Summary
Welcome back to another Startup Junkies Podcast!
Thanks for tuning in! In this episode, Jeff Amerine, Caleb Tally, and Matthew Ward talk with Bryan Clayton about business growth, culture setting, localized PR, and all things lawn care! Bryan began in the lawn industry, creating one of the largest landscaping companies in Tennessee, then transitioned to the online marketing world with GreenPal. He has a ton of experience and wisdom for us startup junkies, and you won’t want to miss a thing!
Shownotes
(1:03) Introducing Bryan Clayton and GreenPal
(3:28) Managing People and Setting Culture
(7:45) Challenges of a Multi-Sided Marketplace
(11:46) GreenPal and Venture Capital
(19:00) User Retention
(24:18) Residential or Commercial?
(25:57) PR Strategy
(28:01) GreenPal and Liability
(30:29) The Why
(34:57 ) Advice to Past Self
(35:50) Wrap Up
Links
Quotes
“It’s amazing how, in some ways, the accidental business, the one you never probably were at sleep at night dreaming about, becomes something that can be huge and really great.” (3:13)
“When you’re in a service-based business like that, it’s very people dependent that you know, that your, your culture is kind of one of your competitive advantages.” (4:44)
“One thing that we applied to the second company in GreenPal is making it super dead easy for anybody that does business with you to talk to you and tell you how you’re doing, where you suck, where they wish you would improve. (6:13)
“I think there’s a correlation between the least you can make your business sexy [and] the greater, your chances of success.” (11:17)
“PR is a big part of our strategy to move people to the platform on a local level…We want to move a local audience to a local network.” (26:45)
“[On mentorship] I know that I’ve got to be able to add value when I meet with this person to help them be successful…when I get home tonight, I’m not turning on Netflix. I’m turning on YouTube and I’m watching some kind of podcasts like this one.” (33:02)
Navigating Leadership, Culture and a Multi-Sided Marketplace with Bryan Clayton
Revenue does not solely define the success of a company. From leadership style, company culture, and ability to navigate multi-sided markets, each plays a factor in advancing a startup.
Bryan Clayton, CEO, and Co-Founder of GreenPal, joined this week’s Startup Junkies podcast along with our own Jeff Amerine, Caleb Talley, and Matthew Ward to discuss growing a business, a leader’s influence within a company, and shifting into the digital age as an entrepreneur.
One Blade at a Time
Bryan’s first taste of the entrepreneurial world happened one summer of his childhood when his father told him to “get off his butt” and go mow the neighbor’s lawn. Without even considering lawn care as his passion, he stuck with the job through high school, business school and went on to create one of the largest landscaping companies in Tennessee.
Focusing on one service and one location allowed Bryan’s company to have a personal relationship with the first 500 service providers. Then, when he began to formulate the idea of GreenPal, he had people to pitch it to in its beginning stages who could give real-time feedback. He owes most of the app’s success to keeping it focused, small, and having the cold start in a controlled environment.
Culture… It’s on You
Much of Bryan’s philosophy stems from the fact that he honed in on one service, perfected it, and then allowed it to grow organically. His next challenge to overcome was company culture. With self-awareness and studying up on leadership, Bryan took responsibility as the company’s culture setter and made the corresponding adjustments.
“If you don’t like the culture of the business that you’re working in, or working on as the leader, as the entrepreneur, as the owner, it’s your fault because you get exactly the culture that you deserve, your culture and your business is going to reflect who you are, is going to be the tone that you set.” (4:54)
Overcoming the Challenges of a Multi-Sided Marketplace
Since the creation of Uber, many other services have attempted to be the “Uber” of their industry. Greenpal, as a marketplace introducing homeowners to lawn care service providers, Bryan saw the potential of this business also heading to the “Uber”-like business graveyard. So how did he avoid this? The key is to keep your business from being sexy. This looks like avoiding starting out in big cities, providing too many services on the front end, or launching before you’re ready.
“I think there’s a correlation between the least you can make your business sexy [and] the greater, your chances of success.” (11:17)
GreenPal had to remain aware that the retention rate of a multi-sided marketplace is difficult. Rather than fearing the customer would use them as a one-and-done service, Bryan took the perspective that GreenPal would become the easier and more efficient way making the old alternative less attractive. Avoiding analysis paralysis for customers on the home page and focusing on liquidity for providers, GreenPal has seen a successful retention rate.
To Venture or not to Venture
“Revenue is the best form of financing.” (12:39)
Initially, with GreenPal being a self-funded, bootstrapping company out of Nashville, venture capital was not on the radar. To take things with a slow and low approach, Bryan focused on building a sustainable business that was profitable, while choosing to reinvest its capital. That made it easiest to grow the company from its revenue.
The Importance of Localized PR
“We would rather be in the St. Louis River Times than USA Today, we would rather be in The Sacramento Bee than on Good Morning America… because for us, it’s a local PR strategy.” (26:52)
Bryan firmly believes that localized PR is one of the foundational pieces of company growth. He has seen that it costs less, gives more control to the business, and allows you to see the results faster.
Find Your Why
After a six-month hiatus from work, Bryan soon discovered that being in business was the force behind his desire to grow in intelligence, character, and overall well-being.
“Business is the thing that lends an interesting storyline to my life. It’s the thing that causes me to level up.” ( 31:18)
With his entrepreneurial spirit being the force of good, he could not imagine being “retired” any longer. Along with getting back to business, Bryan then discovered the importance of mentorship. While there is a charitable aspect to it, mentoring others has kept him accountable for growing himself as a person and businessman.
Bryan’s passion, discipline, and innovation inspired each of us on this week’s episode… We are pumped to see what he’s up to next!
Keep up with the stories of people AFFLICTED with creating the best products and services to change lives across America and worldwide by tuning into next week’s episode!
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