Cleanly raises a $5M Series A to bring profitability to the on-demand laundry space –
Summary
There’s been an increased focus on profitability and difficulty to raise funding throughout the space, and some companies have had to shut down entirely — including on-demand laundry competitor Washio. And while much of the new funding will go to geographic expansion, with San Francisco next, there’s not necessarily any rush for Cleanly to expand before they can maintain sustainable margins in each new city. For example, one of the reasons they expanded to Washington, D.C early on is because there’s a disproportional amount of suits being dry cleaned (versus fluff and fold laundry) compared to other cities. In an effort to save on delivery costs Cleanly has also slightly altered the on-demand model — the startup only picks up and delivers laundry for a few hours in the morning and at night. Logistically this makes sense — most of us aren’t home during the day, and there’s no reason to pay drivers to sit around just in case one or two orders come in during the afternoon.