Few people look forward to laundry day.
And that goes double for folks who don’t have in-unit machines. Schlepping dirty clothes around and hunting down quarters can eat up the bulk of a day off. And good luck if all the machines are being used (if they work at all).
San Francisco-based Tumble is seeking to eliminate the need for quarters and make the laundry day experience better overall.
Founded in 2019 by CEO Scott Patterson, a former marine, the startup is trying bring the laundry experience into the 21st century with dryers that lock and coinless in-app payments.
"People have been doing laundry forever," Patterson said. "Are we doing it the most effective way? Probably not. Has the washing machine changed in 60 years? Absolutely not. And so, why has this integral part of our life been left behind?"
Drawing from his military background, Patteson said he's using a "maneuver warfare" strategy to help build the company.
"What maneuver warfare is all about is bypassing an enemy's strengths and creating situations where you will be successful," Patterson said. In business, it's about doing things differently. "We believe very much in things like category design where you are differentiating yourself as an entire product and category."
Tumble's model involves retrofitting washers and dryers and forms partnerships with property managers to install them in shared laundry areas. Tenants can check availability before heading to the laundry room, lock the driers until they return and pay through an app. For now, the startup is focusing on shared laundry facilities in student, military and multi-family housing.
Property managers get a cut of the revenue and don't have to deal with collecting coins. Tumble also owns the machines and handles repairs.
Other startups have tried to disrupt the laundry industry mostly via on-demand pickup and delivery services including NY-based WashClub. San Francisco-based Laundry Locker was acquired by the local dry cleaning company Mulberrys in 2018. And LA-based Washio, which was co-founded by Tumble CTO Bob Wall, was acquired by Rinse, another Bay Area-based laundry delivery startup.
In 2014, a Pennsylvania startup called Washboard tried to sell monthly subscriptions for quarters to be delivered to your home — at a 50% markup. It shut down within a week.
Tumble said it recently closed a $2.5 million seed round that included the PenFed Foundation, Hivers & Strivers, Array VC and Zag Capital. The app currently has around 2,000 users in the Bay Area from San Jose to Santa Rosa, and the company plans on expanding to Southern California next year.
The San Francisco startup has three former Marines on staff out of a team of nine and is dedicated to hiring at least 25% veterans as it grows — not only as a way to boost veteran employment opportunities but also because they bring unique skills, including adaptability, that are valuable in startup life.
"Not only do they have the grit and determination just to get things done, but they've already sort of proven their worth and ability to learn new skills," Patterson said. "I think that flexibility is unmatched."
Patterson joined the Marines in 2008 and was deployed soon after to Iraq. He left the military after 11 years of service, studied biochemistry at California State University, Chico, and has worked at Genentech and consulting firm Accenture.
It was difficult to hire a team in the middle of 2020, so Patterson started teaching himself all of the skills he needed to build out an early version of the company and keep it going until he was able to hire a team. That included teaching himself how to code, do installations, hardware development, sales and marketing, and customer service.
He's no longer a one-man band, and has hired a skilled team to take the company forward. But that experience gave him insights into every aspect of running the business.
"I luckily don't have to code anymore but I do like problem solving with the engineering team and am still very much involved," Patterson said. "It's been fun to be part of."
