Why We Do What We Do
Vision
To change the lives of owners and leaders of landscaping companies by being the go-to education company in our industry.
Mission
To teach landscaping companies to clarify their platform, grow their people, build their processes, and realize profits.
Core Values
Relatability
We can help because we've been there. Our team of experts is still actively involved in the day-to-day operations of Grunder Landscaping, and we've helped hundreds of landscape pros across the country with their businesses. We can help with your challenges because we've likely faced them before ourselves.
Innovation
We're firm believers that the only thing constant in life is change, and constant innovation is the only way to get—and stay—ahead. We're constantly trying new things and experimenting with new ideas to make landscaping companies better. We share what works, and what doesn't, with our community to help them innovate too.
Excellence
While we believe that progress is better than perfection, we strive to offer the best possible experience and education that we can. In everything we do, we try to do it well.
Our Talented Team
Marty Grunder is founder and CEO of The Grow Group and of Grunder Landscaping Co., one of the most successful landscaping companies in the Midwest.
An unusual combination of full-time landscape professional and leading green-industry coach, Marty is uniquely positioned to deliver real-world, real-time guidance to Grow Group clients. His landscaping company has earned more than 50 local and national design awards and is a two-time winner of the Better Business Bureau’s Eclipse Integrity Award. Marty has himself been named entrepreneur of the year by both Ernst & Young and the US Small Business Administration and a Leader in Diversity by the Dayton Business Journal. The author of The 9 Super Simple Steps to Entrepreneurial Success, he has coached tens of hundreds of landscaping professionals and companies across the US and Canada and delivered more than 550 talks, motivating audiences of all sizes and shapes—from a small gathering of 20 to a stadium of 9,000—to achieve success. He is a columnist for Landscape Management and is a member of the boards of Park National Bank of Southwest Ohio and Wright State University. A graduate of the University of Dayton School of Business, Marty is based in Dayton, Ohio.
Last Best Business Book Read: “The Culture Code, by Daniel Coyle.”
Contact: grow@growgroupinc.com
Connect on LinkedIn
Vince Torchia is vice president of The Grow Group, where he drives strategy, oversees day-to-day operations, and provides executive coaching to clients. A graduate of the University of Dayton’s School of Business, Vince travels the country, ensuring our programs consistently deliver results and demonstrating how business owners can leverage the strengths of both their right-hand men and women and the millennial workforce to succeed. He is based in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Secret to Time Management: “Time-block your calendar according to your priorities. If you don’t protect your time, no one else will.”
Contact: vince@growgroupinc.com
Connect on LinkedIn
Emily Lindley is The Grow Group’s content and events manager, overseeing our external communications, managing the logistics of our events, developing programming to answer our clients' most frequently asked questions, and sharing our story with the green industry. Previously she worked in marketing and communications at a major healthcare company and was named the 2018 Young Professional of the Year by the Dayton Area Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. A cum laude graduate of Miami University with a BS in business, Emily is based in Cincinnati, OH.
Marketing Mantra: “Always think from the perspective of your customer: what keywords are they searching for? What pain points are you solving? Create content that speaks to them using the language they're already using themselves.”
Contact: emily@growgroupinc.com
Connect on LinkedIn
James Cali is a Grow Group executive coach, where he draws on his more than 25 years of executive leadership experience within the professional services industry to help business owners develop and execute strategy. Having helped lead a landscape firm from $3M to more than $28M in annual revenue, he is a master tactician whose focus on consistent planning, accountability, and finance drives green-industry companies forward. In addition to his work with The Grow Group, he co-leads McFarlin Stanford, a professional bookkeeping and recruiting firm, and is former chairman of NALP’s government affairs committee. A graduate of the University of New Orleans with an MBA from Southern Methodist University, Jim is based in Dallas, Texas.
First Step to Accountability: “Lead by example—as goes the leader, so goes the firm. Which translates to: Do what you say you’re going to do and hold your team accountable to do the same. As an owner or CEO, that’s your job!”
Contact: james@growgroupinc.com
Connect on LinkedIn
Jason New is a Grow Group executive coach, where he helps landscaping companies around the country build high-performing teams focused on accountability, improving services during growth, and standardizing processes. With more than 15 years’ hands-on experience in green-industry operations, Jason dives head-first into clients’ processes, diagnosing pain points and working with company leaders to create an effective plan for change, train their teams to adopt it, and ensure successful and consistent execution. In addition to his work with The Grow Group, he co-leads McFarlin Stanford, a professional bookkeeping and recruiting firm, and is former chairman of NALP’s education committee. A graduate of Tartleton State University, Jason is based in Dallas, Texas.
Quality High-Performing Teams Share: “To a tee, they recognize there’s always room for improvement. They get the whole team on board, set big goals, realign expectations, create realistic timelines for implementation—and make no excuses.”
Contact: jason@growgroupinc.com
Connect on LinkedIn
Chris Psencik is a Grow Group executive coach, where he draws on his more than 20 years’ experience in driving business development and closing sales for green-industry companies. He also leads McFarlin Stanford’s work with landscaping companies specializing in design-build and construction, with an emphasis on sales execution. Working closely with owners and their teams, he is uniquely skilled at helping landscaping companies to define and refine their sales strategies and processes to meet—and exceed—their goals. Chris has a BS in horticulture and landscape design from Texas A&M University and is based in Dallas, Texas.
The Key to Success in Sales: “The ability to relate to the customer. Nine out of ten of my calls and conversations didn’t involve sales. I just focused on building the relationship.”
Contact: chris@growgroupinc.com
Connect on LinkedIn
Tommy Cole is a Grow Group executive coach, where he draws on his more than 20 years’ experience in Landscape Design & Installation, Civil Construction, Interior Plant Care and Outdoor Services. He also leads McFarlin Stanford’s landscape and construction practice, with an emphasis on daily operational execution. Tommy has a broad breadth of leadership experience with proven successes, and as a result, he provides our clients with tactical daily habits that move their teams to the next level. The teams he coaches can deliver operational excellence, handle significant growth and create an exceptional client experience. Tommy has a BS in Landscape Architecture from Texas Tech University and is based in Dallas, Texas.
Contact: Tommy.Cole@mcfarlinstanford.com
Connect on LinkedIn
Lindsey Perkins keeps The Grow Group firing on all cylinders as our administrative assistant, managing accounts payable and receivable and helping coordinate event programming and logistics. With an accomplished background in office management and enrollment for health-care companies, she is keenly focused on organization and detail. Lindsey is based in Dayton, OH.
The Key to Organization: “Never let your accounts receivable age past 30 days; follow up with those who have past due bills and make it easy for them to do business with you.”
Contact: lindsey@growgroupinc.com