When Covid-19 forced office closures, people increasingly shifted to their home offices.
No longer were they seeing bustling city streets outside of their office windows; they looked out on their lawns. With more eyes on the grass, the DIY lawn and garden industry saw a boost, and a local startup is feeling the impacts.
There are an estimated 180 million Americans with lawns, said Coulter Lewis, the founder and CEO of Boulder-based lawn care subscription box startup Sunday. He added that the pandemic catalyzed this giant market to take an increased interest in DIY solutions for lawns.
“There was definitely increased traction in this category and I think that makes sense. People are at home and trying to make a great environment for themselves and their family and this is how you do it,” he said. “What we offered is exactly what people needed at that time.”
Sunday analyzes climate and soil data to create seasonal subscription packages specifically for customers' yards — eliminating the need for harmful chemicals, pesticides and herbicides by using formulas with safe ingredients, like organic compost food waste, molasses and seaweed. Seasonal plans start as low as $89 and include all the tools you need to maintain your lawn.
With this increased customer demand, Sunday has brought on additional capital to fuel its growth.
The company announced a $19 million Series B fundraise on Dec. 9 led by Sequoia Capital, with participation from Tusk Ventures and Forerunner Ventures. The round brings Sunday’s total funds raised to date to $28 million.
Despite the pandemic, Sunday experience nearly 8 times revenue growth in 2020 compared to 2019, the company’s first year on the market. While Lewis said Sunday anticipated a 2.5 times growth, he was pleased to see Sunday gain a foothold in the market during the pandemic.
“We’re so excited to see this change we’re trying to make and this product we’re offering really resonates,” he said.
The company will primarily use the capital to grow its team, as it expects to add nearly 25 employees to its 40-person staff in 2021. Lewis said Sunday expects to hire across a variety of departments, including customer service and product development.
In addition to the hiring plans, Sunday will use the funding to continue building out its portfolio of products. Aside from its smart lawn plan, Sunday offers weed control products and grass seed.
While Lewis said many startups were forced to make big bets during this tumultuous year, he said Sunday benefited from an increased dedication in its core offering.
“For Sunday, we’re on the right track and we’re solving the right problems for our customer, and we’re just trying to get better and better at that,” he said.
