For the attendees at Ignite 2024 — the annual user conference organized by Aspire Software and FieldRoutes — who experienced one of the packed educational sessions, wandered through the exhibits on the expo floor or caught the main-stage presentations and keynote addresses, the event’s modest origins probably wouldn’t compute at all.
But Aspire’s co-founder and CEO Mark Tipton swears there were indeed humble beginnings to an event that now attracts thousands of customers in the landscaping, lawn care and pest control industries to sprawling spots like this year’s host, the Orlando World Center Marriott.
“In the first few years of Aspire’s life, we would do a half-day session at GIE (now Equip Expo),” Tipton says. “We’d try to have as many customers as we could get there since we figured they were already going to be there anyway. And it was mainly just open discussions, learning what was working, what wasn’t and where we could improve.
“I had big ideas and dreams about what this event could become one day, but those have certainly been surpassed. It’s beyond any expectations I ever had.”
Despite Ignite’s ongoing growth and the upgraded presentations and facilities that host it, Tipton said the core purpose behind the meeting remained unchanged from those earlier, more intimate affairs.
“The face time is still the thing,” he said. “It’s still the ability to sit down across the table from your best customers and not just get their input but relate to them as humans and talk through what’s working well in their business, where are their challenges, and where we have opportunities to enhance our product to drive more value for them.”
Showtime standouts
This year’s version of Ignite has plenty of big moments. On the main stage, the kickoff presentation hosted by Jon Gohl, Aspire’s director of customer experience, had a late-night talk show vibe, with “guests” that included Tipton and landscape pros such as Shandra Brannon, the chief operating officer from Heritage Landcare in Gilbert, S.C. and Britt Wood, the CEO of the National Association of Landscape Professionals.
The event’s keynote address featured Kat Cole, the president and COO of Athletic Greens, who shared lessons of leadership and innovation she learned throughout her career, including how to identify beneficial business patterns, the essential qualities she looks for in new hires and tips on balancing short-term trade-offs with long-term returns.
“If you don’t innovate, someone else will,” she told Ignite attendees.
A pair of product roadmap sessions also attracted big crowds, as developers showed off the latest enhancements to the Aspire and FieldRoutes platforms and what those teams will be working on in the future. Then, attendees also had the chance to blow off a little steam at the Ignite the Night party at the House of Blues Orlando at Disney Springs, which, as a bonus, offered a front-row seat to the nightly Disney Dreams that Soar drone light show.
Deeper dives
The individual educational sessions allowed attendees to explore various software features offered by Aspire and Field Routes, broken down into industry-specific sessions. In addition, there were bigger-picture opportunities to learn more about industry trends and emerging technologies in landscaping, lawn care, and pest control.
For example, Justin White, CEO of K&D Landscaping in Watsonville, Calif., explored the vision that helped his company grow from $1 million in revenues to over $18 million in just a few years in the presentation “How K&D Embraced Technology to Scale Profitability.” He was joined on stage by Maggie Wymore, Aspire’s director, business development and White’s co-host on the podcast, Trades Talk.
To drive home his point on the importance of vision and a shared purpose in pursuing business success, White pointed to Kansas City Chiefs quarterback and three-time Super Bowl winner Patrick Mahomes.
“You all know what his goal is at the start of every season … the Super Bowl,” White said. “None of us play in the NFL or work for a professional sports franchise, but we all know what Patrick Mahomes’ goal is at the start of every season. So, the questions you need to answer for your company are, ‘What is your Super Bowl?’ and ‘Does the rest of your team know what that number one goal is?’ When that vision is aligned, good things can really start happening.”
There were also general sessions that focused on plotting company growth through acquisitions, the future of robotics in landscaping and how Aspire’s software will integrate with autonomous equipment, and a deep dive into software solutions for construction and design/build operations.
Handing out the hardware
Capping the event was the presentation of the inaugural Aspire & FieldRoutes Excellence Awards, created to showcase customer success and recognize performance that best illustrates both companies’ core values — to boldly innovate, put others first, drive success and finish strong.
Bob Grover, president of Pacific Landscape Management in Hillsboro, Ore., a longtime industry advocate and one of Aspire’s early adopters, took home the night’s top prize, the Founders’ Award, which recognizes an individual who embodies the true spirit of the company’s core values over a period of time.
Other nominees for the Founders Award included Becky Bailey, a senior finance associate with Ground Pros Inc. in Itasca, Ill., and Breanna Neerland, the operations manager and founding partner of Kwik Kill Pest Control in Madison, Wisc.
Other winners of Aspire’s first Excellence Awards were:
- Seth Pflum with Grunder Landscaping in Dayton, Ohio, who won the Trailblazer Award, given to an Aspire customer who has adopted the Aspire platform in such a way as to support a unique aspect of their business or drive success in a unique and new way.
- Scott Knussmann and Roxanne Jones, with Sunscape Landscaping in Austin, Texas, who received the Impact Award, which recognizes a current Aspire customer for their contributions and impact on the broader community.
- Eric Hill and Amanda Rhodes with Fay-Ark Lawn in Farmington, Ark., who were selected to receive the Rookie of the Year Award, given to an Aspire customer who drove early success with the software.
- Mike Mendez, with Mariani Premier Group in Lake Bluff, Ill., who won the Excellence Achieved Award, which recognizes an Aspire customer who finishes the year stronger than the last through organic growth and expansion.
