Laundryheap is the world’s biggest on-demand laundry and dry-cleaning service. We offer a door-to-door service, which means that upon scheduling a collection slot with us via our app or website, we’ll collect, wash, iron, and return laundry items within a guaranteed 24 hours. Since launching in London in 2014, we’re proud to have washed over 20 million items of clothing.
We’ve also been ranked one of the fastest growing tech companies in Europe, and expanded our services across the world. Most recently, we kicked off operations in the US, which we’re very excited about.
How did you come up with the idea for the company?
I came up with the idea for Laundryheap one fateful evening in 2014 which saw me haplessly standing outside a closed dry-cleaners, having missed my collection slot. With an event to attend the next day and my suit on the wrong side of the doors, I was frustrated by the lack of alternative options available.
It occurred to me that despite the range of on-demand services that had cropped up that year, there were still a number of everyday challenges or tasks that could be simplified using technology. Laundryheap was born out of an idea to add an extra layer of convenience to our everyday lives, but quickly evolved to become a practical and efficient way of completing everyday tasks.
More from Interviews
- Meet Tobie Morgan Hitchcock, CEO & Co-Founder Of SurrealDB
- Meet Stephen Kines, COO And Co-Founder Of Goldilock
- Meet Henry Wilkinson, Co-Founder at Drop-in, Ahead Of The Opening Of Drop-in Richmond
- Meet Oli Cook, CEO and Founder of ekko.
- Meet Marko Maras, CEO and Founder of Trustfull
- Meet Jeff Warren, Chief Technology Officer at Netwrix
- Evgeny Filichkin, Investment Advisor at Keytom & FinTech50 Judge, Tells Us What He’s Looking For From Entrants
- Tracy Prandi-Yuen, VP, Global Partnerships at Boku Inc. & FinTech50 Judge, Tells Us What She’s Looking For From Entrants
What advice would you give to other aspiring entrepreneurs?
Having bootstrapped Laundryheap for its first three years, I would always recommend taking your time to get things right. During our early days, it was often hard to watch our VC-backed competitors grow their businesses at lightning speed, but our commitment to taking things slowly – which involved keeping very low overheads and not taking a salary at the start – meant that we’d created a sustainable and profitable business model. As competitors fell away, I grew more and more grateful for our decision to take things slow.
In a similar vein, I think it’s becoming increasingly important not to focus on the competition. These days, ideas are rarely new, and it’s always better to focus on what makes you and your business special. That’s where your value is, so it’s important not to lose sight of it.
What can we hope to see from Laundryheap in the future?
We’re proud to have expanded our business so significantly this year, and would love to bring our services to even more people in 2021. After such a difficult year, our aim is to make life that little bit easier for people, by helping out and taking laundry off of peoples’ plates. We’ve got big plans for the coming months and years, and we can’t wait to share them with you.
