Some business owners believe partnering with private equity means losing control. The right partner can do the opposite: alignment, accelerating growth, strengthening culture, and creating generational wealth.

In this episode of The Deal Factory, Jeff sits down with Allen Sweeney, founder and CEO of APHIX Grounds Maintenance, to unpack his journey from starting a landscape business in high school to leading a $60M, multi-state platform. Allen shares the pivotal decisions that fueled APHIX’s growth: hiring a true CFO earlier than felt comfortable, redefining the company’s name and mission, and ultimately partnering with private equity. Together, Jeff and Allen break down what the partnership process really looks like, how management equity transformed APHIX’s leadership team, and why culture and vision mattered more than capital at every stage.

Key Discussion Points:

• Starting a service business in high school and scaling over decades

• Why APHIX changed its name, values, and mission

• Hiring a real CFO before “feeling ready”

• Letting your “Why” unlock your growth

• Unsolicited offers and valuation surprises

• What private equity partnerships actually look like in practice

• Management equity and creating generational wealth for leaders

• Scaling culture, leadership, and accountability alongside growth

Chapters:

0:00 Intro

1:00 Meet Allen Sweeney & APHIX Grounds Maintenance

3:40 How Jeff and Allen First Met

7:00 Starting a Business in High School

10:00 Why APHIX Changed Its Name and Mission

14:10 Hiring a CFO Before Feeling Ready

18:30 Scaling from $8M to $18M in One Year

22:30 Unsolicited Offers & Valuation Shock

26:00 Deciding Whether to Take Private Equity

30:00 Selecting the Right PE Partner

33:30 Management Equity & Sharing the Win

38:00 Life After the First Private Equity Deal

41:30 Leadership Routines & Mental Discipline

44:30 Growing Leaders Inside APHIX

47:00 Final Reflections & Closing

A lot of investors miss the big three pressure points that make or break deals in the trades: connecting with sellers in a room, navigating diligence without killing momentum, and integrating teams together without wrecking culture.

Jeff and Gloria talk through the common buyer missteps that tank deals, stress out sellers, and create post-close headaches, and what great buyers do differently.

Key Discussion Points:

• Why speaking “entrepreneur” wins more deals than speaking acronyms

• The real reason diligence fatigue destroys transactions

• How a Navigator prevents sellers from getting overwhelmed

• Why duplicate diligence requests blow up trust and timelines

• Integration failures: payroll, benefits, culture, and communication

• What great investors do in the first 100 days (and what bad ones miss)

What does it really take to build a billion-dollar company in the trades, and create 35 first-time employee millionaires along the way? In this episode, Justin White lays out the boldest vision in the green industry and the relentless leadership required to make it real.

Jeff sits down with Justin, CEO of K&D Landscaping and founder of JW Group and The Disruptors, as he breaks down his “35 by 35” mission, the math behind a $1B valuation, and the leadership disciplines that fuel rapid scale across landscaping, trades, and facility services. They dive deep into KPIs, acquisitions, tech stacks, org chart restructuring, and how elite leaders navigate adversity…especially when momentum stalls. This episode blends strategy, execution, and raw honesty for any founder chasing transformational growth.

Key Discussion Points:

• Justin’s “35 by 35” vision

• Why the trades can produce billion-dollar companies

• The 4 traits of elite CEOs

• KPIs that actually drive scale

• Building a real growth engine

• Acquisition strategy & deal discipline

• Tech stack essentials (Aspire, BI, AI)

• Leadership through adversity & org chart changes