Joe DiNardi-Mack, a fourth-generation waste industry professional, is hoping to leverage technology to support large and small haulers nationwide. Fresh off a series A funding round and rebrand, his company Sourgum is on an ambitious expansion plan to serve at least two major markets in every state by early next year.
Sourgum connects its network of more than 5,000 haulers with customers via an online platform that includes tools like billing and scheduling. DiNardi-Mack, the company’s CEO and co-founder, said the company’s engineering team built the platform from scratch to offer flexibility and cater specifically to the needs of haulers. He hopes the system will distinguish the company from other brokers in the space.
“We are trying to do for the waste industry what Amazon did for retail: simplify it through technology, transparency and automation to improve the experience for not only demand-side customers, but also for suppliers within the industry,” DiNardi-Mack told Waste Dive.
Sourgum offers both a free and paid software-as-a-service tier for haulers, with the latter including 30-day history access and the ability to send more texts and emails through the platform, among other features. The company pitches its “end-to-end control,” offering tools not just for connecting haulers and customers but for billing, scheduling and other services as well.
Sourgum’s platform also provides customers seeking waste services with a data dashboard and real-time information on their service providers. The system is geared toward corporate customers with at least a few locations, simplifying the process to get their waste needs taken care of.
The company typically starts in a new market by focusing on roll-off dumpster services, but quickly expands to match other hauling services with customers. In some Northeast markets, the company coordinates organics hauling. The platform has also proven useful in compl markets like New York City, where the multistage rollout of the commercial waste zone system can make it confusing for businesses to identify waste service providers.
“We've been actually pretty fruitful in New York with the zoning changes,” DiNardi-Mack said. “They're looking for that expert source, where it can just be automated online and not an issue for them.”
DiNardi-Mack and his cousin Luciano founded New Jersey-based Sourgum in May 2022. Initially serving the tri-state area, it soon expanded to Maryland and markets further south. This summer, it launched services in the Birmingham, Alabama, and Jackson, Mississippi, areas, among other markets in the Southeast. This week, Sourgum announced it had also expanded to Indianapolis.
DiNardi-Mack said the company’s growth strategy is built in part on following recommendations from one small hauler to the next in neighboring markets.
“They're very happy to recommend their friend that they have maybe the next county or two over. So we take advantage of that kind of network effect in our reputation preceding us,” DiNardi-Mack said.
The company currently has about 60 employees, but expects to exceed 100 by the end of the first quarter of next year to support its geographic expansion. That growth was enabled by a $12.5 million funding round led by Spark Capital that closed in April. Other investors included Suffolk Technologies, Founder Collective, 186 Ventures, RiverPark Ventures, BD Investment Management and Broadway Venture Partners.
DiNardi-Mack said his focus on making customer interactions easier for small haulers stems in part from his experience in the waste industry. A former operations manager at Bridge Disposal Services in New Jersey, he said he wanted to design a platform that would meet haulers’ existing needs rather than reshape their operations.
“This is such a nuanced industry that it's really hard for an outsider to come in and not only understand the pain points and the problems, but kind of get that respect of insiders already,” DiNardi-Mack said. “Who are we to come and tell them to change their whole operations? We want to give them the tools they need to expand their way.”
