Andrew Englander and Wills Mahoney had a vision — instead of going out into the cold to shovel a driveway, customers could deal with the situation through just the touch of a button.

Englander and Mahoney, who met as freshmen at Syracuse University in the spring of 2001, turned their vision into Plowz & Mowz, an app that connects customers to workers for services like snow plowing and lawn mowing.

In just one year, the app has reached 36 major markets and operates in 30 cities across the United States. Prominent locations include Boston, Milwaukee, Syracuse and Cleveland.

“It’s a relationship that was certainly fostered on the Syracuse campus,” Englander said. “Born in the Syracuse winter, you might say.”

Plowz & Mowz began around this time last year and is made up of 10 employees. The company is based on its app that allows people to order services like snow plowing to clear driveways in winter weather, and to order lawn mowers or leaf removal in the warmer months.

Englander, who graduated from the College of Arts and Sciences with a political science degree in 2005, said he still remembers the day that Mahoney, a 2005 School of Information Studies graduate, called him a couple winters ago to tell him of a new idea for a business venture.

“My mom was in (a) scenario where she just couldn’t get her driveway clear of snow, and she was calling me for help,” Mahoney recalled. “Meanwhile, there were plow trucks just driving by her house. I thought there’s got to be a better way.”

After downloading the app, users are prompted to answer several questions about their driveway and when they want the job completed. They pay on the app, and after the job is complete the user receives a picture of their cleared driveway as confirmation from contractors.

The app itself was built by two full-time Manhattan-based developers, brothers Andy and Chris Minkstein.

“Obviously, creating an app that’s never been developed before, you’re kind of taking a risk,” Mahoney said.

Mahoney, who also runs a computer solutions company in the Syracuse area, is more involved with the technical side of the company, maintaining and adapting the company’s app software to add features such as ETAs and real-time videos, making the app smoother and more useful for both customers and the contractors.

“We’re actually in the process of rebuilding the app from the ground up and adding a lot of features, “ Mahoney said.

Plowz & Mowz has made a big change in the way seasonal contractors do business, said Syracuse contractor Kelly Woodman.

“It’s convenient,” said Woodman, who owns Arazu Contracting & Lawn Care. “With all their customers, they help us work more jobs into our routes. That way you’re not sitting on your hands when you could be taking jobs.”

Another innovation in the company’s business with seasonal contractors is the way they are now paid through the Plowz & Mowz system. Previously, contractors might wait days or weeks to settle fees and square up with customers, Englander said.

Now, with Plowz & Mowz taking a small percentage for each service purchase made in the app, the company sends money to contractors through direct deposits.

In the future, Mahoney said the company plans to open an office in Manhattan, hiring more software developers, administrators and customer support personnel as the company grows. The company has also been offering lawn mowing services in newer markets such as Tampa and Miami and plans to expand to the West Coast, doubling the amount of cities it serves.

Published on February 18, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact Thomas: tjbeckle@syr.edu