Yardbook
“Can a lean, free-to-start SaaS remain the default operating system for U.S. landscaping SMBs by layering payments and AI workflows without building its own financial stack?”
Founded2014
HQSan Mateo, California, United States
FoundersMark Ke, Brian Gamido
Total raised$125K
Latest roundSeed (Y Combinator)
IndustryVertical SaaS / Landscaping
The story
Yardbook started in 2014-2015 as a YC-backed vertical SaaS for landscapers, combining a business-management tool with a consumer-facing marketplace ('Find a Pro'). It monetized via a freemium tiered plan (Free / $34.99 / $49.99) and layered embedded payments through Stripe. More recently the company has focused on lightweight automation (Zapier), QuickBooks sync, and AI-assisted workflows rather than expanding into deeper embedded finance (lending, banking, insurance).
Last 12 months
—
Product timeline
2014
Yardbook founded to serve landscaping/lawn care SMBs with a free business management SaaS.· pivot
2016
Backed by Y Combinator; positioned as an online marketplace for the $30B+ lawncare business.· banking
2016
Rolled out Stripe-powered credit card payments and invoicing with pay-now links.· banking
2024
Launched QuickBooks Online sync via CONNECT integration platform (beta).· banking
2025
Introduced AI Assist for custom forms and AI Events API (via Zapier) for customer interaction logging.· pivot
The stack
2 layers disclosed in Yardbook’s embedded-finance stack
Payments / PSP
Accounting
in the full report
Accounting gap: minor
1 more provider across 1 layer, with confidence-scored evidence and source URLs, are in the Embedded Finance Index report.