LawnStarter, based in Austin, Texas, has acquired Lawn Love, based in San Diego, California, in a cash and stock deal. Both companies are on-demand lawn and outdoor care providers.
This acquisition will allow both businesses to capitalize on the growth of on-demand services. Ryan Farley, COO of LawnStarter, says both brands have seen much higher than expected consumer demand in 2021 versus 2020.
“Lots of the growth was planned, but we’re certainly benefiting from the COVID-19 tailwind of people moving to the suburbs and invest in their homes,” Farley says.
LawnStarter was founded in 2013 and currently serves over 120 U.S. metro areas. The acquisition of Lawn Love has increased LawnStarter’s presence to include Santa Barbara, Las Vegas and Reno.
Lawn Love will continue to operate as a standalone company and brand for consumers. However, the independent contractors will be able to claim jobs from both apps in one place, significantly reducing their drive time.
“Pros that join the platform and do good work typically grow their business between 30-50 percent in a matter of weeks,” Farley says. “And because we have so much demand, we can provide pros jobs in extremely close proximity which reduces costly drive time and increases the services a pro can do in a day. For example, in Austin our properties are only 200 feet from one another on average – imagine just servicing one or two neighborhoods in a day instead of driving all over town.”
Farley says their GPS-driven routing algorithm helps them give jobs to their contractors that are along their existing routes.
“We also have features to help detect delays due to factors like weather and traffic, and help pros adjust their schedule and keep customers in the loop,” he says.
Both providers offer a wide range of services from lawn mowing, tree care, pest control, gutter cleaning, pool service and more. Consumers can schedule a service online or through the app and then they are matched with the most suitable professional for the job and date requested.
Farley says consumers have gotten conditioned to expect a level of convenience when it comes to home services. They can go to LawnStarter’s website to get a price and book a service in under five minutes. The mobile app allows them to change the frequency of the service, order other services, contact their pro and more.
While there are a number of other on-demand style outdoor care providers, Farley says Lawn Love was the clear No. 2 to them in terms of revenue.
“Additionally, they shared similar values, and the same vision of becoming the one-stop shop for all outdoor home maintenance,” he says.
LawnStarter doesn’t have any specific plans to acquire similar brands but Farley says everything is on the table as they are interested in companies that allow them to expand into new verticals, ranging from software platforms to fully integrated pest control and fertilization companies.
LawnStarter will remain in Austin led by CEO Steve Corcoran, while Lawn Love’s CEO Jeremy Yamaguchi will also remain with the combined company.
