BY PHIL CUSTODIO
Clarkston News Editor
For two founders of the Quikplow Snow Removal Service, Clarkston High School graduates Eric Ogg, class of 2007, and CEO Stephen McIsaac, class of 2006, the lessons they learned from their coaches stuck.
“Eric was the quarterback of the 2006 and 2007 Clarkston Varsity Football team where he was a captain, and I was a year ahead of him, also a captain,” McIsaac said. “They taught us the way, growing up, to lead by example. That’s still how we operate today. We still walk and talk the Clarkston way, and everything we know about leading teams started in Clarkston.”
The Clarkston way, taught by coaches including Kurt Richardson, Phil Price, and Pete Gallagher, is to commit to excellence in all phases of life.
“How to always seek to improve as a father, husband, and leader in the community, those are lessons that started in seventh grade,” said McIsaac, 31, who earned a business degree from Central Michigan University.
McIsaac met with Ogg in 2018 about Quikplow, as well as partners in Grand Rapids to discuss software development, get an idea of the costs, and get investors on board.
“We’re both damn proud of our hometowns. I love the people in Michigan,” he said. “This is a nice, hardworking, tight community, very near and dear to my heart as Clarkston is where we grew up, played sports, and hope to move back to one day with our growing families.”
The online, on-demand snow removal service is similar to Uber and LYFT, except instead of rides, users log on to call for snow plowing or shoveling.
“The technology isn’t difficult to replicate, with GPS and cell phones,” said McIsaac, who, out of college at 22 years old, joined Nolan Transportation Group in Atlanta, Ga., and rose up to management as the company grew from 11 to 1,300 people.
“I’m still a major equity holder,” he said.
He also has a home rental company and vending machine company. This is his first technology venture.
“I want to build something myself,” he said. “I enjoy the challenge of being the major decision maker, building the team around me. I’ve been interested in business my whole life. I would watch ‘Shark Tank,’ and took it to heart.”
Working with Kevin Nolan, founder and CEO of Nolan Transportation, he learned about opportunities in entrepreneurship.
“He would say there was more money owning your own business, more than even professional athletics,” McIsaac said.
Quikplow launched this winter with about 50 users, quickly growing to 10,000 downloads, 6,100 customers, and 900 drivers and shovelers.
“We were finally able to make some really great progress in this last snow storm,” he said.
Ideas going forward include Quik Plow Pro, expanding to service contracts to plow commercial property and home-owner-association neighborhoods, as well as summer services such as lawn mowing and landscaping, using the same technology.
McIsaac lives in Orion Township with his wife, Katie, and their daughter Ava.