The Urban Arborist

What The Urban Arborist does

The Urban Arborist is an ISA-certified tree care service business operating across the San Francisco Bay Area, including San Francisco, the East Bay, and the North Bay. The company provides a full suite of arborist services — pruning, tree removal, planting, cabling and bracing, stump grinding, and emergency storm response — to residential homeowners, homeowner associations (HOAs), commercial property managers, and municipal clients. Service delivery is hands-on, performed by certified arborists dispatched on-site rather than through any software or platform-mediated transaction.

The firm was founded as a one-man operation by Josef Sikelianos and has scaled to approximately 13 employees, with the leadership team holding more than 60 years of combined Bay Area arboriculture experience. Operations are supported by SingleOps, a SaaS tool used for quoting, estimating, and work-order management. The business is privately held, bootstrapped, and has not raised external capital. In 2016, the company completed 662 projects, and as of the most recent data it has accumulated 114 five-star Yelp reviews, indicating a steady, reputation-driven customer acquisition pattern. The company holds a California Contractor License and team members carry International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) certifications.

The business model is project-based: each engagement is scoped, quoted, and billed individually with no disclosed subscription, retainer, or recurring-contract structure. Customer acquisition relies primarily on word-of-mouth, Yelp-driven inbound, and direct outreach to commercial and HOA accounts. Revenue is generated entirely from service fees, with no ancillary product, licensing, or franchise revenue. The lack of disclosed pricing, contract values, or customer-level financials limits external triangulation, but the combination of headcount, project volume, and Bay Area service rates suggests a small-to-mid-sized local services business.

Name

The Urban Arborist

Legal name

The Urban Arborist

Website

https://urbanarboristsf.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Urban Arborist is a San Francisco Bay Area ISA-certified tree care service providing pruning, removal, planting, and emergency services to residential, HOA, commercial, and municipal clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tree Care & Arborist Services

NAICS

Landscaping Services (56173), Support Activities for Forestry (11531)

SIC

Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Tree Pruning & Crown Management (HSAIADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Tree Removal & Dismantling (HSAIADAB), Tree Planting & Transplanting (HSAIADAE), Cabling, Bracing & Structural Support (HSAIADAF), Emergency Storm Damage Response & Hazard Mitigation (HSAIADAG), Tree Preservation & Construction Site Tree Protection (HSAIADAL)

Keywords

• Tree care services
• Urban arboriculture
• Tree pruning maintenance
• Tree removal services
• Emergency tree service

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco Bay Area

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Tree Care Services: The Urban Arborist generates revenue through one-time service fees for tree care projects including pruning, removal, emergency services, planting, cabling/bracing, and related services. The business model is project-based with services quoted per job following a free site evaluation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Urban Arborist is a full-service tree care company providing ISA-standard arborist services — including precision pruning, tree removal, emergency response, tree planting, cabling and bracing, estimates/diagnosis, tree protection plans, mulch delivery, and landscape consultation — to residential, commercial, and municipal clients across the San Francisco Bay Area. Services are delivered by certified arborists following an ecosystem-based methodology and priced on a per-project basis after a free site evaluation.

Product overview

The Urban Arborist is a full-service tree care company offering a portfolio of interrelated professional arborist services. The core offering centers on ISA-standard precision pruning and tree maintenance, supported by complementary services including commercial tree care, tree removal and stump grinding, emergency response, tree planting, cabling and bracing, diagnosis and estimates, tree protection plans, mulch delivery, and landscape consultation. All services are delivered by ISA-certified arborists throughout the San Francisco Bay Area to residential, commercial, and municipal clients. The company operates as a unified service provider rather than a platform with modules — services are delivered as professional expertise offerings rather than discrete software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tree Pruning & Maintenance ISA-standard precision pruning services including reduction, structural pruning, and vista pruning for residential, commercial, and municipal trees; designed to enhance structure, reduce risk, and protect property beauty for long-term tree health.
• Tree Removal Large-scale tree removal services including stump grinding for complex situations and difficult urban spaces, performed by experienced crews with bucket and climbing equipment.
• Commercial & Municipal Tree Care Commercial and municipal tree care services tailored for street trees, high-traffic areas, and complex urban environments, including arborist reports, DPW coordination, and large-tree work for HOAs and city entities.
• Emergency Tree Service Fast-response emergency tree work services for urgent situations such as fallen trees and storm damage, with documented ability to mobilize a crew within a day.
• Tree Planting Tree planting services including species recommendations and transplanting for residential, commercial, and municipal properties.
• Cabling and Bracing Advanced structural support technique using cabling and bracing systems to stabilize trees with structural weakness or risk of failure.
• Estimates & Diagnosis Tree assessment and evaluation services providing free professional site evaluations and diagnosis, forming the entry point for project quotes.
• Tree Protection Plans Arborist reports, assessment, and consultation services for tree protection during construction and other development activity.
• Mulch Delivery Mulch delivery service for both commercial and residential properties, complementing the firm's broader tree and landscape care offering.
• Landscape Consultation & Installation Landscape consultation and installation services delivered as part of the firm's ecosystem-based approach to tree care and surrounding landscape.

Quantifiable outcome

• 662 projects completed in 2016

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Yellowstone Landscape: Large commercial landscape services company providing tree care, irrigation, and grounds maintenance to HOAs, municipalities, and commercial properties across the Southeast. Comparable in serving commercial/HOA tree-care needs but with a regional footprint and broader landscape scope.
• Swingle Lawn, Tree & Landscape Care: Regional lawn, tree, and landscape services provider in the Denver/Front Range market offering pruning, removal, and plant health care by certified arborists. Comparable business model and service menu to The Urban Arborist, but operating in a different geography without direct Bay Area competition.
• Crescent City Tree Care: Independent arborist company serving the greater New Orleans area with residential and commercial tree care, ISA-certified crew, and emergency services. Closely comparable independent-operator model and service menu to The Urban Arborist, but operating in a different regional market.

Direct peers

• Monster Tree Service: Franchise-based tree service brand offering pruning, removal, and emergency services through locally owned franchise locations. Directly comparable to The Urban Arborist in residential and commercial tree-care service menu, with the added dimension of franchise-driven marketing reach and standardized operations.

Broad incumbents

• Davey Tree Expert Company: Employee-owned, century-old tree care and landscape services company serving utility, residential, and commercial customers across North America. Comparable to The Urban Arborist in core arborist services (pruning, removal, emergency response) but with national scale and utility-line-clearing capabilities far beyond a single Bay Area operator.
• Asplundh Tree Expert Company: One of the largest privately held utility vegetation management and tree care companies in North America, providing pruning, removal, and right-of-way services. Overlaps with The Urban Arborist on commercial and municipal tree work, but is dominated by utility-scale line clearing rather than residential pruning.
• Bartlett Tree Experts: Largest and most established scientific tree-care company in North America with ISA-certified arborists providing pruning, removal, and plant health care across residential, commercial, and municipal clients. Highly comparable to The Urban Arborist in service mix and certification standards, but operates as a broad multi-region incumbent rather than a local specialist.
• SavATree: Multi-state tree, shrub, and lawn care company providing ISA-certified arborist services to residential, commercial, and institutional clients in major U.S. markets. Closely comparable in service offerings (pruning, removals, plant health care, consultations) with broader geographic reach and integrated lawn care.
• Lewis Tree Service: Privately held utility vegetation management and tree care company serving utility, commercial, and residential customers across multiple U.S. regions. Comparable in arborist services and emergency response capabilities, with larger operational scale and utility focus.
• TruGreen: National lawn and tree care franchise primarily offering fertilization, pest control, and tree/shrub services through recurring programs. While not a direct arborist competitor, it competes for the same residential customer's discretionary landscape maintenance budget.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-urban-arborist

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Urban Arborist