Rinse operates a dry cleaning and laundry pickup-and-delivery service that schedules nightly pickups (typically 8–10pm) with standard return times. The company employs part-time W-2 valets rather than independent contractors, which it says enables greater investment in training and customer service. That operational model and lower valet costs helped expand margins and drive double-digit month-over-month revenue growth since launch. Rinse has expanded slowly and is currently live in three cities: San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. The startup plans to use new funding to grow into 10 new markets, including New York, Chicago and Boston, with the goal of becoming a nationwide service. Rinse provides on-demand-scheduled garment care that customers buy and book through the company’s app, website or text messages. Its services include launder-and-press, wash-and-fold, dry cleaning, hang-dry, leather cleaning and some garment repairs; it does not handle very high-end items like wedding dresses but arranges vendor cleaning for larger items such as comforters. Operations use part-time valets who drive their own cars along company-set routes for nightly 8–10 p.m. pick-ups and drop-offs, with a personless delivery option for garages, lobbies or lock boxes; Rinse tags bags with QR codes to track items. Pricing is set per garment or per pound with a minimum order example of $22.50 for wash-and-fold; Rinse pays selected cleaners a wholesale rate and bills customers retail to generate revenue, providing stable order flow for partner cleaners. Founded in 2013 by Ajay Prakash and James Joun, the company currently operates in San Francisco and Los Angeles and plans to expand beyond those markets while adding services like shoe shines, re-soling/re-heeling and offering its service as an employee perk for corporate clients. Rinse is a San Francisco–based on-demand laundry service that schedules pickups via an app or website, lets customers text their laundry handler, and returns cleaned, folded garments in heavy‑duty bags. The company employs W-2 laundry workers with benefits and says it provides ways for employees to move up internally. Pricing for on-demand laundry generally ranges $25–$45 per load; a Rinse example in the article cost $68.45 for one 23‑pound load plus a comforter (including a $3.95 rush fee). Co-founders Ajay Prakash and James John drew on industry experience (John grew up in the laundry trade) as they built the business. Rinse was largely bootstrapped before this round and plans to expand to additional areas (including Los Angeles), hire more staff, and add new service offerings such as shoe repair.

Total raised

$24M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Series B

Latest activity

Jun 2017