A tech startup billed as the "Uber for laundry" just set up shop in the Twin Cities, where it will execute its plan to become the next unicorn.
App-based laundry service SudShare officially adopted Minneapolis as its new home base after its recent move into an office in WeWork's North Loop digs.
SudShare was developed as an app by then-teenager Nachshon Fertel, founder and chief technology officer, and launched in Baltimore in 2018. Now almost four years old, it's grown into a company serving more than 120,000 customers in over 400 U.S. cities.
Like Uber, SudShare relies on independent contractors, who in this case pick up laundry, wash and dry it using their own machines in their homes and then drop it back off. The company has enlisted the help of about 44,000 independent contractors, known as "Sudsters," including 61 who've been active in the Twin Cities within the past 10 days.
SudShare is a family affair, with Fertel's father, Mort, serving as CEO and his brother, Moshe, in the role of chief operating officer.
SudShare chose Minneapolis because it's where Nachshon Fertel has lived for the past three years. Moshe Fertel decided to join him so they could physically work alongside each other as they "push the company forward," he said.
Currently, the new WeWork office is occupied by Nachshon and Moshe Fertel, plus their recently-hired lead developer, Tyler Hanson. SudShare also just brought on an adviser who helps startups grow.
“A lot of other advisers and people that heard about us can't believe how small we are and how far we've gotten with just us," Moshe Fertel said. “Right now, we're small, but in the coming weeks and months, you're going to see a lot more people involved.”
SudShare plans to hire locally as it adds to its team in Minneapolis.
"This is where we're pitching our tent," Moshe Fertel said. "We want some stability in the workplace, we really want to get traction in the … laundry marketplace, and so we're staying put here."
SudShare has experienced a 21% compound annual growth rate each month over the past year. It hopes to raise $5 million in a pre-seed funding round closing in the first quarter of 2022 and an estimated $20 million in a priced round within the next 12 to 18 months.
The company wants to achieve unicorn status through market domination.
"What we really want to do is what Uber did, which is change people's habits, you know, relieve people of the [discomfort] of getting into a stranger's car, or having somebody else do their laundry," Moshe Fertel said. "Really change people's understanding of paradigm when it comes to doing laundry, that you don't just have to do it yourself and spend two hours a week or hour a week. There’s a second option.”
