Growing Together With Granum: Uniting LMN, SingleOps & Greenius

From job site to boardroom, TradeTalk is the voice of the next generation trades. Hosted by Justin White, this show is your weekly dose of real talk, motivation and strategy from the disruptors, raising the bar in the trades. If you're building, scaling or leading, this is your playbook. Welcome to trades.

Hey guys, welcome back to a special episode of Trade Sock. I've got two amazing guests in the podcast studio today. I've got Mark Sedgley and Taylor Gould from LMN Single Ops in Greenius. And I am super excited to talk about everything they're going through. The merger, the acquisition, whatever you want to call that. And two, three really brands coming together. So, Mark, I'm going to start with you, welcome you to the podcast. How's it going today?

Awesome. This is like take two, Justin. Right? Like this is our second round, the trip around the sun on the podcast. I can't thank you enough for having me back on. I really enjoyed our last conversation. I'm excited to do the do again second time around. So thank you.

It's exciting to have you back. And for those who did not listen to Mark and I's podcast a few months ago, whenever that was, go back, search it up, take a listing. Because we go really deep into Mark's background and what he's done with private equity and software and kind of the. The pinch hitter CEO if you will. He's come in and ran a lot of companies as a second successor to the founder. So really a cool story there. We're not going to go as deep into his backstory today because, well, we have Taylor on the podcast. So, Taylor, welcome to the show, man.

Yeah, thanks so much for having me, Justin. Been digging your podcast the past few months, going through kind of the back catalog. It's great stuff. Just my background. Keep it brief. Yeah, spent a lot of time in, you know, software companies and marketing agencies. Got into the green industry about seven years ago through joining Single Ops when It was about 10 employees. We doubled it revenue and customers three years in a row and then joined up with Mark and then LMN and Greenus. And I'd say at this point it's hard to imagine working in any other industry. I mean, just fantastic people, businesses that are really impacting their communities. It's a highly rewarding group of people to serve and partner with.

Yeah, I completely agree with that. It's, it's not only an amazing industry, but it's an amazing time right now at the end of 2025. I. I think it's the best Time to be a landscaper of, of ever. So I'm pretty excited about that. Yeah. Mark, I want to go over to you for those who, who haven't and will go listen to the original podcast, but have it yet and they're listening to this now. Give us the, the cliff notes of your background and, and how you got introduced to the industry kind of just recently here.

Yeah, thanks. I'll keep it super short, but essentially I'm just kind of like a mid level student who stumbled into a software company that I got to help start. Similar to Taylor Story, around seven employees, helped kind of get that thing off the ground called member clicks. Grew it to a couple hundred employees and locations in Canada, in the United States, sold that to a strategic competitor and then since then I've taken over for founders at different software companies. Right. So I went into the towing industry. You know, I think I told your listeners last time, like, I don't think you've actually lived unless you've gone to a Las Vegas tow show, man. Like, you gotta get out there and see that and experience it firsthand. That was America, brother. And then from there, some of the original investors in my first company were investors in Single Ops and you know, they reached out and said, hey, we really, we would really like for you to take a look. And I did. And Single Offices Tree care, it was like focused specifically on tree care professionals. We do have several landscape customers and we were trying to build better landscape management software, like all the goods that landscapers are looking for, the platforms that are out there. And I just, candidly, I didn't think we were doing a very good job and we were going to spend a ton of money doing it. It was going to take a really long time and I'm not. And so I just started kind of looking around at the landscape pun actually intended and saw Element out there and reached out to Mark. Brad. We struck up a relationship over a course of a year. He decided to take his company to market so he could start his next chapter. And we were lucky enough to win. And so that was a year ago actually coming up in the next two weeks. And ever since then we've been coming together as one company, one team, one mission, and thinking through what that means for Element and Single Ops and Granius.

What an exciting time. And I honestly, I can't believe it's been a year when I think about that news break.

It's crazy.

Yeah, it's been, it's been a wild year. And you know, Mark, I've been able to spend quite a bit of time with you over the course of the last year, whether it be here on podcasts or seeing you at events and everything. And it's been a pleasure to get to know you. And one of the biggest things that I'm excited to talk about today, we're going to get to this, guys, is just this idea of bringing brands together. You know, you guys pulled off a merger, and really this. This three brands coming under one roof, and then it's been very successful in where you've taken it. And I think there's a lot of landscape companies out there who are thinking the same thing. So before we get to that, though, I want to ask you guys, I know there's a big announcement coming up. You guys have some big news, so you guys want to start there?

Yeah. So, I mean, you kind of laid the foundation and the groundwork for our announcement, right? There was three companies that came together, right? Element and Greenius had kind of come together in the previous years. Single Ops and Element and Greenius came together last year. And like Justin, one of the quickest things we saw was this commonality of shared purpose, of serving this customer. Like the customers that get up 5am, 6am, get in the truck, do the rollouts, go do good work for customers. And that work is varied. Tree care, residential maintenance, commercial maintenance, design and build snow and ice, like irrigation. And what we realized was this is a common customer that we all love and serve. And that was kind of like a binding glue when we brought the companies together from a people perspective. And we kept talking through what it means to become one company, one team with one mission. And as the employees started to kind of coalesce, to be like, yeah, we are one company, one team, one mission. Because it's scary, Justin, when you merge a bunch of people, humans together, man. Like, it's scary for them. You know what I mean? And I empathize with both our single Ops and Greenus and our LMN employees. And so you had to communicate a ton, but what you really had to communicate a ton about was like, hey, what are our common and shared values? And what is our common and shared mission? And are they different? And the answer was no, which was good news, right? Like, that's kind of the key to making, you know, multiple brands coming together and integrations coming together. And so we committed ourselves at that moment, like, kind of 90 days in, everybody was, like, buying in. And like, you know, the. The flywheel started to go like this, just faster and faster and faster and faster. And we decided, like, hey, we need to unify under one brand, right? We have these really strong products elements, Single Ops in Greenius, and they were. And they have really strong brand equity in the marketplace. Single ops for tree care highly penetrated into tree care customers. Greeniest kind of spanning the bridge of all green industry and element, of course, with a steeped history and landscaping. And we decided that we wanted to brand under one. One name, like one company, one mission, one team, right? And so I'm super excited to announce this week, you know, we are unifying under the name Granum. And the origin of the word Granum, Justin, is seed. And I can't think of a better kind of like, you know, thought image, you know, you name it of what we're trying to do. We're trying to build a new chapter in the industry. We're trying to plant a seed to help our customers grow and thrive and unlock their potential. And at Grenum, like, we really take seriously our customer success because it's our shared mission, right? Our shared mission in the organization is to help our customers succeed.

Right?

And so our. Our employees were like, seeking and searching for kind of a unifying experience. We want to radiate something new to the marketplace because this is a new day. And so then the good news is, is none of the products are changing. It's not going to be disruptive in any way, shape or form. We are keeping our product names to honor the legacy and heritage of those, you know, kind of like stories, right? The histories that each one of those companies and products have brought to the industry. And so it'll be elements by Granum, Single Ops by Granum, Greenius by Granum, all kind of being united by this idea of it's time for us to grow in the industry, in this industry. And I think that's what makes us unique. Justin, sorry this is going along, but you asked a CEO about a big. You know, I think this is what makes us unique is we are only focused on the green industry. If you're a tree care professional, if you're a landscaper, if you're an irrigation technician, like Greenius, lmn, and Single Ops is for you. We're not looking left and right and home services and construction and all that stuff, right? We're just staying squarely focused on the grain industry. And I think that's why it was so important for us to kind of plant our seed, you know, in this industry and say, granum is the company of the future and we're here to stay.

Incredible and what an exciting time this must be for everybody inside of the three brands to unite under one mission, under one name. Sounds like you guys have so many shared values. And the shared mission of customer success is so obvious that this gives everybody kind of like that, that stake to claim and a name to bring everybody together. And Taylor, I want to go to you here. Taylor, how has this been for you? I mean, this is like your super bowl, right? As like a marketing professional. So I mean, how. I mean, a. Like, I'm sure you're loving it, but how have you dealt with the pressure of making sure that you're supporting everybody and finding a way through this? Probably, like it probably seems today, looking from the outside in, like, oh, it's such an easy, great name. Obviously it has so much meaning behind it. But I can imagine all the planning sessions and what you guys went through to get here. So bring us in to what that looks like from your perspective, Taylor.

Yeah, absolutely. And we're recording this a couple days before the public launch. So there is. The super bowl is kind of today and tomorrow getting prepared. Yeah, yeah, but we're ready. I think, you know, when I say this to our team a lot, a brand is really the sum of all of the experiences. Some services, you know, whatever it is you're doing for your customers. And so having that like strong kind of vision, mission, core values and alignment across the company is the foundation for bringing consistency to those experiences. And, you know, a high level of quality and all that stuff that, you know, makes a successful business can then make a successful brand with kind of consistency. And so I felt like we got a really strong start there with, you know, the merger and coming together as one team and one company. And that made this process much easier. You know, it was not an uphill battle. It was just telling the story externally. That's already happening internally for us. And something we talk about a lot of, kind of our long term vision is to become synonymous with the green industry. You know, we are focused exclusively on this industry. And so we need to get, if we want to be synonymous, we need to give, you know, the market kind of one name to refer to us as. At the same time, recognize these three products that have, you know, gained significant market share and are used by tens of thousands of users across the industry.

Yeah, and I think you guys keep going back to that. I think it's such a good point is the focus on the green industry as a whole because we are such a diverse and dynamic industry. And Mark, you've worked in so many industries over your. Your tenure. I mean, you know, towing industry has got to be kind of crazy, but, like, landscaping's wild because it's not just the people. The people are amazing. It's the things that we do are so different from tree work to lane pavers to installing pergolas to doing drainage. I mean, the list goes on and on to, like, being a true horticulturalist and, and taking care of plants. It' an amazing journey. And so, so, Taylor, going back to the name Granum and how you guys landed on that, I can obviously see so many reasons why you've. You've come up with that, given the, the meaning of the name, but maybe go help us go a level deeper and, and take us into that decision process. When you guys landed on Granum, you know, what was it like? Was it kind of an aha moment? Everyone's like, yeah, that's obviously a great name, or did it take some iterations to get there? I'm just so interested in that process.

Yeah, it's, you know, coming up with a new name is. It's. It's a little scary and unfamiliar. Right. But you want to have some clear kind of objectives in mind. Like, a shorter name is typically kind of better, easier to remember, kind of a marketing best practice. But for us, like, a core consideration was, we want it to be clear we're here just for this industry. And so that helped really narrow our focus into a few specific options. And, you know, you kind of just know it when you hear it. I think we, we saw that name and felt like, that's us. That sounds strong. We, we would be proud to go to the market and say that, you know, this is us. And, and still, at the end of the day, you have to go. You have to go out there and make it something. Right? It is, it is kind of a word on paper until you actually put some experiences behind that name with customers.

Yeah, Justin.

Yeah.

I can tell you Taylor's giving you, like, the super close notes version of this. Like, this was an exhaustive process. And this is. This is my third rebrand. Right. And so, so rebrands are like, not to be taken lightly. Like, people have fallen in love with elements. People have fallen in love with single ops. People have fallen in love with greenies. But more importantly, people have fallen in love with the people around all that.

Right.

And I think Taylor's point is well made is like, they've fallen in love with the experience and the touch points and everything that's kind of surrounds that. And so you have to be, like, really, really respectful of that process. And so, you know, we went through this whole process. We partnered with a company that does this all the time. And you can think about. And I think this is really important for your listeners because as they think about this, like, I talk to customers all the time. Justin, you. And right. You talk about this is like, hey, there's like a couple of different mechanisms for growth, diversifying your business lines, which you talked about. It's like, gosh, you know, landscapers can do so many different things to generate revenue and create diversity within their business. You can also, you know, acquire another business or acquire your way into a different business line, etc. Well, as you think about all that stuff, this stuff starts to become really relevant. It's like, well, do I want to keep that brand name? Do I want to rebrand? Totally. Do I want to bring a whole new thing, you know, into the ecosystem? Right. The ether of my geographic area. Right. Because what I'm doing now is different than what I was doing before. And so we went through that mental process and we broke it down into three categories. Evocative, experiential, and functional. And there's like examples of names like that. Taylor loves to use the example of Kentucky Fried Chicken. You know what you're getting, that's a functional name, right? Like you're. Yeah, you're not going there to order a burger. You know what I mean? Right. And so, like, you know what you're going to get. And then you can go to like, evocative, which is something like Google, right? It's like, Justin, there's no way. There's no shot. Like, if you were at the garage with whatever those two dudes names were, Sergey and whoever, it's like. And they say, what do you think the name of the company should be? Google. Oh, that's a great name. There's no shot you're saying that's a great name. And now Google's just a verb. Like, hey, Google it, man. I don't know. Go do it. Right. It's just part of our DNA now, technological DNA. And so you can go down all those different paths. Justin is like, oh, should it be a functional name? By the way, Hundreds of functional names. Nope, that didn't work. You know, hundreds of evocative names. Nope, that didn't work. And then you can kind of go experiential, which is kind of like the bridge between evocative and functional. That's kind of where I think Granum bridges that line, you know, to say, like, there's, like, clearly a story here that resonates and aligns with the industry that we're serving and the customer that we're trying to speak to. But here's what I would tell you. I wish I could tell you. As soon as we said the name, everybody's like, yep, that's it. That's a great name. Like, that did not. There's not, like, this epiphany moment that you have where it's like, man, you nailed it. It's so hard to do that because it's just a name.

Yeah.

It's just a word.

Right?

And so then once you see the word and you accompany it with, like, new color palettes and brand messaging and you company that with, like, well, what are you trying to say as a company and a mission and what are the values you represent and who are you speaking to? That's when the name's like, oh, man, that's a good name. Granum. Right? But let there be no doubt, Justin, as soon as this gets announced into the world, the. The amount of, like, what the heck is Granum? Why did you name it Granum? You know, like, the amount of, like, feedback we're gonna get is gonna be intense. I've. I've gone through it before, right? And so. But that's good. That's a good thing, because that means they loved the other thing, right? And so our job is to get them to fall in love with the new thing. And I was having a conversation, this last thing. I'll shut up. Because I love this stuff, man. I could go on for days about it. Justin. Yeah. If you go to the grocery store, I just find it so comical. Like, every now and then, I get sent out on the honey do list, like, go get this stuff. And I walk through the Windex aisles, and it's like, brand new formula. And I'm like, really? Is that formula brand all new? And it's like. But it's proven psychologically, Justin, that people will buy it more when they see that all new formula sticker on there. And it's like, well, is it really new? Like, what did you do different? Like. Cause it's still blue and it still cleans my glass, brother. You know what I mean? And so. But I do think about the brand as part of that story of, like, this is a new day. Like, these three companies have come together, right? We have a shared mission, we have shared values, and we have a shared purpose, and we want to write a new story. And I want. I want Customers and non customers to be part of that story, like get on the train because it's moving, man. It's rolling.

That's amazing. I love the way you, you explain that of, of that new brand. But it's really shared vision and it's a continuation from what I understand of the existing mission, existing values and the obviously existing people. And when you go through this rebrand and this is just completely theoretical from my end because I've never done this other than I created the, you know, the brand disruptors. And that was kind of, I guess you would kind of say it's. What would you call that name? Like we're like, we are disrupting. So we just called it that.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're functional. Yeah. Like you know what you're getting? Yeah, you know what you're getting? Like I'm a disruptor. Cool. Yeah, sign me up.

Could be more functional than that, right?

I mean, you're not a status quoer. You didn't name it status quo.

We're the keep it the Samers. You know, it's opposite of that. So it's, it's. But it's really, really been, it's been fun following this and talking with you guys just here over the last few minutes. Now I want to ask Taylor you a question on this. So when you're going through this, this rebrand and you're getting ready to. Now you're, you're all right, we got the name. Okay. Now we got everyone's buy in and it's like we got approval, everyone's moving forward. What is the next step from a marketing perspective? And you know, I'm kind of thinking of this for people who are potentially going to go through a Reb brand. I know people right now. I was just talking to one at the leanscaper event. They are going through a rebrand right now. They're changing the name, they're changing the logo, everything. So what is the process? All right, we got the name. All right, now what do we do? And so what is that? Like call it like day two. Once you guys are like, okay, for sure we're doing this, what does that process look like from a marketing perspective?

Yeah, that's a great question. And I think it's very different if you are launching something new versus, you know, maybe in the context of M and A or bringing brands together for us. And you know, this is probably relevant to landscaping companies going through M and A as well. If you have a brand with existing customers, you have to be very conscientious. Of that. And so, you know, we plan to keep these product names in the market for forever. And so it's just part of our strategy. It's not like a brand launch kind of consideration, but you have, you know, a lot of that heritage and that attachment to that. And so you want to be very intentional about how it all works together. Right? So if you were acquiring another landscaping business, you know, you would think about all of those clients that have, you know, that are recurring customers or have done work with you. You, you want to make that transition really smooth and seamless so that everybody understands kind of who, who they're dealing with on the other side of, of the brand, of the logo of the website. Day two is kind of, you know, the start of building those connections and relationships.

Absolutely. Yeah, Go ahead, Mark, go ahead.

Sorry for.

Yeah.

And for us, Taylor's like, he's, he's being very like, there's all this work you have to do down here, though. Like, he's like keeping that hidden underneath the chest, you know what I mean? And so, so day two, like, you know, Taylor's right. He's like, okay, well now who are we going to. Who's going to get impacted the most by this decision? Right? You start to go through, you start to go through your process. Like, who are the most important stakeholders? Your customers, your employees, and your partners and vendors.

Right?

And so, well, now what, like, how do we communicate? So Taylor put together a communication and his team put together a communication strategy. Those are also three stakeholders you should probably get some feedback from. And so Taylor reached out to those folks and was like, hey, I just like one of those situations where you name, you launch a brand in a foreign country and it means like, fart, you know, in that language. You know what I mean? So it's like, you've seen those ridiculous memes out there, right? It's like, oh, wow, I don't want to drink that. Yeah. Yeah. So like, we, we kind of pen tested the word granum with a couple of customers. Like when we say this, does it like, freak you out? And it's like, yeah, no, it passes the smell test. You guys are good. Because it actually has meaning in both tree care and in landscape. You know, the origin of the word is seed. And on, on tree care, the, the term granum actually is part of the photosynthesis or photoplasmic experience in a, in a plant. I just messed that up. So, hey, don't send me hate mail. But it does have like a, it has horticultural. Yeah, Exactly. Our wrist, you know? Exactly. Yeah. And so the other thing that we wanted to test, Justin, is like, hey, this is kind of like. It's a weird word, right? Granum. You know what I mean? But then we started talking to folks and I remember one interaction in particular I had with a customer is like, when we do soft skate ordering, like, a lot of procurement is still the Latin words, right? It's like not the, it's not what we call it, right? It's not like roses, you know, and all that stuff. Like, like when she was going through the ordering, I saw the list, I was like, wait, those are like all Latin terms. And she was like, yeah, most of these, we have to order them this way, right? Still today, like, and that's what we call them and what we refer to them. But it was like, oh, okay, cool. You know, like, that was like, put it, put that down in the book of like, okay, this might be safe, you know, and so, and then, man, rolling out a new brand, like, the amount of stuff that you've got to go through, I mean, just think about it, like, yeah, social media, like email. Yeah, I'm just thinking about blog post, website, domain redirects, like all that. Like, there's a ton to think about. And so you got to put together a plan, right? Like in day two, it's like, okay, let's gut check this now. What's our plan? What is the timeline for the plan? How do we roll it out? Who's responsible for what? You know, do your typical kind of responsible, you know, racy, whatever those that term is, always mess it up. And so it's a process. Like, it's a big process and it doesn't matter how small your customer base or how big your customer base is. It's the thing, Justin. It's like who you say you are. It's K and D landscape, right? It's like, this is who we are to the world, right? And so like, you got to put together a plan of ATTCK and be systematic and methodical about rolling that out. You know what I mean? And Taylor and the team have done a really great job of that. I mean, this is like a perfect example of it. It's like, who are we going to talk to? Who are we going to partner with? Who's going to help us ampl this message? And, you know, I think that's, you know, part of the, like, you got to be really strategic in your thinking about it, but stay, stay, stay at the root of it. What's our Purpose? What's our mission? Who are we serving? Who's the most important stakeholders in this conversation? And that's. That's what you lean into from a.

Planning.

Yeah. And that. And, And I think for you guys, in a way, I mean, it's. It's gotta be so hard, but at the same time, there's gotta be a little bit of ease in that sense because you're. I've talked to so many people at Element Single Ops and Greenius over the years, and it's very clear by the actions and what you guys stand for and how you talk that it is all about the customer and the success of the customer. And how do we make the customer more successful with this, this product, if you want to call it a product. But with this service that you guys really provide, there's so much beyond a product. I mean, speaking only to Greeniest, because that's the area I've had the most interactions with from Running Candy Landscaping. It's not like, here's a training platform, you know, go train your people. It's like, here's a training platform. How can we improve your retention, increase wages and shorten the time it takes from a person to go from super hungry landscape technician with very little experience to a crew leader or supervisor? Your success is our shared mission. So Taylor's holding up. Yeah. Your success is our shared mission. And I love that. And now I'm seeing the brand there for the first time. That's really cool, man. I love the colors.

That's a box we're using to. You should be getting one of those shortly, Justin.

I'm looking forward to it. Yeah, guys, so, so it's just, it's. It's really cool to see that and how you guys have honored that. And I, I think back to some rebrands that I've been somewhat close to in the landscape industry. And I've heard it from both ends. I've heard it from the, the people on the ground who are like, I can't believe they changed the name. We've been around for 35 years. And, you know, those are probably the ones that I've noticed haven't gone as well. And they're probably, They're. They'. Those are done by, you know, the biggest publicly traded landscape company in our market. We all know who I'm talking about. And then you see these other transitions that happen by maybe a company that starts with a Y and it's like, graceful, and people are excited and they're like, I can't wait to Put on, you know, that. That brand, that name on my T shirt, and not only wear that brand, but, like, I know I'm honoring the founder and the person who built the company that I've worked for for the last 15 or 20 years. And I've seen the difference, and I've heard it from people who have. Who have been, you know, let's call it the account manager on the ground level. And man, it's. It's two completely different experiences. And that's just talking about the team member, the employee, go to the customer and same thing. We've, In a positive way for us, we've taken on a lot of clients. I mean, we've. We've been growing really, really fast in our industry as K and D Landscaping. So we've, you know, those clients are coming from somewhere and we hear the stories of, like, well, XYZ bought the company that we were working for, and all of a sudden we got a increase with a new logo and a new invoice, and that was it. Like, that's all we'd heard. I was like, wow, what a miss that was. So, as I'm watching what you guys are doing, coming onto this podcast and doing everything else that. That we're going to be seeing on launch day, just, just, I guess, like, bravo. Like, well done. I really am admired by the process you guys are going through and the depth of. Of research and connectivity that you guys have with the industry. And I think that's just such a good lesson for everybody listening out there.

You know, Justin, my. My grandmother used to say to me all the time, it's like, all you got to do is care a little bit. You know what I mean? Just care a little bit. And. And I'm like, I say that. Like, she always used to say all kinds of crazy to me, by the way, but, like, I think you quoted

her on the last podcast a few times.

I did, yeah. Like, she's pretty. Yeah, we're here now. She used to say to me all the time, like, we're here now. Like, what are you going to do about it? You know what I mean? And so. But I think your point is, like, really important to me because, like, it does just take caring a little bit. Like, go talk to people, listen to people. And like I said, just. Even though we do that and I've done that, like, people are going to have, like, a range of emotions around this name and change. Right?

Yeah.

And I think that's why it was important. Yeah. Oh, man. That's actually one of my. That's my takeaway for later today when you asked me that question about, you know, what is your, you know.

Oh, yeah, our trade secret.

Our trade secret, yeah. What is my trade secret? Again, not much of a trade secret, but I'll share it anyways, you know, but like for me, honoring the heritage of LMN and the legacy that it's built of, like, helping equip people to know their numbers, right? And really like fundamentally change what was like a pen and paper industry to, you know, technologically forwarded and then same thing for single ops and tree care. Like, it is amazing how similar what our customers say about the software, right? Does it have, like, can it get better? Yes, and it's going to, by the way, rapidly. That's another part of the story. It's like we're investing, you know, in this industry, so. And the same thing with green is like, by the way, we're rewriting that platform from the ground up and we're going to launch a brand new green experience for everybody to enjoy in the industry. It's going to be awesome, right? And so all these things are kind of in conjunction with each other, Johnstone. And it takes caring and it takes having conversations with people, right? Like, and if you do that, even the naysayers and the folks that have an emotional response to it, they'll see it, you know, and they'll, they'll, they'll acknowledge it. And I think this is just important for like, your listeners too, because, like, this isn't just a us thing. Like, this is a thing thing. Like when you're talking about rebranding and how you engage with your customers and thinking through, like, how can I get more buy in and like, commit commitment and growth, like, this is it, right? It's like, just be authentic. Go tell people exactly what you're thinking. Honor, Honor your heritage and your legacy and your story, your shared story. Because that's what cultures are all about, Justin. They're shared stories over time. That's how cultures evolve, right? Think about the story of America. It's a shared culture over a course of time, right? Story after story after story that got codified and codified and codified and, and it's one of the most amazing stories ever written in the history of time, right? And so that's what this is about. Like, start something. If you're thinking about rebranding, if you're thinking about acquiring, if you're thinking about doing something new or unique, get ready for criticism. But just go and talk to people and Have a conversation about it and be thoughtful about it and do the best you possibly can and let the chips fall where they may.

I really like that take on culture. I haven't heard someone really explain it quite that way, but I completely agree. It's really the shared stories and experience we go through together and, and what that means to people. I'd love to kind of shift a little bit and get some insights into the future. I mean, we've got some big events coming up, we've got Equip around the corner, we have Elevate and more. Where are you guys going to be? What, you know, what's the next couple months look like for. For Granum here as you guys go to, you know, take this, take this big announcement on the road.

I think the question is, where aren't we going to be? Like, I feel like we are all over the place, man. We're going to all the shows that you just talked about, like Equip, Expo, Expo, Elevate. There's also a very large Tree Care Industry association event that we'll be at. We also have boot camps running, so we, we have these in person boot camps that we take customers through three days of like core element training. So we'll be at those all over America at the same time. Like, my hope is, is if we do our job, people are gonna be like, I got it. You're Grantham. Thank you.

We get it.

All right, cool. We like the name. Shut up. You know, like, but no, but in all seriousness, like, we, we want to be everywhere right now. Like it's the biggest time of the year. Just so you know, the way the song like our, Our season kind of like works in concert around your season. Right? It's like, right.

Our slow season is season, basically.

Yeah, exactly. Like, it's just like everything ramps up for us, like starting in September. October, November, December, January and February. It's like gangbusters, you know, as they say. But. And so our job is to capitalize on that. That's also one of the reasons why we're launching it now is because we'll get like the most exposure, Justin. You know, like, this is when the most eyeballs will be on us. And so. And that's also super risky, by the way.

True.

You know, it's a bet. It's a bet that we're making. But I've just realized in life, like, you gotta, you gotta be willing to put yourself out there, you know, and take a risk every now and then. And we think it's gonna Be really good.

Yeah, I mean it's, you know, I have a talk that I am gonna be given at Elevate and I was working on it all weekend and I didn't expect to spend this much time preparing for a one hour talk. I mean, I've probably got 20 hours into this thing because it's a, it's a concept around disruption and the concept around being disruptive. And I stumbled onto this guy, Clayton Christensen, who wrote this book the Innovator's Dilemma. And so of course had to read the book. And the idea being is like great companies fail because they do everything right. They figure out what works and they just keep doing it. And they're so damn good at it, they end up not changing. And yet the world around us is not only changing, it's changing faster than it ever has. And I think what you guys are doing here is very clear. It ties back to all these disruptive tendencies. And I use the word disruptive in a positive way. It is about changing your story. And it's not just so much about challenging the status quo. It's challenging everything you've done as a brand, as a company, as an entity up to this point. And there's this quote he says is like it's better to disrupt yourself than to be forced to change by the industry. And so I just, I love where you guys are at here, around pushing yourselves forward for the betterment because you guys easily could have just said, hey, you know, Mark is the CEO. You could have just come in. We're going to run the coattels of LMN and you know, greeniest and single ops. We're just going to kind of keep things going. It's a shared brand, it's a shared mission. But you guys didn't just do that. You really said, no, we're going to push this. We're going to go out on a limb. People may get upset with us at first, but you know, we're going to do this thing. And so hats off to you guys. Really, really excited for this. And I just also want to ask a little bit because everyone's asking about this is, you know, from a, from a software perspective, what are some of the things that you guys are really focused on right now with this brand refresh? I'm sure it's not just a visual changing, you know, changing the paint on the house. There's a lot more structural things you guys are doing. Implementing artificial intelligence. You mentioned rebrand completely rebuilding Greenius. What else maybe that, you know, just high Level high notes on the software itself that you guys are planning over the next maybe six to 12 months.

Yeah. I mean, first of all, I couldn't have said it any better than the way you decided.

So thank you.

If we can clip that and use that six times over, that would be amazing. So I'm not going to even go back into that route, that path. But the rebrand is actually in fact the telling of a new story, a new chapter in our, in our shared kind of lineage. And that has to do with technology. Justin. Right. I think you're 100% right. Like don't wait to be disrupted. Do the disrupting. Right. Like in. Back in February, I challenged the company to become an AI first company. We need to become an AI first company ourselves to understand how we can leverage and harness the power for our customers and the product. Right. And so we've been on that journey and the biggest things that our customers are going to see, yes, we'll be rolling out AI tools over the next six months that I think it's really important for folks to understand. Like you don't want to go willy nilly at AI because it can, it can, it can, it can have some really unintended consequences and also create like quick user abandonment if it's not good, you know what I mean? Like right out of the gates. Right. You got to be able to trust it. Right. And so, but, but I think the bigger part of our story from a technological perspective is our products are designed to help you from start to finish. Right. And that's a very unique place to be. Like, we want to capture that kind of like first opportunity, that lead that you get. We want you to ingest that into our system. We want you to start to sell that lead, then do an estimate for that lead and then send a proposal to that potential prospect. And then I want you to manage the job and schedule the work and then bill an invoice through the system. Because we serve small to mid sized businesses which everybody has heard me scream from the mountaintops, are the best humans on the face of the planet. They're like building the fabric of our economy. They're hiring in their communities, they're sponsoring, they're going to church, they're doing everything to make our places better. Right. Like our communities better. And I'm really passionate about that. Right. And I don't know why, I can't tell you why. It's just always been in my DNA is small to mid sized business because I am one for one. Right. And so, and for two, like everything I just said. And so we, that customer, Justin, doesn't want 10 different software solutions to do that right now. And so we have to pay, we have to, we have to deliver on our, that, that, that request, that ask that need in the marketplace. We have to make, make each one of those junctures that I just said, CRM, estimating and budgeting, proposing and invoicing, scheduling and managing the job. We have to make, make each one of those junctures great. Right. And so we've been hiring engineers for each one of those areas of the customer journey and we've started mapping our delivery to your customer's experience because we understand that the connective tissue between all of this is like, how do I represent myself well to my customer? How am I the most efficient in delivering my goods and services to this customer? How can I look professional to my customer? How can I stand out against my competition for my customer?

Right.

And so, and that, and those junctures that I outlined is where you do it. It's like the first time you interact with them, like you send them an email, you go knock on their door, you do whatever, text them, right? And then what does your estimate look like? How thorough is it, how accessible is it digitally? How easy is it to accept? I could keep going down the line, but that's what it's going to look like over the next 12 to 18 months. Justin, it's like each one of those junctures is going to get significantly better.

And our platforms, I love the way you're explaining that. And we, we just came off a planning session and a customer experience was what we kind of landed on as our differentiator that we want to focus in on. Because what you're saying is there, you know, you want to be best in class with every single interaction that you have with the customers. What I'm hearing, and so I compared to this, and this is more from my talk that I was working on this weekend is like so many landscapers are. They need to get from A to B, right? Let's say you're traveling from Phoenix to Dallas and so many landscapers in this industry choose to walk or run there. There's a car available and there's a plane available, but they just look at that technology and they go, no, I'm going to do a pen and paper. No, I don't need job costing. No, my clients don't need a digital, digital experience in the estimate. I'm just going to do it all in tnm and I'LL bill them at the end of the job through, you know, QuickBooks or something random. And so they refuse to utilize that car and even worse, they refuse to utilize the plane. So some landscapers and you know, they're very tech enabled and they just get on the plane and they're in Dallas in 45 minutes to an hour. And others, it takes them three days to get there because they're running or walking. And so what I'm hearing is you guys are building this really, really awesome plane, so to speak, to fit the metaphor. And it's getting upgraded and it's going to be much better and it's going to be a better experience, get you there faster. And I think that's so imperative because this is the gap. And for everyone listening to this podcast, I think most of us are pretty tech enabled. But for everyone listening, there's a gap that, that is massive in the landscape industry today. And I'm going to ask you guys a question. Maybe you have the data but like, and so what would you guys say as far as a percentage of the total landscapers, how many are utilizing some type of, of business management software system like element, single ops? You know, I'm not going to say greeniest, greeniest, more training, but like how many people as a percentage would you guys say based on your data for 50%? So, so half the market is basically not utilizing the plan, they're walking and that is the opportunity. So if you're on these platforms, how do you make that customer experience so amazing that you'll never lose that client for, for life basically because you've consistently upgraded their experience. So I, I think there's just, it's so obvious that there's gap, this gap that exists and so few people are taking advantage of it. But what I'm excited to see is where you guys take this, this next step because if I follow the goal is to just, just create this insurmountable gap between the people who are on the platform, on the gran and platform versus the rest of the market from correct a customer experience standpoint, not just the landscaper, but the clients that we serve.

Yeah, your customer. Like I think it's so important to marry kind of our software to your customers experience because that's how you will judge our software. Like I hear it every day like when I go visit customers, Justin. It's like the things that folks bring up is like, hey, did you know, did you see how long it takes to do this? Like that what they really say following a meet, it's not that. It's not the thing that they're pointing at. It's like. And that makes me look really bad to my team and then my team to my customers.

Right.

Like you just follow it all the way through. It's like, oh, it's because this is impeding your expectation for delivery to your customer. And so like we keep stressing to our team, how do we make this great across the customer journey for our customers and their customers. And think about it in synchronicity with each other every step along the way. And the magic sauce of granum element and single ops and greenius will be from end to end, like from start to finish with that customer. You can use one system and manage it very, very well. Right. There'll always be kind of like little offshoot tuck in things that you're going to want to use. Systems like Aspire and LMN and Singlaps won't do well. Right. It's like, okay, yeah, that's not our thing, that's not what we do.

Right.

It's okay to have another software to do that. Right. But like if you can capture 85% of the workload through one system, man, you can really unlock some potential for our customers and then obviously create a much better experience for your customers.

Yeah, it just shows the attention to detail and the time you guys have spent going through that second tier customer, that HOA property manager who's stressed out dealing with all this stuff and they just need to approve a tree bid on the fly on the mobile. Hopefully they're not driving, they pull over and approve it. But that's the opinion. These people are so busy, it's so hard to work for them. And you guys have thought through that second tier and I just, you know, I want to, I want to commend you guys on that and just say thank you. Thank you from a landscaper because I think a lot of, a lot of solutions out there from a tech perspective in and outside the landscape industry don't focus enough on the second tier and they just focus on the landscaper, which is great. Right. I love a great experience but you got to, you know, follow through. What you guys said is really the customer experience and the success of us is the success of our customer. Taylor, I want to come to you and we're going to start wrapping this thing up, land the plane, so to speak, man. Great, great show. I'm so excited for, for this launch of this episode, but also the launch of your guys brand. Tell us. I want to get Your trade secret, you've been in marketing for a long time. You've transition from element now going into Granum. And I, I would love to just hear a little bit from your experience. What is something that our listeners could take away as a trade secret from. From Taylor today?

Yeah, absolutely. Kind of a, you know, a lesson learned or sort of emphasized over the past year through our integration, bringing these different companies together into one. And this is more of a universal thought. But, you know, in the context of M and A and integration, it's really important and that's just do the hard thing first. You know, that might be different in different circumstances, but whatever you feel the hard thing is if you do it first, everything's going to get easier from there. And that's where you're really going to unlock the value of, you know, whatever it is you're bringing together. So just a thought for the audience there.

Yeah, I love that. So applicable to everything in life. That's. That's perfect. Mark, coming over to you, you've always got something fun, something profound. What's your trade secret on. On round two of trade stock?

I feel like you just put me under so much pressure. I know haw my last one, if I remember correctly, was at the top of every mountain is just another mountain. And as we're getting ready to launch Granum and you know, when this comes out, you know, Granum is here like it's, it's launched. There's no walking it back. Like something that I've been thinking about a lot, Justin, is just fear. And how many people manage through fear and doing something that's like out there and risky and hard, right? And I came across a quote literally this week on the plane. And the quote is how very little can be done under the spirit of fear. And that hit me like a ton of bricks, Justin, you know what I mean? It was like, like put yourself in that mode of like, I'm afraid. I don't know what's going to happen. I don't know if this is going to work. Am I going to fail? Like, those thoughts literally preclude you and doom you for that. Like failure, right? Status quo and how little can be done under the spirit of fear. And I just think for me, like, I don't want to live my life in fear. I just want to try and do and I want to fail and I want to learn. It's too short, right? And so don't let fear dictate your potential anymore.

I really, really appreciate you saying that. I think this point in time, there's so much fear out there. We see a lot of layoffs happening at bigger companies and people are, people are fearful of their well being for different reasons, their own personal reasons. But at the end of the day, a company that's predicated on fear and that uses fear as a motivation tool of like, hey, if you don't do this, then this is going to happen to you negatively, I think they're doomed for the spiral death march of a company. And we've seen so many companies go that direction. And what you're saying is we have to actively, actively fight against the fact that fear is going to creep into the, the people around us and we don't want to be the reason for that. We want to be the light in the dark. And so.

Right.

I knew it was going to be profound and you delivered, so thank you.

Thank God. I'm glad.

All right, guys, that was.

I'm gonna go drink a scotch now.

And like, you know, it's 9 o' clock my time and never too early, never too early.

And Mark's on the west coast.

I'm on the west coast too. So I'm right here with you. Yeah, perfect.

Close. I'll join you.

Yeah.

So guys, great show today. Really excited for this launch. As far as where people are going to see you guys next. Is it, is it going to be, I guess Equip is really the next big opportunity, which is just two weeks away to, to see you guys. And is there any other way to get a hold of you guys? What's the best way for people to get in touch if they're interested and maybe talking to you guys about a demo or what have you?

Yeah. Awesome, thanks. Like, I mean, you can find us on all the social media channels. I'm mark@singleops.com on Wednesday. I guess when people hear this, you can email me markranham.com and come check us out. Come check out our new booth. Come check out our after party. We're doing a couple of launch experiences. Like, we would love to just introduce you to our new story because you're part of it. Like, it doesn't matter if you're a customer. It doesn't matter if you're a prospect. It doesn't matter if you're a partner or a stakeholder, a vendor or an investor. Like, you're part of it. You're part of the industry and you're part of our story. So there's tons of places you'll be able to interact and engage with us going forward. And the new website will be www.granum.com.

nice. Awesome. Perfect. All right, guys, well, you heard it here. New brand, big launch, exciting times. Wish you guys the best, and I'll see you guys in a couple weeks at Equip.

Awesome, man. Thanks, Russell.

Thanks, Justin. Thanks for tuning in to Trades Talk, where the next generation of disruptors comes to raise the bar. If you got value from today's episode, share it with someone in the trades

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