Born out of Colorado State University, Laborjack started as a side hustle for Blake Craig and Josh Moser.
The duo launched the startup in 2016, connecting college students looking for work with customers in need of manual labor.
They started small, assisting with moving, landscaping and home improvement projects that were managed from a spreadsheet and some text messages.
Two years later, Laborjack was growing and Craig and Moser began to automate the processes behind the company. Now, instead of a text message and cash exchange, Laborjack’s platform would connect available workers with customers in need.
By the start of this year, the company was eyeing expansion out of Colorado and Arizona. At the beginning of March, it had back-to-back record-setting weeks of business. Then, Covid-19 hit.
“We were having more business than we could handle, we hired some great people to help us out and all of a sudden, virtually overnight, it all came to a crashing halt,” Craig said.
Despite its new employees and hungry workforce, Laborjack’s business remained quiet for the next month. But, rather than holding their breath for the economy to open back up, Craig and Moser began searching for ways to improve their offering.
Laborjack went to work on a new product that built on the successes the company had to begin the year.
“Our customers loved having college students because they’re hustlers and have good attitudes, those little things have been so important in building the brand we had,” Craig said. “We really focused on ‘how does our technology find similar people with that attitude and energy in new markets where we don’t have the connections?’”
The company recently launched the newest version of its platform, further automating the labor matching processes it’s built on. Laborjack’s platform now has the ability to more simply vet and onboard gig workers, allowing the company to expand into new markets.
“With this tool, what we’re able to do is take a giant influx on the supply side and cast a much wider net and have automated resources to vet our workers,” Moser said. “Before we didn’t have quite the reach and ability to scale.”
While the pandemic derailed business earlier this year, Laborjack has rebounded and posted strong numbers in recent months, the founders said. With this stable footing, the company is hoping to raise outside capital to accelerate expansion opportunities.
“Our plans were to expand this year and open new geographic spaces, like Salt Lake City,” Moser said. “Those plans haven’t changed, but they have been delayed.”
Since its launch, the company has completed more than 5,000 jobs and Craig is confident that the it can continue growing as it had been prior to the pandemic. Looking back at March, Laborjack is viewing the slowdown in business as a positive.
“We’re viewing it as a blessing because it made us work smarter and focus in on processes and technology,” Craig said.
