91–100 of 216 posts
Next, we'll see the return of the milk man and we'll almost be in time for living just like exactly a century ago. These are not fresh, new ideas.
Most good ideas have precedents. The iPad was not the first tablet by a long shot. Nor was Dropbox the first service to offer syncing and backup. The difference, as here, was in subtle implementation details. But, as here, a small difference in implementation multiplied by a basic human need = great value to users.
In one instance I had to change the delivery by a few hours since I wasn't going to be home and I got an instant response. Yin Yin personally delivered the washed clothes when I was home.
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I'm sure it'll make money since it's exploiting the lazy. The folding is a nice touch, but it's essentially useless since it puts unwanted creases and wrinkles in clothes. They aren't following tag instructions, either. Based on this, here are the steps that are actually useful: 1. Separate white clothing from non-white clothing. 2. Place white clothing in washer and add soap. 3. Place white clothing in dryer. 4. Pla…
Let's say I'm an entry-level freelancer who bills out at $100/hr. It's 5PM on a Wednesday. I need to do the laundry because I have a client meeting tomorrow and they usually look at me funny when I wear crumpled tee shirts that smell kinda funky. I could do one of two things: 1. Work for an hour, generating $100, and spend 20% of that getting someone else to do my laundry. (Plus, I get to drink beer when I'm working…
My scenario, since I own a house with a washer and dryer: It's 5PM, I realize I need clean clothes for the next day. I spend 2 minutes gathering them up and putting them in the washer, then go back to my beer, or whatever else I'm working on. An hour later, I spend 60 seconds loading the clean clothes into the dryer. 30 minutes after that, give or take, I spend 5 minutes folding them and putting them away.
No scheduling. No waiting for SMSs and pickups. No giving strangers keys to my home. $25 still in my pocket (and given the time I spent, I paid myself a $180/hr rate in that savings).
But hey, if they can make a business out of it, more power to them. Doesn't hurt my feelings any.
I'm under the impression that pick-up-and-drop-off laundry has been a common business in larger cities for the last, oh, century or more? Is this just a "...yeah, but this time it's on the Internet!" business model?
To an extent you are correct although your snarky tone is lame. The same could be said of towncars and taxis, for example, but Uber has absolutely brought a new spin to the market taking large advantage of the internet and mobile to organize constituents and offer enhanced service. I don't think laundry has quite the opportunity but I don't find it necessary to belittle the effort here since there is obviously room f…
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Let's say I'm an entry-level freelancer who bills out at $100/hr. It's 5PM on a Wednesday. I need to do the laundry because I have a client meeting tomorrow and they usually look at me funny when I wear crumpled tee shirts that smell kinda funky. I could do one of two things: 1. Work for an hour, generating $100, and spend 20% of that getting someone else to do my laundry. (Plus, I get to drink beer when I'm working…
The whole concept crystalizes what I never liked about living in big cities. The tiny apartments with no amenities and the endless expenses to get basic stuff done. My scenario, since I own a house with a washer and dryer: It's 5PM, I realize I need clean clothes for the next day. I spend 2 minutes gathering them up and putting them in the washer, then go back to my beer, or whatever else I'm working on. An hour late…
Also, it costs me about $2.50 to do a load of laundry (washer + dryer), which is basically what it costs you (see: http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/laundry.html). And it's in my building.
So I'm not sure which concept crystalizes this notion for you, but it's not one based in reality.
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Considering that they mention a service in Los Angeles and the very specialized and expansive market in NYC (that serves WAY more than a privileged 20-something tech crowd), your characterization seems a bit unfair.
When they launch in Peoria, let me know.
I'm confused. Purple Tie does laundry at $1.69/lb (10 lb minimum, so $16.90 minimum) and also does pick-up at home. How is this better?
Yet another startup that caters to the 20 something tech crowd with too much disposable income and too little free time on their hands. Do people in Silicon Valley ever leave spend time outside Silicon Valley?
If you are a freak (like me) - you actually track down a local laundromat, and burn a couple hours on a Saturday Morning doing your laundry to save the company $200, but 95% of business travelers just throw it on the company tab.
My advice to Prim - If they haven't already, reach out to Casto Travel (Typical corporate travel agency) - and every similiarly focussed travel agency, and see if they can get traction with the business travel market. You won't make any friends with the Hotels, but when I see a $250 laundry invoice for a single bag of laundry, I can't help but think that's a market ripe for disruption from below.
Having to spend 2.5 hours on weekends for laundry is a huge time sink for me. By the time I find a washer, find a dryer, and then run a second dry cycle because the first one didn't dry the clothes I've wasted good portion of my day on laundry. I can't leave my complex because then I'd be the neighbor who leaves clothes in the dryer all day. I'll have to checkout Prim!