Interview with Bland Landscaping's Kurt and Matt Bland

Brothers Kurt and Matt Bland grew up in an entrepreneurial household as the children of Tom and Nancy Bland in Apex, North Carolina. As founders of Bland Landscaping Company (ca. 1976), at an early age Tom and Nancy exposed Kurt and Matt to the successes and the challenges of running a family business. As young men, the boys worked in every aspect of the homegrown business from field work to estimating and financial planning. Through the late 1980’s, 1990’s and early 2000’s industry icons like Frank Ross, Kevin Kehoe, and Bruce Wilson were regular consultants for the Bland family. Exposure to these industry influencers afforded both Kurt and Matt the opportunity to explore new and forward-thinking ideas about the landscaping industry, at a time when industry maturity and consolidation was still spoken about in a future tense.

The Bland family had an agreement that both siblings needed to gain managerial experience following college before returning to the family business, affording them the chance to learn and make a conscious decision to join the company if they chose to. Following his studies in Horticulture and Ag Business Management at North Carolina State University, Kurt moved to Fremont California and worked in management for Del Conte’s Landscaping. Meanwhile, Matt studied Economics, Finance, and Accounting at North Carolina State University before going to work for IBM as a Financial Analyst. The two brothers worked briefly with their parents before Nancy became terminally ill and Tom retired in 2005.

In 2012, the brothers set out on an intentional course they’d plotted as college roommates, with a goal of growing the family’s legacy company into the leading provider of commercial landscaping services in The Carolinas. Their professional journey has taken countless unexpected twists and turns that provide a multitude of stories of their experiences leading this nearly 48-year-old business. What started as a part time endeavor from their parents’ kitchen table is now the country’s 52nd largest landscaping firm. As partners, the two successfully lead the executive team that is responsible for leading a team of more than 600 commercial landscaping professionals from nine locations around North Carolina. Since recapitalizing with Prospect Partners in 2017, they’ve gained significant experience in Mergers & Acquisitions, including successfully integrating four of North Carolina’s leading commercial landscaping companies into the platform they have built.

Kurt lives in Raleigh, NC with his wife and their Labrador Retrievers. Matt lives in Cary, NC with his wife, their two daughters, a cat, and an Australian Labradoodle. Both brothers have a passion for the outdoors and a lifelong love of boating and water related activities.