How2Exit: Buy, Don't Build - M&A of Small Businesses E270: From Landscaping Hustle to Tech Empire: Bryan Clayton’s $90M GreenPal Revolution
Feb 26, 2025
54:00
Watch Here: https://youtu.be/e3HHrrIc4Hc
About the Guest:
Bryan Clayton is the CEO and co-founder of GreenPal, a tech platform connecting homeowners with lawn care professionals. Before launching GreenPal, Clayton built and sold a successful landscaping business with over 150 employees. He’s an advocate for using technology to modernize service-based businesses and believes AI will dramatically reshape industries in the coming years.
Summary:
In this episode of How2Exit, host Ronald Skelton sits down with Bryan Clayton, CEO and co-founder of GreenPal, a platform often dubbed the "Uber for lawn care." Clayton shares his entrepreneurial journey, from a childhood forced into mowing lawns by his military father to scaling and selling a multimillion-dollar landscaping company. He discusses the challenges of selling a business, the emotional void that follows an exit, and how he transitioned into the tech space to launch GreenPal. The conversation dives deep into automation, AI’s impact on business, and how small service-based companies can leverage technology to scale efficiently.
Key Takeaways:
Forced Entrepreneurship Sparks Innovation: Clayton’s first business began out of necessity when his father made him mow lawns as a teenager. That small hustle turned into a multimillion-dollar landscaping business.
Scaling a Service Business is a Systematic Process: Building a large-scale landscaping company required Clayton to develop efficient processes, training programs, and a system for hiring and retaining workers.
Selling a Business Takes Preparation: It took Clayton two years—one to structure the business properly and another to find a buyer—to successfully sell his landscaping company.
The Emotional Impact of an Exit is Real: Clayton struggled with an identity crisis after selling his business, which eventually pushed him to start GreenPal.
AI and Automation Are Changing Business Operations: The discussion explores how AI is reshaping everything from customer acquisition to software development, making it easier to run lean and profitable companies.
Technology is Now Essential for Service Businesses: Small business owners who fail to adopt tech tools are operating as if it’s still the 1990s, missing opportunities to increase efficiency and profitability.
GreenPal Provides a Business-in-a-Box for Lawn Care Providers: The platform handles customer acquisition, scheduling, invoicing, and even upselling additional services for lawn care professionals.
Future-Proofing Means Staying Tech-Savvy: Clayton warns that service providers who resist technology will fall behind as AI and automation continue to accelerate business capabilities.
--------------------------------------------------
Contact Bryan on
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-clayton-a96b33214/
Website: https://www.yourgreenpal.com/
--------------------------------------------------
💰If you’d like additional ways to support this podcast, you can become a paid subscriber here: https://how2exit.substack.com/
►Visit Our Website: https://www.how2exit.com/
📧For Business Inquiries: Me@4sale2sold.com
Don't Forget to SUBSCRIBE to the How2Exit channel and press (🔔) to join the Notification Squad and stay updated with new uploads.✨
👇🏻SUBSCRIBE HERE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_ONnhwaKSTPFt2nOxKoXXQ?sub_confirmation=1
𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬...?
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
👍 Like the video (it helps a ton!)
💬 Comment below to share your opinion!
🔗 Share the video with anyone you think might help :) ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
📱Stay Tuned On Our Social Media :
» Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronskelton/
» Twitter - https://twitter.com/ronaldskelton
» Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/How2Exit
» Newsletter - http://deeper.how2exit.com/
🎬SUGGESTED VIDEOS
Don't forget to watch 📽 Our other videos. Please check them out :
▶️Previous Episode: E269: How to Sell Your Business for Top Dollar – Secrets from an Acquisition Expert - https://youtu.be/XLZjRoLivJw
▶️E135: Sam Rosati On His Journey From Being A Lawyer To Becoming An Entrepreneur In The ETA Space - https://youtu.be/D2qJOidptRA
▶️E100: CEO Of Flippa Blake Hutchison Discusses Innovations In Buying And Selling Digital Assets - https://youtu.be/R1D5guQU9Z0
#How2Exit # # 💖Thanks for watching! 💖
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/how2exit-buy-don-t-build-m-a-of-small-businesses--4859429/support.
About the Guest:
Bryan Clayton is the CEO and co-founder of GreenPal, a tech platform connecting homeowners with lawn care professionals. Before launching GreenPal, Clayton built and sold a successful landscaping business with over 150 employees. He’s an advocate for using technology to modernize service-based businesses and believes AI will dramatically reshape industries in the coming years.
Summary:
In this episode of How2Exit, host Ronald Skelton sits down with Bryan Clayton, CEO and co-founder of GreenPal, a platform often dubbed the "Uber for lawn care." Clayton shares his entrepreneurial journey, from a childhood forced into mowing lawns by his military father to scaling and selling a multimillion-dollar landscaping company. He discusses the challenges of selling a business, the emotional void that follows an exit, and how he transitioned into the tech space to launch GreenPal. The conversation dives deep into automation, AI’s impact on business, and how small service-based companies can leverage technology to scale efficiently.
Key Takeaways:
Forced Entrepreneurship Sparks Innovation: Clayton’s first business began out of necessity when his father made him mow lawns as a teenager. That small hustle turned into a multimillion-dollar landscaping business.
Scaling a Service Business is a Systematic Process: Building a large-scale landscaping company required Clayton to develop efficient processes, training programs, and a system for hiring and retaining workers.
Selling a Business Takes Preparation: It took Clayton two years—one to structure the business properly and another to find a buyer—to successfully sell his landscaping company.
The Emotional Impact of an Exit is Real: Clayton struggled with an identity crisis after selling his business, which eventually pushed him to start GreenPal.
AI and Automation Are Changing Business Operations: The discussion explores how AI is reshaping everything from customer acquisition to software development, making it easier to run lean and profitable companies.
Technology is Now Essential for Service Businesses: Small business owners who fail to adopt tech tools are operating as if it’s still the 1990s, missing opportunities to increase efficiency and profitability.
GreenPal Provides a Business-in-a-Box for Lawn Care Providers: The platform handles customer acquisition, scheduling, invoicing, and even upselling additional services for lawn care professionals.
Future-Proofing Means Staying Tech-Savvy: Clayton warns that service providers who resist technology will fall behind as AI and automation continue to accelerate business capabilities.
--------------------------------------------------
Contact Bryan on
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-clayton-a96b33214/
Website: https://www.yourgreenpal.com/
--------------------------------------------------
💰If you’d like additional ways to support this podcast, you can become a paid subscriber here: https://how2exit.substack.com/
►Visit Our Website: https://www.how2exit.com/
📧For Business Inquiries: Me@4sale2sold.com
Don't Forget to SUBSCRIBE to the How2Exit channel and press (🔔) to join the Notification Squad and stay updated with new uploads.✨
👇🏻SUBSCRIBE HERE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_ONnhwaKSTPFt2nOxKoXXQ?sub_confirmation=1
𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬...?
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
👍 Like the video (it helps a ton!)
💬 Comment below to share your opinion!
🔗 Share the video with anyone you think might help :) ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
📱Stay Tuned On Our Social Media :
» Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronskelton/
» Twitter - https://twitter.com/ronaldskelton
» Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/How2Exit
» Newsletter - http://deeper.how2exit.com/
🎬SUGGESTED VIDEOS
Don't forget to watch 📽 Our other videos. Please check them out :
▶️Previous Episode: E269: How to Sell Your Business for Top Dollar – Secrets from an Acquisition Expert - https://youtu.be/XLZjRoLivJw
▶️E135: Sam Rosati On His Journey From Being A Lawyer To Becoming An Entrepreneur In The ETA Space - https://youtu.be/D2qJOidptRA
▶️E100: CEO Of Flippa Blake Hutchison Discusses Innovations In Buying And Selling Digital Assets - https://youtu.be/R1D5guQU9Z0
#How2Exit # # 💖Thanks for watching! 💖
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/how2exit-buy-don-t-build-m-a-of-small-businesses--4859429/support.