Principal
Justin Strickland
Justin Strickland is the Principal of Strickland Legacy Group, a single-family office focused on building businesses, investing for the long term, giving back, and creating a legacy that extends well beyond business.
Justin’s journey began far from the traditional path to a family office. He started his career earning minimum wage as a lube technician, where he gained firsthand experience in the automotive service industry and began recognizing opportunities to do things differently.
When he was ready to pursue his first business, several banks turned him down. His grandfather, C.W. Strickland, a former tobacco sharecropper and meat butcher, believed in his vision and took out an equity line on his home to invest $35,000, essentially his life savings, in his grandson.
That opportunity became the foundation for everything that followed.
Justin built his first quick lube business, Tater Bugs, to 3 locations before selling it. He later founded Strickland Brothers 10 Minute Oil Change, named after his sons, Tate and Beckett. The company grew to more than 300 locations in just 7 years, establishing Justin as an experienced entrepreneur and operator with a deep understanding of building and scaling multi-unit consumer businesses.
Throughout his career, Justin has also founded and invested in businesses and real estate ventures across multiple sectors. His entrepreneurial accomplishments have earned him recognition as an EY Entrepreneur of the Year® 2022 Southeast Award winner, a 2022 C Suite Award recipient, and one of North Carolina’s Most Influential People. He has also been featured by Forbes, Entrepreneur, and Inc., including recognition on the 2021 Forbes Next 1000 list.
Today, Justin brings that experience to Strickland Legacy Group, where he oversees the family office’s investment strategy, operating businesses, real estate portfolio, strategic partnerships, and long-term family initiatives. His approach remains grounded in the values that shaped his own journey: hard work, strong relationships, creating opportunity, and the belief that success carries a responsibility to create opportunities for others.
Giving back is central to that mission. Through the Strickland Education & Economic Development Fund, known as the SEED Foundation, Justin and his family support causes spanning higher education, health, the arts, and programs serving young people facing adversity. He is particularly passionate about investing in Winston Salem and the surrounding community that has played an important role in his family’s story.
For Justin, Strickland Legacy Group is about more than preserving what has already been built. It is about thoughtfully using the family’s resources, relationships, and experience to build what comes next, support people and organizations doing meaningful work, create opportunities for others, and leave a lasting positive impact for generations to come.