From zero electrical knowledge to becoming a licensed Master Electrician and Electrical Contractor took me seven years—the fastest legally possible because of the field experience required to qualify for testing. Considering everything happening in my personal life at the time, electrical work kept me grounded.
Those exams were some of the toughest tests I’ve ever taken—six-hour marathons of code, calculations, and mental exhaustion. I still remember walking out to the parking lot afterward, staring around thinking, “Where did I even park?” with my brain still spinning in circuits and NEC code.
In 2024, Robinhood Electric was born.
I started it as a one-man operation with one goal: build a company that stood for trust, quality, and the greater good. I believe good business attracts good business. We do honest work for good people, and many of our customers become lifelong friends.
Today, Robinhood Electric continues to grow, and I’m currently studying for my Florida electrical contractor license with plans to expand there as well. My long-term vision is bigger than just building a company—I want to create something my kids can be proud of and something that gives opportunities to good people who cross our path.
Life will hand everyone lemons.
The question is what you do with them.
Be resilient. Don’t give up. Never stop learning.
Peace and of course…”stay grounded”. 😉
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely has not been a smooth road.
Some of my biggest obstacles were addiction, relapse, divorce, and trying to raise four boys while rebuilding my life at the same time. There were seasons where I felt like everything was happening at once—trying to stay sober, keep a job, finish school, be a present father, stress about my marriage and figure out what kind of future I was capable of creating.
Addiction was the hardest battle because it affects everything. It cost me jobs, relationships, stability, and time I can never get back. There were moments where I would disappear from work for weeks because of relapse, lose opportunities, and have to start over from the bottom again. That cycle is exhausting, mentally and emotionally.
Going through divorce while raising kids added another layer of difficulty. There were times I felt like I was carrying the weight of everything alone. Balancing fatherhood, school, work, and personal recovery was one of the toughest challenges of my life.
Starting over in the electrical trade was also humbling. I began with zero experience, cleaning the shop and sorting parts for $12 an hour. I had to prove myself every step of the way while watching others move faster and easier. Earning my Journeyman and eventually my Master Electrician license required years of discipline, long hours, and refusing to quit when quitting would have been easier.
Building Robinhood Electric brought its own challenges too. Running a business means carrying the responsibility for everything—customers, scheduling, finances, reputation, and growth. When you are a one-man operation, there is nowhere to hide. Every mistake is yours, and every win is earned.
Looking back, the obstacles were also the lessons. They taught me resilience, accountability, humility, and how to keep moving forward even when life feels heavy. I would not wish some of those seasons on anyone, but they shaped the person and business owner I am today.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Robinhood Electric is more than a business to me—it is the result of every struggle, setback, lesson, and comeback that shaped my life.
It was built through adversity, addiction, failure, rebuilding, and learning how to turn pain into purpose. Because of that, it has always meant more than just electrical work or making a living. It represents resilience, accountability, and the belief that hard seasons can become the foundation for something meaningful.
Robinhood Electric was created organically, from the ground up, with the idea of serving the greater common good. I believe good business attracts good people. When you lead with honesty, quality, and genuine care for others, it creates something bigger than transactions—it builds trust, relationships, and community.
The light in me sees the light in you through the beauty in the struggle. That mindset shapes how I approach both business and life. Everyone is carrying something, and I believe people remember how you make them feel just as much as the work you provide.
That is why Robinhood Electric is built on more than service—it is built on connection, integrity, and leaving people better than you found them.
To me, success is not just measured in growth or revenue. It is measured in trust, reputation, and building something my kids, my customers, and my community can be proud of.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
I grew up in Wyoming Minnesota. Our backyard backed up to Carlos Avery national forest. My favorite memory is building tree forts with rope swings over ponds so we could rope swing off our tree forts letting go flying into the pond deep in the woods.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Robinhoodelectric.com
- Instagram: Robinhood_electric
