Earlier this year, Daniel Cruz left his full-time job to launch his startup, Washbnb, a wash-and-fold laundry service for fellow Airbnb hosts.
The Covid-19 pandemic, however, hit the home-sharing market hard, causing the company Cruz co-founded with Brian Mandelin and Cat Simpson to pivot its model to accommodate customers most at risk of the disease.
The company is offering safe laundry services for the elderly and the immunocompromised, as well as accepting donations for those who cannot cover the cost on their own. By implementing its new services, Washbnb plans to provide jobs for service industry employees who are currently out of work, including hiring people for wash-and-fold laundry and deliveries.
Washnbn is one of six startups hoping to win the top prize at Startup Wisconsin Pitch at Summerfest Tech.
Summerfest Tech, now in its third year, will be virtual this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It will take place on Sept. 2.
The $20,000 startup pitch competition is being produced by Startup Wisconsin and sponsored by Wauwatosa-based accounting and consulting firm Wipfli.
Here are the other five finalists:
- Impaction
- Octane Coffee
- Proceed.app,
- Tip a ScRxipt
- VRnacular
To apply, a startup must have raised less than $250,000 in capital or is generating less than $500,000 in annual revenue.
The judges selected for the competition are Rashaun Williams, general partner at Manhattan Venture Partners; Allison Weil of Chicago's Hyde Park Venture Partners; Craig Schedler of Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, the venture arm of Milwaukee-based Northwestern Mutual, and Girish Ramachandra of Wipfli.
Four startups will split the $20,000 provided by Milwaukee World Festival and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.
