When Jeremy Barker lost everything—twice—before age 25, few could have predicted he’d one day lead a company redefining home innovation.
Today, Barker is the CEO of Murphy Door, America’s No. 1 hidden door brand, a Utah-based manufacturing powerhouse that’s grown 117% year over year and surpassed $60 million in revenue. His journey from sleeping in his truck after bankruptcy to becoming a finalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year in both 2024 and 2025 reads like a guidebook in resilience, reinvention, and American ingenuity.
From firefighter to CEO
Barker began his career as a firefighter in Utah, drawn to service and discipline. He describes building a fast‑scaling shed business as a young man, including persuading Home Depot to display sheds outdoors and ramping production with jig tables and regional supply, which led to making “$20 million in a year” before things unraveled.
But when a home theater project for his kids in 2012 sparked the idea for a hidden door that doubled as functional storage, a business was born. “I realized there wasn’t anything like it available, and that gap in the market became the inspiration to turn a simple project into a business,” Barker told Fortune.
