What if you could book a day on a private ranch the same way you book an Airbnb?

That’s exactly what Nic De Castro built — and today LandTrust opens up over 1 million acres of private farms and ranches across 40+ states to everyday hunters, anglers, and outdoor families.

In this episode Nic takes us from the frustration of locked gates in Montana… to the single conversation on a 2017 bear hunt that changed everything… to quitting the big paycheck with a newborn at home… to moving the entire company to Fairhope, Alabama.

“One-month-old baby, no income… five days after launch a seventy-dollar booking came through and we had a five-star review from both sides. That was the ‘okay, maybe this actually works’ moment.”
— Nic De Castro, Founder of LandTrust

💡 In This Episode

• The exact moment the idea was born on a Montana bear hunt
• Why the company name is literally “Land + Trust
• Quitting the big paycheck, launching with a newborn, and the $70 booking that proved it worked
• “Stacked enterprises” — how ranches now make real money from turkey hunters
• Why Bozeman lost its magic and Fairhope won
• The pushback from hunters (and Nic’s straight answer)
• The AI future that turns “That’d be cool to hunt hogs” into a booked trip with one tap

🔗 Links
→ Book your next adventure: https://landtrust.com
→ LandTrust on YouTube & Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@landtrust_hunt

About The Hatch Podcast

At the intersection of innovation, creativity, and community — The Hatch Podcast shares stories from founders, scientists, and artists shaping the future of Alabama’s Gulf Coast.

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🔗 Learn more: hatchfairhope.com

📩 Contact: [email protected]

Produced by Tim Scott for The Hatch Podcast Network.