College Laundry to $100M startup

Hey, it’s Guy & Farzan.

I'm writing this from a train station bench in the Lake District. Missed you last week. Was 35,000 feet up, flying back to Scotland to see family. There's something lovely about visiting where I grew up. Old memories, family and friends.

Anyway, back to business. Got some founder stories that'll inspire you this week.

Reading time: 8.5 mins

In the mail today. 3 founder stories, 1 founder poem, 1 post

 Founder story 1 

Alex Smereczniak: From College Laundry to $100M franchise empire

From finance student to franchise mogul: How Alex turned a college side hustle into a nine-figure business empire through grit, systems, and strategic pivots.

The Journey
- Started delivering newspapers and mowing lawns at age 14 in Red Wing, Minnesota
- Studied finance at Wake Forest University, one of the top business programs
- Co-founded Wake Wash as a college project, turning it into a real business
- Sold Wake Wash for 10× their investment after two years
- Took the "safe" corporate path at Ernst & Young before making the entrepreneurial leap
- Co-founded 2ULaundry in 2016 with childhood friend Dan D'Aquisto
- Built LaundroLab into a $100M franchise network with 100+ locations Launched Franzy in 2024 as the "Zillow of franchising"

The Evolution of Vision
- 2013: "Let's solve laundry for college students" (Wake Wash)
- 2016: "Tech-enabled laundry delivery can beat the competition" (2ULaundry)
- 2020: "We need to own the infrastructure for true scale" (LaundroLab pivot)
- 2024: "Franchising itself needs to be democratized" (Franzy launch) 2025: Built a portfolio spanning laundry services, franchise networks, and marketplace platforms

Overcoming Obstacles
- Chose Wake Forest over Duke after being waitlisted, which turned out perfectly
- Sold successful Wake Wash business to pursue "practical" corporate career
- Lived on mattresses and ate ramen for 10 months while launching 2ULaundry
- Studied failed competitors like Washio and Rinse to avoid their $20M+ mistakes
- Learned hard lesson about co-founder selection from early Wake Wash expansion failure
- Navigated COVID-19 disruption by pivoting to franchise model
- Built systems to scale while maintaining quality across 100+ franchise locations

Today's Impact
- $100M+ LaundroLab franchise network valuation
- 100+ franchise licenses sold across multiple states
- 29 company-owned laundromats nationwide
- $33M raised in venture backing
- Created jobs and essential services in underserved communities
- 85% franchise survival rate compared to 50% for independent businesses

Growth Strategies That Worked
- Unit Economics Focus: Tracked metrics like "pounds per driver hour" for efficiency optimization
- Strategic Partnerships: Rented capacity from laundromat owners during off-peak hours, cutting costs 20%
- Vertical Integration: Moved from delivery-only to owning infrastructure for better margins
- Franchise Systems: Built repeatable playbooks for site selection, hiring, and operations
- Community Impact: Prioritized locations in underserved neighbourhoods for social good
- Competitive Intelligence: Studied failed competitors directly to avoid their mistakes

Key Milestones
- Built and sold Wake Wash for 10× investment while still in college
- Raised $400K from friends and family for 2ULaundry expansion
- Achieved $50K monthly revenue through bootstrapped growth
- Secured $30M in venture backing for LaundroLab franchise development
- Opened first LaundroLab location in Charlotte with premium customer experience
- Sold 100+ franchise licenses within just a few years
- Launched Franzy as AI-powered franchising marketplace in 2024

The Philosophy
- "The corporate job will always be there. But the best time to start is right now."
- "It's not food delivery. Laundry is recurring, not impulsive. You need efficiency, not urgency."
- "Co-founders aren't clones, they're complements. It's not about chemistry—it's about capability."
- "Treat failure like tuition. Choose your co-founders wisely. Look at what didn't work before you."
- "Boring businesses can be goldmines—if they solve real problems. Ignore shiny objects. Think for yourself."Read the full story

Founder story 2

From Apple Engineer to $10M ARR: 5 Lessons from Criti AI's Founder

Ella, Founder & CEO of Criti AI - Former Apple hardware engineer who built the first generation AirPods, now running an AI marketing video platform doing $10M ARR with 10M+ downloads in one year.

Key Story Points:
- Left Apple after working on AirPods to pursue his childhood dream of making video-based communication easier
- First product (ZMO.ai) failed because he chased the AI image generation trend without understanding user needs
- Pivoted to Criti AI after talking to 300+ users face-to-face
- Built a two-sided marketplace connecting influencers and brands through viral video templates

5 Founder Tips:
- Talk to Users Face-to-Face (Apple's Rule) Don't rely on online surveys - invite users to interview rooms. Face-to-face conversations reveal pain points you never thought to ask about.
- Done Is Better Than Perfect Their first product was rough with bad UX, but users still used it. In the AI era, things change daily - launch early, develop and learn simultaneously.
- Don't Chase Trends, Chase User Needs His biggest mistake was building ZMO.ai because "text-to-image was hot" without understanding why people needed it. Only after 300 user interviews did he find the real need.
- Build Network Effects Criti's flywheel: Influencers create viral video templates → Brands discover and use them → Revenue funds more influencer acquisition → More viral content.
- Adapt Fast, Users Are the Signal AI changes daily, but user needs remain constant. Talk to users every day to identify what won't change despite technological evolution.

Bottom Line: 
Success in AI isn't about chasing the latest tech, it's about deeply understanding user pain points and building sustainable network effects around real needs.

Founder story 3

Maximilian Fleitmann & Sina Sadegh: From teenage coder to 7-figure design empire"

How a Max a 13-year-old web developer built Magier into a million-dollar design subscription business.

The journey
- Started coding at age 12-13, discovering web design when it was still uncommon
- Built and sold first company (browser-based mafia game) as a teenager without parents' knowledge
- Attracted 10,000 players and received acquisition offer in just a few months
- Co-founded educational company in university that expanded to 120+ cities across Germany and Austria
- Generated over 1 million monthly website visitors while still a student
- Never worked for anyone else - pure entrepreneurial path for 15 years
- Launched numerous businesses and became an investor before creating Magier

The evolution of vision
- 2009: Started as teenage freelance web developer earning money doing what he loved
- 2015: Realized trading time for money wasn't scalable, began productizing skills
- 2020: Built educational company reaching massive scale across German-speaking countries
- 2023: Launched Magier with co-founder Sina, focusing on subscription-based design services
- 2024: Achieved 7-figure revenue with revolutionary design subscription model

Overcoming obstacles
- Balanced entrepreneurial ventures while studying mechanical engineering (which he regretted)
- Had to convince skeptical parents about online business activities as a teenager
- Learned that distribution is more critical than product perfection, many companies fail due to lack of effective sales channels
- Faced the challenge of selling before having designers or backend systems in place
- Struggled with finding scalable and repeatable sales processes beyond initial success
- Discovered paid advertising was too expensive and didn't yield expected ROI

Today's impact
- 7-figure annual revenue 50+ clients and growing toward 100 21 employees
- 4,000 monthly website visitors
- Subscription model with 48-hour turnaround time for design assets
- Serving businesses globally with design needs

Growth strategies that worked
- Personal Network Leverage: Used existing connections to secure first 5 customers within weeks
- Cold Outbound Emails: Acquired next batch of customers through targeted cold outreach
- Founder-Led Sales: Direct involvement in customer acquisition ensuring personal touch
- Customer Discovery: Conducted 30-50 interviews with potential customers to validate market needs
- Focus on Single "Hero Channel": Committed to perfecting one channel rather than spreading efforts thin
- Non-Scalable Activities First: Emphasized understanding channel dynamics before automation

Key Milestones
- Age 13: Started freelancing as web developer using alias to hide age
- Teenage years: Built and sold browser game company with 10,000+ players
- University: Co-founded educational company reaching 120+ cities
- 2023: Launched Magier with subscription-based design model
- 2024: Achieved 7-figure revenue milestone
- Present: Building toward 100 customers with proven product-market fit

The Philosophy
"There is no greater vocation than being an entrepreneur and engaging in the act of creation. The drive to constantly learn, experiment, and innovate fuels my journey, providing a sense of purpose and fulfillment."

"The most significant leverage you possess lies in where you choose to direct your focus. Commit to fully executing two or three critical tasks rather than attempting to juggle an unmanageable number of tasks."

Founder note from Jason Fried

It's weird the things you remember. For some reason, this is the one poem I heard when I was a kid that I can (mostly) still recite from memory. No others. Must have made an impression.

---

It Couldn't Be Done
By EDGAR ALBERT GUEST

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done
But he with a chuckle replied
That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it!

Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it;”
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat
And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure,
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing
That “cannot be done,” and you’ll do it.

 A little lesson we loved

All done. Off to hang out with mum and have a cup of tea.

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See you next week.

Guy + Farzan
Founderoo