Uber for Snowplows: Startups Dig Out of the Blizzard

With a blizzard gathering over the ocean, J and R Lawn and Landscape decided to send part of its snowplow fleet on a 300-mile drive. The landscaping company operates 20 snowplows in and around Cicero, N.Y. A tech startup called Plows and Mowz—sort of an Uber for snowplows—had promised there would be lucrative work in Boston. "It only snows where it snows,” says Ted Hoffman, who handles sales and marketing for J and R. His small company was willing to bet four plows, eight workers, and money for gas and hotel rooms on a faraway post-blizzard boom.

Plow services have traditionally operated as route businesses, signing up customers in advance and digging them out when it snows. Plowz and Mowz caters to homeowners who don’t pay for a regular service but want occasional help clearing a driveway. To meet customer demand, the startup uses software to assign new jobs to drivers who are already planning to be in the area. Wills Mahoney, who launched the startup in 2013 with a former college roommate, expects to process 2,000 jobs in Boston as a result of the recent blizzard, which deposited 18 inches of snow. Rates will top out at around $80 per driveway, and Plowz takes a 30 percent cut. Those economics and some angel funding have helped the startup grow from four markets at the beginning of last year to 34 today, with an expansion into landscaping services. “We see ourselves as billion-dollar company,” Mahoney says.