Lawnhiro wants to use Zillow data to become Uber for lawns

Many startups are born out of a personal pain point. Lincoln startup Lawnhiro is no exception. “I’m a single dad and would come home after work, make dinner and notice the lawn needed to be mowed,” said Jacob Christensen, Lawnhiro founder. “The grass was super tall, but at the same time I was tired from work…

lawnhiro_instory

Many startups are born out of a personal pain point. Lincoln startup Lawnhiro is no exception.

“I’m a single dad and would come home after work, make dinner and notice the lawn needed to be mowed,” said Jacob Christensen, Lawnhiro founder. “The grass was super tall, but at the same time I was tired from work with a table full of dishes. I wished there was a high school kid I could hire.”

Christensen’s next thought was that there must be an app for that.

“I couldn’t find anything,” he said. “So I thought, why not me? That’s really how it started.”

Early testing

Christensen created a mobile-optimized web site and did some test marketing done last fall.

“In ten days we got a handful of customers,” Christensen said. “Over the winter, my co-founder, advisors and I took time to think through what we learned and put a business plan together.”

After unsuccessfully seeking a grant to support mobile app development, the Lawnhiro team went back to the drawing board.

“We decided that we just have to get out there and get customers while we think about what’s next,” Christensen said. “We did create one piece of the app that does an auto-calculation based on our assumptions about square footage.”

Lawnhiro recruits and vets independent contractors to do the work, then connects them with customers through their web site and eventually their app. Think Uber for lawn care.

“It might be a kid in his early 20’s who can earn a couple of hundred bucks a week picking up 5 or 6 lawns,” Christensen said. “That’s a thousand bucks a month, which can really help somebody out.”

Plans for next summer include targeted recruiting of high school and college students.

“We’re looking for high-performing young adults that are capable, willing and want to earn some money for prom,” Christensen said. “Not everyone, but that top 1 or 2 percent.”

Liability, pricing and data

Questions about liability nearly made this idea a non-starter.

“I talked to a bunch of parents and asked if they would sign off on their kid, and almost all of them said yes,” Christensen said. “I was pleasantly surprised that they were quick to say yes. If they believe in them, I believe in them.”

There have been no incidents so far.

“The sample size is small, but we’ve had zero incidents this summer,” Christen said. “And with the exception of long periods of rain, we’ve completed 100% of our jobs within 24 hours.”

So how does Lawnhiro price its services?

“Different parts of town demand different prices,” Christensen said. “When you mow in town you deal with fences and large trees. In the outer edge of town, the trees are smaller but the lots are bigger.”

Lawnhiro plans to incorporate data into their algorithm gathered from jobs, as well as information through a free API offered by Zillow in exchange for logo placement.

“Zillow does the heavy lifting of finding the data we need,” Christensen said. “About 25% we collect and organize ourselves.”

Christensen is very aware of the competitive market in this space.

“There’s nothing like us in Lincoln,” he said. “We’re Lincoln’s own Uber for lawn care, kind of something we adopted.”

Plans to expand

Lawnhiro hopes to expand to other communities and other services in the region.

“We have the ability to flip a switch and offer the service in Omaha, and we’re hoping to do that this fall,” Christensen said. “This winter we’ll provide some snow removal. Our goal is to compile some numbers, reorganize our business plan and pursue talks with some strategic partners. Then branch out in the Midwest.”

Christensen wants Lawnhiro to get a buzz going.

“We want to make something remarkable enough to start a conversation among consumers,” he said.

Rod Armstrong is Vice President of Strategic Partnerships for AIM in Lincoln, Nebraska. He is a regular contributor to Silicon Prairie News.

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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One response to “Lawnhiro wants to use Zillow data to become Uber for lawns”

  1. Nathan Davis Avatar
    Nathan Davis

    Great way to help kids make some extra cash! I think it could even be a useful tool for existing lawn companies, especially small ones.