Indiana entrepreneur pushing forward with lawn care tool
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowAn Indianapolis veteran and entrepreneur used his work experience to create a product he believes will help others clean up their yards.
The Apparatus for Navigating Tarps (The A.N.T.) is a heavy-duty, padded strap that attaches to a tarp’s grommets. The user can then stand up and lean into the pad instead of bending over and dragging it.
Aaron Farrer got the idea while working for his dad’s lawn care business in Lafayette.
“He usually had me doing the hardest parts, which was laying that tarp out and filling it up with sticks, grass, leaves, any kind of yard debris, and then having to drag it,” Farrer said. “There was one particular instance where we were at a cemetery…I just had the light bulb moment that there’s got to be a better way. So I went to his truck, fished out some old boot laces that I knew he had, and then tied those through the grommets of a tarp and made the first rudimentary version of the A.N.T.”
After getting out of the Army and several trips to the hardware store, Farrer launched the product in 2022.
“[For] the initial run of product that I intended to sell after I started the business, I had 200 of them in pieces. I assembled all of them at home watching TV,” Farrer said. “I thought it was pretty straightforward—you make a product and you sell it; that’s how business works. It turns out that’s true, but there were like 1,000 sub tasks beneath that.”
He credits trade shows for his success and is continuing to network as the company grows.
“I think trade shows have probably been the single most valuable thing for me, because if I wasn’t doing that, I don’t think I would have the opportunity to meet people who can actually make things happen,” he said.
Last month, Farrer received a $5,000 grant through the Antares REACH Small Business Grant Program. He plans to use the money to enhance the company’s online presence and drive business growth.
The A.N.T. is now available online through Amazon and Lowe’s as well as the product’s website.