How an Alpharetta Startup Turned Mattress Disposal Into a $40M AI-Powered Junk Removal Platform

They say the only two things in life that are certain are death and taxes. But anyone who has tried disposing of an old mattress knows, getting rid of an unwanted bed is certain to be an annoying experience at best (and a complete nightmare at worst).

For homeowners or renters, the mattress removal process has traditionally been filled with logistical headaches. Schedules vary…and prices for removal are often not transparent.

It was a problem Alpharetta-based entrepreneur Greg Workmon saw as he worked throughout the junk removal space, both at big players like Waste Management and at smaller companies like the one his father built.

“Big waste companies don’t want to touch [mattresses],” Workmon told Hypepotamus. “They just caused a big problem out in the field” because they are complicated to move and difficult to dispose of.

In true entrepreneurial fashion, Workmon saw an opportunity to make some extra cash by disposing of mattresses in and around the Metro Atlanta area. He initially put up a landing page for mattress disposal services in Atlanta (which was just him and a friend working on the weekends as a side hustle). Within a week, he was ranking number one on Google for the important local service.

Scaling A Side Hustle

What started as a side hustle has turned into LoadUp, a growing on-demand junk removal and logistics platform working nationwide. After a pivot in 2020, the platform moved from just mattresses to a full junk removal service (including appliances, furniture, electronics, and exercise equipment).

The Atlanta-based company now ranks second only to industry giant 1-800-Got-Junk on Google searches for bulk junk removal services.

The young startup is set to reach the $40 million revenue mark this year, which represents a 270% growth rate over the last three years.

At its core, LoadUp is a platform connecting local junk removal teams with homeowners or renters looking to dispose of bulking items. Local loaders, who are all background checked, join the platform and bring their truck and trailer out to individual job sites for junk removal.

Tech In The Junk Removal Space

But it is LoadUp’s strategic use of technology and artificial intelligence that has ultimately helped the company scale in a largely non-technical, blue collar industry.

In-house engineering team of seven full-time employees has built out a platform that organizes customer bookings, AI-driven personalized and custom quotes, and in-the-field operations into one platform.

The platform has tested and built out an AI photo recognition system that allows users to upload photos to receive an instant and accurate price quote for what their bulk junk removal request will cost. This, of course, is helpful for homeowners and renters looking to get rid of their stuff. But it is also helpful for the loaders, who “crave” image-based pricing so that they don’t have to rely on a customer’s description, Workmon told Hypepotamus.

Looking forward, Workmon sees LoadUp as the technical platform “that ends up powering” the entire junk removal industry.

“Right now…we are a quasi-brokeage or gig economy platform. But where we're going as a company is we really want to build the underlying infrastructure that powers the whole industry,” he added.