“Customers are buying trust.” That line stopped the conversation and set the tone for a candid look at long sales cycles, culture, and product bets. Host Kyler Nixon sits down with Nic Breedlove to unpack a model that blends distributor and manufacturer, serves about 350 distributors, and manages operations in Indianapolis, Savannah, and Houston. The buying journey is often 90 days or more, and a custom order can take six months from order to revenue. Nic shares why passion and knowledge build credibility, why one-time buyers must be educated quickly, and how a seven-year nurture still converted. He opens up about a painful chapter of betrayal, the absence of checks and balances, and rebuilding with direct expectations, behavioral analysis, and daily core values in huddles and quarterlies. The conversation closes with new product development, a quick ship line that now represents about half of revenue, a new inspections app for owners and operators, and a three-year planning horizon tied to a big, hairy goal to reduce avoidable injuries on playgrounds.

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👤 Guest Bio

Nic Breedlove is the founder and CEO of NVB Playgrounds. His team operates as a manufacturer and a distributor, supplying about 350 distributors across the United States and serving government and business buyers. NVB runs operations in Indianapolis, Savannah, and Houston. Nic is active on LinkedIn, leads a design and new product development team, and focuses on quick ship structures, software for inspections, and daily core values that guide performance and growth.

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📌 What We Cover

• “Customers are buying trust,” and how passion and knowledge show up in posts, safety, layout, and community
• A blended model, manufacturer and distributor, supplying about 350 distributors with operations in Indianapolis, Savannah, and Houston
• Sales cycles that average 90 days, custom timelines that push orders to six months from order to revenue, and cash flow strain
• One-time buyers on boards and school teams, why education must be quick, specific, and directed
• A seven-year sales story from catalog request to close, and the power of staying in touch with the same salesperson
• Trust inside the team, hiring fast in the past, direct feedback, behavioral analysis, and quarterly reviews
• The betrayal chapter, shell companies, missing checks and balances, silos, and rebuilding morale after terminations
• Core values in daily huddles and quarterlies, shout-outs, and scoring performance on growth mindset
• Quick ship as a distribution backbone, inventory across three locations, guarantees to distributors, and about 50 percent of revenue
• New product development on structures, reviewing thousands of orders, color schemes, components, and using tools like ChatGPT and Claude
• A new app for owners and operators, inspections and digitalized services, and a launch at the National Park and Rec show in Orlando
• Three-year planning, not ten, Cameron Harold’s perspective, and a big hairy goal to reduce avoidable playground injuries in North America

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🔗 Resources Mentioned

• PlaygroundEquipment.com
• ChatGPT
• Claude
• HubSpot training
• COO Alliance podcast with Cameron Harold
• National Park and Rec show in Orlando