Uber for Snowplows: Startups Dig Out of the Blizzard - Businessweek

Driveway disruption (yesterday's storm dumped 24.4 inches of snow in Boston, according to this Boston Globe article)

"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."

Uber for Snowplows: Startups Dig Out of the Blizzard - Businessweek