What does it really take to build a category-leading company?

In this episode of The Deal Factory, Jeff Harkness sits down with Brian Dumont, Founder & CEO of YARDNIQUE, one of the fastest-growing commercial landscape companies in the Southeast.

Brian shares the unfiltered story behind building the business—from nearly losing everything after two major customers failed to pay, navigating divorce, rebuilding his leadership team, partnering with private equity, and scaling from approximately $25 million in revenue to more than $220 million through disciplined execution, acquisitions, and an unwavering commitment to people-first leadership.

This isn't a conversation about overnight success.

It's a masterclass on resilience, leadership, culture, acquisitions, private equity partnerships, and becoming the leader your company needs at every stage of growth.

Whether you're building toward your first $10 million or scaling beyond $100 million, this episode offers practical lessons every founder should hear.

In This Episode

• Why Brian almost walked away from the business

• The turning point that changed YARDNIQUE forever

• Lessons learned from divorce, business setbacks, and leadership failures

• Why recurring revenue transformed the company

• What founders misunderstand about private equity

• How to choose the right PE partner

• Building an executive team capable of scaling

• 16 acquisitions: successes, failures, and lessons learned

• The importance of culture during rapid growth

• Why customer service, not landscaping, is the real business

• AI, sales, and the future of commercial landscaping

• Brian's daily leadership habits, faith, journaling, and intentionality

Chapters:

00:00 – Intro

03:45 – Starting a business after working for a terrible boss

08:00 – Discovering recurring revenue

09:20 – Losing two major customers and rebuilding

13:00 – Deciding whether to sell

15:15 – Walking away from a sale

17:20 – COVID changes everything

19:10 – Choosing private equity over selling outright

22:40 – Building with Plexus Capital

25:30 – Life after private equity

29:30 – Building an executive team

31:15 – Lessons from 16 acquisitions

37:00 – Hiring leaders who can scale

42:30 – The four pillars of growth

45:30 – Building a world-class sales organization

47:50 – AI and the future of landscaping

50:30 – Faith, leadership and daily habits

59:15 – Final leadership lessons

In this episode of The Deal Factory, Jeff Harkness sits down with executive recruiter and talent advisor Rachel VanderPol to discuss what really drives employee retention, leadership, recruiting, and company growth. Rachel shares lessons from years of recruiting top talent across finance, legal, construction, SaaS, and professional services industries, while providing a behind-the-scenes look at how great companies attract and keep high performers.

From culture fit and leadership alignment to compensation, flexibility, and hiring mistakes, this conversation is packed with practical insights for business owners who want to build stronger teams and scale successfully.

Whether you're hiring your next executive, building a leadership team, or trying to understand why great employees leave, this episode provides a blueprint for recruiting and retaining exceptional talent.

Key Discussion Points

• Why employees leave companies even when compensation is competitive

• The importance of culture fit over technical qualifications

• How top recruiters identify great candidates

• The role leadership plays in employee retention

• Why compensation alone cannot solve hiring problems

• Work-from-home, flexibility, and today's workforce expectations

• Common hiring mistakes business owners make

• How to evaluate candidates beyond the résumé

• Lessons from elite athletes and high-performance environments

• Building teams that scale with your company

Chapters:

0:00 Intro

0:20 Meet Rachel VanderPol

2:01 Athlete to Executive Recruiter

4:41 Growing Up Around Hall of Fame Excellence

8:10 Why Employees Really Leave

11:24 Culture Fit vs Skill Set

15:00 Why Employer Branding Matters

16:10 How Recruiters Vet Candidates

19:10 Recruiting Across Multiple Industries

22:35 Hiring for Potential vs Perfection

23:35 How to Spot Candidate Red Flags

26:25 Compensation and Retention

30:25 Work-Life Balance vs Flexibility

35:05 Learning From Hiring Mistakes

37:10 Mentorship and High Achievement

39:10 Building a Business While Raising a Family

42:45 Parenting, Sports, and Leadership Lessons

45:05 Rachel's Recruiting Philosophy

47:00 AI vs Human Recruiting

48:15 Final Thoughts

A lot of business owners think private equity means losing control, sacrificing culture, and putting profits ahead of people. What if the exact opposite could be true?

In this episode of The Deal Factory, Jeff Harkness sits down with Chester Buczynski and Mike Montenaro to unpack the formation of the YardMaster Big Lakes platform backed by Unity Partners.

The conversation explores the realities of private equity partnerships, employee ownership, scaling through acquisitions, leadership development, and building a culture that creates transformational wealth for employees at every level.

From Chester's journey starting a landscape company with no money and a vision, to Mike's path through decades of leadership in the green industry, this episode offers a candid look at what it really takes to build, scale, and grow a business beyond traditional limits.

Most importantly, they challenge some of the biggest myths in business—proving that growth, culture, people, and profitability don't have to compete with one another.

Key Discussion Points

• Why Yard Master and Big Lakes partnered with Unity Partners

• The biggest misconceptions about private equity

• How employee ownership changes company culture

• Building leadership teams capable of scaling

• The importance of intentional communication during acquisitions

• Integrating multiple companies without losing culture

• Creating transformational wealth for employees

• Why growth creates opportunity for everyone

• Leadership, mentorship, and succession planning

• Thinking bigger about what's possible in the green industry