LawnStarter Pulls In $10.5M

LawnStarter, an on-demand platform for outdoor services, today announced a $10.5 million growth investment from Edison Partners, a leading growth equity investor. The new funding will enable LawnStarter to continue its growth in lawn care across the U.S. and add new outdoor service lines including landscaping, fertilization, pest control, and tree care.

Austin-based LawnStarter began by creating an easy way for consumers to order, manage, and pay for lawn mowing using services provided by a network of high-quality and insured service providers. The company has since been welcomed in 120 U.S. markets, grown 100% year over year and reached profitability.

"In the highly decentralized lawn care industry, ordering service takes days, communication is poor, and caring for your home requires hiring several different companies," said LawnStarter CEO and co-founder Steve Corcoran. "We've brought together vetted and fully insured professionals to give consumers the best possible experience. Consumers can easily schedule lawn care and other services using a mobile app, giving them an effortless way to manage the full spectrum of their outdoor home needs."

LawnStarter also helps lawn care businesses grow their revenue by 30% to 80% in a few months with no upfront cost. LawnStarter handles marketing, billing, scheduling and other back-office operations so that pros can focus on delivering great service. Additionally, LawnStarter's algorithms use geolocation data to help pros build route density, increasing their profitability.

"The investment from Edison Partners will help us grow and scale our platform and business so we can transform the outdoor home services industry to meet the modern needs of homeowners, and work towards making every outdoor home service interaction as easy as clicking a button," Corcoran said.

LawnStarter is the latest Edison Partners investment in large fragmented markets ripe for disruption and a differentiated customer experience, such as real estate investment and funding platform Fund That Flip, micro-mobility company Zagster, and the financial membership platform MoneyLion. In all, Edison Partners has financed and guided more than 230 private companies.

"LawnStarter is bringing innovation to the $99 billion lawn care service market, where services are widely distributed and the consumer experience is poorly constructed," said Daniel Herscovici, Partner at Edison Partners, who led the investment. "We look forward to partnering with Steve and the management team as they capitalize on the demand for seamlessly integrated and easy to use services amongst busy and time-pressed homeowners." Herscovici will join LawnStarter's board of directors.

Existing investor Lerer Hippeau is also participating in this new investment round, which builds on previous investments from Bull Creek Capital, Techstars, Cotter Cunningham and Gary Vaynerchuk.

About LawnStarter

LawnStarter is the leading online marketplace for consumers and lawn care professionals. Through its online presence and its app, the company provides instant quotes for consumers, who can schedule lawn mowing and related lawn-care services from insured professionals. LawnStarter is headquartered in Austin. For more information, visit LawnStarter.com.

About Edison Partners

For more than 30 years, Edison Partners has been helping CEOs and their executive teams grow and scale successful companies. The firm's investment team brings extensive investing and operating experience to each investment. Through a unique combination of growth capital and the Edison Edge platform, consisting of operating centers of excellence, the Edison Director Network, and executive education programs, Edison employs a truly integrated approach to accelerating growth and creating value for businesses. A team of experts in financial technology, healthcare IT and enterprise solution sectors, Edison targets high-growth companies with $5 to $25 million in revenue; investments also include buyouts, recapitalizations, spinouts and secondary stock purchases.

Edison's active portfolio has created aggregated market value exceeding $10 billion. Edison Partners is based in Princeton, N.J., and manages more than $1.4 billion in assets throughout the eastern United States.