This post originally appeared on the Louisiana Technology Park blog.
On-demand lawn-mowing service Block Lawncare unveiled plans for the pro version of its app on its way to taking the $1,000 top prize at PitchBR‘s second competition of 2019.
Block is a startup that’s centered around an on-demand lawn-care app. With Block, homeowners can select the services they need, get clear pricing, schedule service and pay, all within the app.
The app, which is available for free in Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store, lets users select services like mowing, edging and blowing, then choose a date and tap “Book a Mow.”
Co-founder and CEO Matthew Armstrong said the app has 1,000 users despite limited marketing, and there has been a steady stream of applications for mowers. The startup is also developing a pro version of its software that will let existing landscape and lawn service companies better manage their customer bases compared with current pen-and-paper or spreadsheet solutions.
“Our industry has to keep up, it has to adapt — and that’s where Block comes in,” Armstrong says.
During the pitch night event at Juban’s, each company had 10 minutes to share the vision for their startup, followed by a question-and-answer period with a panel of three judges. After the three pitches, the judges deliberated and selected a winner.
Also pitching at the event was Soldier Fly Technologies, a subsidiary of long-running Fluker Farms that is pioneering the use of black soldier fly larvae as a source of sustainable proteins for feedstock, animal food sources and other agricultural applications.
The soldier fly is harvested in the larval stage, where it can consist of over 40% protein. This nutritional profile makes the fly larvae an excellent source of nutrients for aquaculture and animal feeds.
The company has been selected to receive $60,000 from LSU’s Sustainability Fund to support the implementation of its organic waste upcycling project and plans to ramp up operations to meet that demand and other similar customers. “Right now it’s a small pilot project,” founder David Fluker says. “We need to scale.”