DRYV making laundry simple and convenient- Startup Story

Laundry and dry cleaning are not usually something you look forward to at the end of a hard day or a weekend. Dry cleaning companies not providing quality service and often misplacing items has really made it the definition of the word “chore”. Inspired by a bad cleaning experience, Chris Elipas decided to take the pain out of dry cleaning and made it his mission to make laundry simple and convenient. Here are some facts about DRYV:-

Startup Vertical:- On-demand dry-cleaning and laundry service
Co-Founders:- Chris Elipas and Dan Parsons
Founded on:- 2013
Headquarters: Chicago
Funding Received: $450K till February 2016.

DRYV is one of the biggest dry cleaners in Chicago and has expanded to provide its services to Los Angeles, Detroit. We had a conversation with Chris Elipas and Dan Parsons, co-founders of DRYV. This is what he had to say.

Q) Starting an on-demand dry-cleaning and laundry service is definitely a great idea. Tell us a little about DRYV and your personal motivation for starting this service?
DRYV enables customers to get incredibly convenient dry cleaning and laundry delivered by top-quality cleaners. DRYV enables cleaning partners to perform on-demand pickups and deliveries. Personally, I was interested in leveraging technology to provide customers with a more convenient, higher quality level of service. As a brand, I think dry cleaning and laundry can be sexy. Keeping your wardrobe looking good is a big part of your personal fashion and style.

Q) Can you give us a rundown of how it works?
Request a pickup at a time and location that’s most convenient. A top-quality cleaner will arrive to pick up and clean your garments. You’ll be notified when your order is ready, at which time you can set your delivery time and location. In the app, users can monitor the status of their order and we email an itemized receipt once cleaning is complete. It’s that simple!

Q) What is the value proposition you are offering to the customers?
Convenience, support, flexibility – all at a similar price point to the average retail cleaner.

Q) You are present in Chicago as of now. Do you plan to launch services in new regions? If yes, what would be your strategy?
We’re launching in LA along with multiple new markets in 2016.

Q) Could you shed some light on the technology and tools used to build DRYV?
We use all the most modern web and mobile technologies powered by our killer engineering team.

Q) What is one particular Marketing Tool or process which you swear by, that has helped you gain more users on the service?
Referrals are your best friend. Nothing is a more effective way to get new users than by having your existing customers refer their friends and colleagues. It’s important to have referral capabilities built into your product.

Q)What is your onboarding process for delivery partners, if any? Are they on a contractual basis or full-time basis?
We have a pretty in-depth process for onboarding our cleaning partners and their drivers. We ensure they have a top-quality production cycle and we train them on our technology tools. It’s a fast process, but pretty comprehensive.

Q)What is DRYV’s biggest achievement to date? How did you go about accomplishing it?
I’m very proud of the loyal user base we’ve established in Chicago. Being very focused on customer support and always getting better has helped us get to this point. Lots of room for improvement and growth, but we’ve learned a ton over the past two years.

Q)Where do you see DRYV in five years?
You wouldn’t believe me 😉

Q)Any advice for startups trying to make it big or join the On-Demand space?
Look at your unit economics very closely. If they don’t make sense, neither does your business. Your customers are key; you’ll find a lot of answers to important questions from your users, so pay attention.

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