Most entrepreneurs dream about building a business that lasts. Few ever build one capable of attracting multiple private equity partners, completing more than 20 acquisitions, and creating life-changing wealth for employees.

In this episode of The Deal Factory, Jeff Harkness sits down with Jerry Shill, Founder & CEO of Schill Landscape Collective, to unpack the 35-year journey from a local landscaping company to one of North America's fastest-growing commercial landscape platforms.

Jerry shares the pivotal decisions that changed everything—from splitting the family business and focusing exclusively on recurring maintenance revenue to designing a scalable "business in a box" operating model that ultimately attracted institutional capital. The conversation dives deep into acquisitions, integration, leadership development, value creation, data-driven operations, and what it really takes to build a billion-dollar vision.

Whether you're considering private equity, actively acquiring businesses, or simply trying to scale your company, this episode delivers a masterclass from someone who's lived every stage of the journey.

Key Discussion Points

• Building a maintenance-first business model that scales

• Why recurring revenue beats chasing construction projects

• Designing a "Business in a Box" operating system

• Preparing a company for institutional capital

• Lessons from partnering with Argon Capital and TruArc Partners

• Scaling from $2M to nearly $31M EBITDA

• What Jerry learned completing 21 acquisitions

• Why integration—not the deal—is the real challenge

• Centralized vs. decentralized leadership models

• Data, KPIs and forecasting at scale

• Creating wealth through management equity

• AI, robotics and the future of commercial landscaping

• Why customer issue resolution is a competitive advantage

• Building businesses that are designed to sell