Laundry-as-Service Firm Adds Investors to Fold

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Quick, name something you hate doing. Chances are a tech company has tried to build a business on that. Shopping? Amazon Fresh. Going to restaurants? Seamless brings it to your door.

What about the process of getting your worn and dirty clothes cleaned and pressed? Washio Inc. thinks it’s got you covered on that front. Plus dessert (more on that later).

The Santa Monica company recently closed a seed round to expand its presence into an industry some call “laundry as a service.”

Washio founder Jordan Metzner said the funding is led by some well-known Silicon Valley investors; he declined to reveal the names before the deal officially closes in September.

The company launched in March with a fairly straightforward mission: pick up people’s dirty laundry, get it washed or dry-cleaned, then get it back to the customer pressed and folded – all in 24 hours. It has partnered with industrial wash and dry-cleaning facilities around Los Angeles. Washio placed its customer base in the thousands.

Its ever-expanding areas of service now include large swaths of Los Angeles County, from the beach cities to Silver Lake. The cost is $1.60 per pound of laundry; dry-cleaning prices range from $5 for ties to $25 for comforters. Oh, and with each laundry exchange, a customer is given a complimentary cookie or Rice Krispy treat. Because, why not?

Metzner promises that Washio will get a customer’s dirty undies delivered within a 30-minute window. Getting that accuracy isn’t easy – try getting Time Warner to give you that level of precision on a service call. But the operation all comes down to Washio’s secret weapon: ninjas.

“Ninjas,” in modern tech parlance, apparently means a network of employees that will drive to a customers’ house, pick up the bags and drop them off at the cleaners. Metzner likens Washio’s community of ninjas to the Lyft Inc. driver network, that is to say they’re sociable, comfortable in a T-shirt and they have a car.

“If you look at Lyft and Sidecar, the thing that makes them successful comes down to one thing – community,” Metzner said. “We’re doing the same thing here, but on a much larger scale.”

The company has more than 30 employees (always hard to get an exact head count when ninjas are involved) and Metzner has plans to start expanding to other cities.

“We’re making a dent in the dry-cleaning and laundry business,” Metzner said. “We have all intentions to become a billion-dollar company.”

Maker Picks Blip

Maker Studios in Culver City has agreed in principal to acquire New York video network Blip.

The deal, which has not been formally announced, gives the well-funded YouTube channel a roster of video talent, content library and connection to a number of production companies. And then there’s Blip’s video-streaming infrastructure.

There had been speculation that Maker was working on its own distribution platform, one that would give the company a better split on advertising revenue than YouTube offers. It’s an issue that has been riling the online video community for much of the year.

But a source close to the company said the driving force behind the deal was not only the appeal of Blip’s video player, but its deep bench of talent.

Maker will focus on promoting Blip’s clients, including video stars Julian Smith and Kipkay, through its YouTube network. Blip also has production deals with Freemantle Media and Mydamnchannel.

The deal, for stock and cash according to a source with knowledge of the transaction, is scheduled to close by early September.

It’s worth noting that bringing the two companies together will also unite YouTube star and current Blip client Ray William Johnson with his former home. Last year, Johnson had a very public falling out with Maker execs that resulted in his leaving the company.

A spokeswoman for Maker Studios declined to comment.

Sky Snacks

Santa Monica airline startup Surf Air Inc. fancies itself as the carrier with the all-you-can eat model. Traditionally that referred to its pricing model, where a monthly fee of $1,650 gets a customer an unlimited number of flights to all of Surf Air’s destinations.

This week, the company expanded that definition in a literal sense, announcing a new partnership with a bevy of snack and beverage brands. Surf Air customers now have access to Izze sodas, Popchips potato chips and Baking Tins Desserts.

Staff reporter Tom Dotan can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 263.

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