Lawnmower
Ok, we didn't say the name didn't suck, we said the idea didn't suck. The name is lame, especially when weed-eater, brush-hog, and fire-pile, all could have been used. Lawnmower it is, and since they already started branding, Lawnmower it will be.
Lawnmower, is actually a decent idea (and it's rare I say that) where they basically take the few cents leftover from a purchase and buy Bitcoin with it. Over time, you will accumulate enough Bitcoin to actually buy something, or sell and buy something, but with the expanding merchant acceptance of Bitcoin lately paired with how it'll take for a few cents to build into enough value to actually purchase anything, we can assume you may just end up spending the Bitcoin.
This idea is not new, several banks have offered this in the past where they take your spare change and toss it into a savings account to earn interest on., such as Bank of America's spare change program.
| Your Purchase | Item Price | Rounded Up To | Transferred to Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
 | $3.50 | $4.00 | $0.50 |
 | $5.25 | $6.00 | $0.75 |
 | $35.49 | $36.00 | $0.51 |
| Total transferred to savings account = $1.76 | |||
Given the above example, with today's price of $218.00 USD, we can convert to the Lawnmower model like this:
| Your Purchase | Item Price | Rounded Up To | Purchase in Bitcoin (XBT) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $3.50 | $4.00 | 0.002293 |
| $5.25 | $6.00 | 0.003440 |
| $35.49 | $36.00 | 0.002339 |
| Total Bitcoin purchased and in your wallet = 0.008072 | |||
So here's where, in theory, this gets kind of cool. Under the bank savings program, tomorrow you will have accumulated, well nothing, you'll still have $1.76. At this particular point in time, Bitcoin is very low at $218, and likely will not survive the evening at that price. If it went up to $250 tomorrow, your $1.76 is suddenly $2.02 and that's not too bad. The problem is that it could also go down to $200, in which case, you suddenly only have $1.61.
That said, it is still a very cool idea for those who want to accumulate and save Bitcoin.
Issues with Lawnmower
Like everything new, there's always going to be issues. Lawnmower is no different. Here's a few problems we see right off the bat.
- ► Phone App Only. No desktop or web application
- ► iPhone Only. Although an Android version is in Beta right now.
- ► No Windows Phone. We've reached out to Lawnmower to see if there are plans.
- ► Lawnmower Requires Coinbase
- ► It Rounds Up. If you purchase something for $1.11, it's suddenly $2
- ► You can flip it on and off, but no limits can be set
Some immediate improvements that come to mind would be tools to govern the round up, and a home run would be limits (Example: don't buy Bitcoin if it's over $500 or +$1 if Bitcoin's price drops under $200).
There are most certainly tweaks and features coming soon with Lawnmower, so we'll have to keep our eyes on this and see where it goes, but all in all, this idea does not suck.
There are most certainly tweaks and features coming soon with Lawnmower, so we'll have to keep our eyes on this and see where it goes, but all in all, this idea does not suck.
Outside of Coinbase fees, there is no charge for Lawnmower, which raises the question of how they are planning to survive or support this product, but rest assured, they will eventually offer additional investing options and management services to generate revenue.
“Essentially the spare change was our first little quirk” -Sunnarborg
Alex Sunnarborg founded Lawnmower with Pieter Gorsira and Patrick Archambeau in late 2014, and their start-up is currently pushed by Boost.vc, an accelerator program specifically helping Bitcoin startups get their businesses off the ground.
You can give Lawnmower a try here (http://www.lawnmower.io), let us know what you think here at [email protected].
We wish the best of luck to the Lawnmower team. We'll be watching as this product matures.
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