We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Yesy Hernandez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Yesy below.
Yesy , appreciate you joining us today. Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?
Starting out, business owners may feel like they have to pinch pennies—and you definitely need to stick to a solid budget. Cutting corners, though, is never the answer. Early on, I occasionally felt the pull not to hire too many other people in order to save money. But quickly, I realized I needed to grow my team in order to accommodate demand and deliver top-quality systems. For that reason, I made the decision to invest in myself and in my business, and that’s how I scaled up. Climatisation HVAC is successful because of the people behind the business, and I’ll never forget that.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am the founder and president of LA-based Climatisation HVAC. We specialize in custom, sustainable air conditioning, heating, and ventilation solutions for commercial and residential projects. Growing up in Burbank, I started my career in insurance—and that client-facing role taught me to connect with prospects, colleagues, and people in general on a human, authentic level.
My mom played an equally important role in shaping my career: she pushed me to get my degree and become a mechanical engineer. I specialized in stationary air conditioning and heating, later earning my MBA from the University of Phoenix. At every turn, my mother encouraged me to build technical knowledge alongside key business skills—both of which I needed to become a master of the trade. That blend of leadership and engineering still serves me to this day. It’s an important part of what sets Climatisation HVAC apart.
I owe a lot to my mentor as well. He was practically a second dad to me, and he actually owned an HVAC company of his own. His work ethic was inspiring, and I was proud to serve as Vice President under his leadership before starting my own company. I’ve learned from him that in order to succeed, you have to treat every person with kindness and understanding, while still offering guidance. I’m proud of the way I value my team, just like I’m proud of the ecoconscious solutions we’ve built together over the years.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
It may sound simple, but seeing the human side of everyone I interact with—and I mean everyone—has been the key to my business growth. You need to treat everyone with respect, just as you need to know who you’re engaging with and what they’re going through. I feel fortunate to work with luxury homeowners and retailers like Zegna, Gucci, and Birkenstock, but those connections never would have grown without the client-first approach I prioritize. Word-of-mouth referrals are everything.
When my team and I get more technical and discuss the custom HVAC systems we can build for clients, prospects seem to appreciate that we view HVAC systems as an integrated part of a larger whole. We don’t take a one-size-fits-all approach because no two systems are the same. Just like I mentioned above, we see the uniqueness in every person and in every solution we build—and we like to work collaboratively to build (and honor) that joint vision. That’s been huge in the company’s growth.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
It’s difficult for me to see people on my team have a hard time, personally or professionally. It’s also tough for me to see clients struggle. As the founder and president of my company, I want to do what I can to generate solutions—but I know that finding the right ones takes time and strategy.
Once a client came to me frustrated about a ventilation system that wasn’t working right. My team hadn’t yet stepped in to fix things, but it was clear that this homeowner’s HVAC setup was complex, and that his standards were (understandably) high. While developing the right solution initially felt impossible, I decided to take a step back and brainstorm alongside my engineers and technicians. We managed to create an ecoconscious, efficient ventilation system that the client really appreciated.
I was pleased that we didn’t just refer the client elsewhere. This experience taught me the importance of viewing roadblocks as temporary challenges instead of permanent problems.
Contact Info:
- Website: chvacla.com
- Instagram: chvacla