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From $100 to $10M in Revenue after 10 Years of Serving Laundromats - Part 2 of 2 — Transcript

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0:03[music]
0:11[music] What are the things that you
0:12remember the most fondly in this decade
0:15of building these businesses together?
0:17And what are the things that you're just
0:19like, "Oh god, I'm so glad we got
0:21through that. We just barely pulled
0:23through that. That was the scariest
0:25thing ever." You know what what what
0:28moments do you think about in your head
0:29when you're when you're sleeping or
0:31>> Well, you know, man, what is life
0:33without the occasional existential
0:35threat? You know, [laughter]
0:37>> it's like
0:37>> what keeps you awake at night?
0:39>> Yeah. So, favorite moments in the last
0:4110 years, I would say
0:44on our way to the first clean show in
0:472017 in Las Vegas on the plane. Mhm.
0:50>> Um,
0:53that feeling of I did this. I'm going to
0:57the show as an exhibitor. I've got my
1:00buddy and business partner Ian with me
1:02on the plane, [laughter]
1:04but I'm going on my own dime. Um, you
1:08know, my my parents are John and Zila
1:11Henderson, wonderful people, and uh they
1:14very graciously brought me along to
1:16several laundromat owner type events in
1:19the past. And so I had been to a few uh
1:21u CLA events and clean shows and all
1:24that, but only ever as a an attendee and
1:27going um where my folks had paid for my
1:30travel to go to that event and all that.
1:32It made me a better operations manager
1:34and helped us grow the businesses and
1:36all that too. So it was money I like to
1:38think it was money well spent on
1:39education but um
1:42>> but going for the first time um
1:47with income that I had made from my own
1:49business
1:51uh just that that that that manifest
1:54destiny that that um becoming my own man
1:58uh traveling under under my own power
2:00and going as an exhibitor to sell my own
2:03product at this show um was an extremely
2:08uh satisfying moment. It was uh in terms
2:10of self-actualization, if you want to
2:12get into that, that was an important
2:13part. It
2:14>> was an important [clears throat] first
2:15step because for years, you know, going
2:17to these laundromat owner conventions
2:18and talking to other people and um you
2:20know, I would speak as if I was an owner
2:22because I had a feeling of ownership of
2:25um you know, my family's laundromats and
2:27all that, too. But but talking to other
2:29launch owners who were there uh because
2:32of their own businesses and and just
2:34being around that crowd, I I for years
2:36wanted to join them to stand on my own
2:38two feet as somebody who was a business
2:40owner and was there under his own, you
2:42know, under his own power. And uh so
2:45that was that was the first glimpse of
2:47that. And then fast forward years later
2:48after we had purchased the the three
2:50laundromats all in one swoop uh from my
2:53folks. Um and that's quite the thing too
2:55that that's the next step is um buying
2:58three launch mats in their prime uh you
3:01know so so um but having the resources
3:05to do that because wash us have been so
3:07successful. So it was this it was this
3:09fun
3:10>> uh you know round coming around again
3:12type of situation. So attending the the
3:15last clean show uh as a business owner,
3:19as a laundromat owner in addition to
3:21owning Washold POS was a very satisfying
3:23moment there too. So I'd say this some
3:25of my favorite moments there.
3:28Yeah, I I think that's really uh well
3:30put especially the the
3:31self-actualization thing to me
3:35that's not why I started this journey at
3:38all. Um, but maybe it was, you know,
3:42maybe there was some piece of it that
3:44maybe there's some piece of me that did
3:47that knew, sure, I could I could work
3:50for a company for forever and just be a
3:53salesperson and and maybe that's a safer
3:55bet, but um I think there was you were
3:59so disengaged by uh before before you
4:03joined me
4:04>> in this side hustle. [laughter] Mhm.
4:07Mhm. You were you were kind of tuned out
4:10a little bit.
4:11>> Yeah. Yeah. I think I think I knew there
4:15was more
4:17that I wanted to do and become. And
4:21you have these narratives you tell about
4:23yourself, but then if there's no
4:26actions, you could be capable of
4:28building something, but then how do you
4:30know if you don't actually build it? But
4:32then, you know, maybe the the economic
4:35incentive uh helped push me out the
4:39door, you know what I mean? When it if
4:40it really came down to like, well, what
4:42do you think is a better investment of
4:44your time for the next 10 years, you
4:46know, working for an S&P 500 company,
4:49you know, or building your own business
4:51that doesn't really have a ceiling or a
4:53limit on what you can learn and do?
4:56That's one of my favorite things is
4:58talking to other owners about what led
5:01you to
5:03>> laundership.
5:06>> And it's it's a lot of that same story
5:08of I was working a corporate job and it
5:10was sucking my will to live and
5:13>> Sure.
5:13>> Uh and I realized that as an employee
5:17somewhere I would never get to where I
5:20wanted to go. And so that's right. Uh
5:22and then and then there's a number of
5:24features of laundromats that drew me to
5:27the industry in terms of not needing a
5:28lot of inventory. Uh the store can run
5:31without you there and needs for
5:34employees is minimal if you're doing
5:36just a self-s serve type of setup and
5:38and you know and this that and the other
5:39and then my you know my community was
5:41underserved by laundromats and and so
5:44that's what led me to owns and so
5:46>> Yep.
5:47>> Yeah.
5:47>> Yep. So 10 scariest moments or not 10,
5:51sorry, just in the last scariest moment
5:52in the last 10 years. Yeah.
5:54>> Yeah. Yeah. Scariest moments in the last
5:5510 years. So is there anything that you
5:58look back on and think, man,
6:00>> that could have sunk the ship or
6:03>> I'm just glad that we made it through
6:06that moment.
6:08>> What were the moments that really had
6:09you questioning?
6:10>> There's some for PS and then there's
6:12some for Liberty Laundry. for Liberty
6:14Laundry. The the that phone call that
6:16every laundromat owner is scared to get
6:18from the store manager, uh Kathy calling
6:21me, voice shaky, saying, "Brian, there
6:23is a fire. I can't get it to go out."
6:25>> Yeah.
6:26>> Oh, God. Okay. Call 911 and I'll be on
6:29my way. [laughter]
6:30So, a drier fire. Um we've had
6:34>> uh in the first year of us owning these
6:37laundromats after I had been away from
6:40the laundromats for a few years by that
6:41point in time um you know stepped away
6:43from operations in 2018 to focus just on
6:46Wash Drive fold PS because they had
6:47grown enough by that point in time and
6:49then acquiring the stores in 2023. In
6:52that first year we had was it two or
6:54three drier fires?
6:56>> Well I know it was three within 12
6:57months of buying that.
6:59>> That's rough.
7:00>> We haven't had one since. We've uh we've
7:02been replacing dryers. We've been very
7:05very very aggressive about preventative
7:07maintenance and all that
7:09>> temperature. Yeah.
7:10>> But dealing with uh fortunately each
7:12time the damage was limited to just the
7:14one machine and in fact two out of the
7:17three times we were able to put the the
7:19dryer back into service like by the next
7:21day after a bit of cleanup and all that.
7:22So thank goodness for that.
7:25>> And even that third one that we I think
7:27we opened the next day or later that
7:29day.
7:29>> Yeah. And uh you know the biggest part
7:31of the cleanup was the exhaust from the
7:33uh fire extinguisher that you know so
7:36>> it's everywhere.
7:36>> Um so we've learned and uh we've we've
7:40helped put in place systems to help
7:41prevent that in the future and and you
7:43know
7:44>> never say never because people bring in
7:46things and you don't have really control
7:48over the fact that they have nail polish
7:49all over those rags that they put
7:50straight into the dryer and didn't use
7:52your washers at all.
7:53>> Um [laughter]
7:55>> it's like they're trying to do it on
7:57purpose. But but so that's a scary call.
7:59And back in the day, uh even before I
8:02owned Laundromats, uh when I was just
8:04running the family business, I used to
8:06worry I used to worry deeply about,
8:08well, what if the place burns down to
8:09the ground? What if, you know, you
8:11>> what if what if what if there's a I
8:12mean, we're in Oklahoma. What if tornado
8:14hits the place? I mean, that's a very
8:15real threat here in Oklahoma. Um it
8:18>> but
8:19>> but realizing well, that's why insurance
8:21exists. you know, you you set in place
8:23the things that you can control and then
8:25for things outside of that, then just
8:26make sure you have a really good
8:27insurance policy. And sounds silly and
8:29trying to say that, but that that
8:31realization actually has helped me kind
8:34of be a bit more relaxed about it. Like
8:36worst case scenario,
8:38you know, you rebuild and and then you
8:39continue on with what what you know how
8:41to do. So, it's not so bad as all that.
8:44Um,
8:45>> anything for the software company for
8:46wash? Um, well, yeah, I want to touch
8:50one last thing on on for the
8:51laundromats, uh, getting broken into.
8:53We've we've had breakins over the years.
8:56>> Um, and I would say the most
9:01>> I am so very grateful that we've never
9:04had a situation where we were robbed and
9:09somebody was hurt. That's never
9:10happened. Breakins have only ever
9:11happened for us after hours when there
9:13was no one there in the store. So, thank
9:15goodness. But I would say the scariest
9:16times that that's happened has been um
9:20twice now where there had been a breakin
9:23and I had shown up about an hour later
9:27before the store opened not knowing that
9:29there had been a break-in because the
9:30security alarm system didn't go off
9:33>> and so to show up to the business and go
9:35wait why is that window broken? No. And
9:38not knowing if there's somebody in the
9:40store or something, you know, that's a
9:42terri. So that would be the scariest
9:44moment there too. So folks, invest in
9:46really good security systems. Make sure
9:48they actually work. And also invest in
9:51very good security cameras so that they
9:53can then later identify and catch the
9:55the knucklehead who shattered your
9:58window and ripped open the office and
9:59then banged up the you know the kiosk
10:02and change machines but didn't actually
10:04get any money but they caused several
10:05thousand dollars of damage there. So
10:07>> and he got prosecuted, right? I mean
10:09they did they did.
10:10>> Oh yeah. I mean he he targeted multiple
10:12places. So get enough of a trail then
10:14you know
10:15>> there's that. So I would say that's the
10:17scariest stuff for the laundromats. Um
10:19>> you know is is just the the threat of
10:21fires and then and then breakins and um
10:26>> you know for stuff outside of that then
10:27you know the only other scary times is
10:30just really if there's like an
10:31altercation in the store because people
10:33are fighting over machines or you know
10:34they brought it in with them. And so
10:36that's but you know that that's all that
10:39that comes with any business that serves
10:42the public. Um scariest moments for
10:45washold POS. You know there have been a
10:48couple of times where
10:50I felt or worried that there was a
10:53threat when there wasn't really and and
10:54one of those is part of the the origin
10:56of what led to us building our own
10:58cloud-based software um entirely
11:01inhouse. you know, we were uh a reseller
11:05of existing point of sale software, but
11:07we just focused on laundromats and we
11:08had a lot of kind of proprietary um
11:11settings and ways of doing things that
11:13were just designed to serve laundromats.
11:15That was our target customer. That's all
11:17we were after. And um we even had some
11:20additional add-on software for labeling
11:22bags of laundry and then later for text
11:23messaging customers that was proprietary
11:25and all that. Um but this this company
11:29that we were uh resellers of, they they
11:32made some moves that um made it made us
11:36concerned that the subscriptions that we
11:40had been selling for some time that um
11:43were they weren't uh collecting on that
11:46properly. Uh we had been earning our
11:48share as the the distributor, but they
11:51um they completely mishandled it. Yeah.
11:54>> Yeah. They told us they weren't
11:55collecting on it properly. So yeah, we
11:57knew that they a lot of this money had
11:59not been collected ever. Yeah. And um so
12:04yeah, I don't know how much we want to
12:05get into that for this discussion, but
12:08you know, we had been uh crafting our
12:10own cloud-based software built inhouse
12:13with uh all this feedback from hundreds
12:14of launch owners by that point in time
12:17uh over the past 5 years at that point.
12:19Um
12:20>> uh that we were close to launching
12:22anyway. But when it came to light that
12:24this this other company, this vendor
12:26that we had been reliant on collecting
12:28the subscriptions from hadn't actually
12:30been collecting from anyone for a long
12:32time, um you know, it was like, okay,
12:35all right, you know what? We're
12:36switching over to our own software. It's
12:38it's uh it's ready enough for prime
12:39time. And so we launched that. And um so
12:43it took one of the scary existential
12:46moments in the history of Washington
12:47Field POS and turned it into a very
12:50clear turning point because uh looking
12:53at our own internal uh graphs of growth
12:56of the company and revenue over time and
12:58all that. It's a clear inflection point
13:01of going from being okay business that's
13:03enough to sustain you and me to now, you
13:06know, multiple times where we were and
13:08having a whole team and and fueling the
13:10the the movement that's happening now as
13:12we've continued to grow and all that
13:14too. And it was very much that moment of
13:16just realizing you know what we are not
13:19going to depend on somebody else for our
13:20core product anymore and we're going to
13:24>> take it and control it ourselves
13:25entirely and and then have all these
13:28additional uh features like order
13:30tracking which was not even part of our
13:31feature you know feature set back in the
13:33day and now it's our our core thing of
13:35washi folds is tracking orders through
13:38the whole process um it was enabled by
13:42our own cloud-based software that we
13:44launched so it it needed to happen and
13:46this was a very much a kick out of the
13:47nest because we thought that the
13:50[laughter]
13:51>> the uh the nest was going to be gone. So
13:54>> that was the moment for me too. I I
13:56think you know looking back 10 years
13:58definitely that because I had just quit
14:01uh my corporate job and
14:05>> I was you know quit to focus on selling
14:07wall track full poss full-time and then
14:09we didn't have a product to sell for a
14:11short period of time because we had to
14:13stop selling someone else's product and
14:16really kind of pivot into only
14:19developing and selling our own product.
14:21And in retrospect, that is when the
14:24company really took off. The product
14:26that we built was so much better than
14:29what we had been selling that it just
14:32became easier to sell and you know we
14:36were we were ticking so many more boxes.
14:38And then of course fast forwarding now,
14:40it's been you know six years uh or so.
14:44Uh obviously the number of boxes we're
14:46able to tick now with all the
14:48integrations and the pickup and delivery
14:50and and all that. I I mean it's so clear
14:53that you know that really needed to
14:56happen. But yeah, we just weren't ready
14:58for it. We were like, "Oh, we're going
15:00to build this thing. We've been working
15:01on it and then all of a sudden it's
15:03like, wait, that's now the only option
15:06you have, and how quick can we have it
15:08ready?" Um, and you know, there was I
15:11there was definitely a month or two
15:12there where people called me and said,
15:14"Hey, I'm ready to buy." And I said,
15:17"Okay, I can sell it to you next month."
15:19And you know, it was like, "Well, I
15:21don't have anything to sell right this
15:22second."
15:23>> Well, yeah. And then,
15:23>> but I will have it soon. Yeah.
15:25>> And and on top of that is also um I
15:28think a lot of business owners went
15:29through this the whole COVID lockdown
15:31stuff. That was another
15:32>> kind of scary moment in a way because we
15:36we literally had several sales deals
15:39that March of 2020 that just completely
15:42fell flat that I mean they were they
15:44were about ready to buy just about ready
15:45to pull the trigger and then all the
15:46lockdowns happened and we had a lot of
15:48people say you know I'm I'm going to
15:49wait a while and so seeing the sales go
15:51you know just down like that that was
15:53also impetus to keep driving on
15:55developing our own our own software so
15:57that you know our costs were manageable
15:59because it was all you know inhouse And
16:01so it actually again scary moment turned
16:05into our advantage because that gave us
16:07time and space over that year for
16:09building our own software in house all
16:11throughout the summer of 2020 and all
16:13that too. And then it was the very end
16:14tail end of that year that we then
16:16launched it uh when that whole thing
16:19with the uh um prior software uh vendor
16:23fell through. Uh so it all went from
16:26scary moments to some of the best stuff
16:28that happened to us. So
16:30>> well and I didn't think about it at the
16:32time but you know even just now this
16:34maybe the first time I'm thinking of it
16:35in this light but uh if you look at so
16:39many other industries and so many other
16:41businesses what co did was really expose
16:44vulnerabilities in the supply line you
16:46know in in the chain and so if there was
16:49if there was a place where if that
16:51failed then the whole
16:53>> the whole machine couldn't operate
16:55>> it exposed all that to our company. Um,
17:00and then it forced us then to get
17:03redundancies on everything, bring
17:05everything in house. And it really
17:08forced us to build a lot of the value
17:10that if we had just been, you know,
17:13walking along whistling our song, then
17:15maybe we wouldn't have uh been forced
17:19into, you know, working really hard to
17:22create these infrastructures and these
17:25systems that are more resilient. Um,
17:28>> well, this gets into laundromat
17:29ownership, too. And a question that you
17:32had for me on the list of questions
17:33there was, how do you keep a cool head
17:35when you're faced with tough situations?
17:37And
17:38>> it really keeps coming back around to uh
17:41a phrase I heard yesterday. Um, solving
17:44for peace.
17:45>> Um, how can you design your business and
17:48your operations in such a way that if
17:50the worst comes, then that's fine
17:52because you've got your bases covered.
17:53And so for POS, it was uh from day one
17:57being determined to build it in a way
17:59that was profitable from the start. Uh
18:01realizing that it was a business model
18:03where we could collect payment upfront
18:04and then fulfill the order and get the
18:06hardware to them and and get them up and
18:08going with that. And so that
18:10profitability first on that side of
18:11things. Um same for the the the
18:14laundromats of making sure that you
18:16don't get out ahead of your own skis.
18:18Obviously we don't ski much here in
18:19Oklahoma. Maybe water skiing with their
18:21legs, but not you know. um meaning how
18:24much uh debt you have to the amount of
18:27uh you know income you're generating.
18:28Obviously it's a lot of capital to uh to
18:32put in equipment in laundromats and so
18:34oftentimes debt is used you know
18:36commercial debt for um for that but uh
18:39how big is your note? what is the debt
18:41service like? And if you're so in over
18:44your head and the rent is atrocious and
18:47you ignored those basic fundamentals,
18:50the moment a stiff breeze comes along,
18:51it just knocks you right out. And so for
18:53you know, COVID and all that, a lot of
18:55business owners and all sorts of
18:56industries face that
18:58>> when you know when the cash flow slows
19:00down or stops, are you screwed or can
19:03you continue living for a while? Do you
19:05have enough retained earnings you can
19:06keep going? And so
19:08>> um
19:09>> I think the fact that um we have built
19:13wash drive PS in a way that
19:15operationally it can go on indefinitely
19:18>> is a real source of peace and a real
19:20source of strength. And I think um
19:24that's part of what draws people to us
19:27is just that stability of like yeah
19:28we're here for the long haul. We're not
19:30we're not building a rocket ship. we're
19:31building a utility truck that can, you
19:33know, get you from here to there and is
19:35reliable for for the long haul. Um, same
19:38for the laundromats. Uh, you and I have
19:40been very intentional about regular
19:43reinvestment of capital and upgrading
19:45equipment over time, not doing it all at
19:47once, but just as the cash flow makes
19:50sense for it, as well as a large healthy
19:53dose of retained earnings, too.
19:55>> As a business partner, Ian, I think it's
19:57one of the best things about you is that
19:58you are uh fiscally conservative. uh
20:01like me and that you that that security
20:03gained by um just being mindful, making
20:06sure that we have enough so that we can
20:07operate indefinitely if something
20:09happens, you know. Um
20:11>> yeah,
20:12>> uh that gives you peace, that gives you
20:14strength, it gives you options.
20:16>> And yes, maybe you could grow faster if
20:19you were leveraged up to your ears.
20:23>> Um but at what cost?
20:26>> Yeah.
20:26>> And so we we've run both companies that
20:28way and that that gives you
20:31you know that that piece and I think
20:33really that's what a lot of people look
20:35into into buying laundromats and or or
20:39if they're already if they already own
20:40lodge mats looking way to continue to
20:41improve what they're looking for and uh
20:44laundromats are a very stable industry
20:46and so again we have two layers of
20:49stability for what we're doing we we own
20:51three laundromats so it's not just one
20:52location it's three so if anything goes
20:54wrong with one location still have
20:56revenue from the other two stores
20:58>> um laundromats by their very nature are
21:02kind of recession resistant, not
21:04recession proof but recession resistant
21:06and uh very stable throughout the whole
21:08year. You do have, you know, some peaks
21:10and valleys of of your revenue depending
21:12on if you're in a college town or
21:14seasonal, you know, people wear more
21:16clothes during the winter so, you know,
21:18they use the dryers more so you earn
21:20more revenue, you know, during the
21:21winter times because people are um doing
21:24more laundry. But
21:25>> there's that stability. And then for our
21:28software technology company, we serve
21:30laundromats which are a very stable
21:33business that are not very seasonal,
21:34right? So, uh there's there's that. And
21:36then also we're serving across the
21:39country in all 50 states. And so we've
21:40got these layers and layers and layers
21:42of stability and peace and making sure
21:44that um uh we're not out over our skis.
21:48We're not uh uh leveraged be out of
21:51control or anything like that.
21:53>> Yeah, I think that makes a lot of sense.
21:55And I do think, you know, one of the
21:56things I was I was kind of thinking
21:58about before this episode and also in
22:00that the things that are are scary in
22:03the past 10 years, it was kind of crazy
22:05out of left field just since we're on
22:07this topic of oh, there's this new
22:10competitor come along and yes,
22:13>> you know, no one's really saying much
22:14about them and then all of a sudden,
22:19you know, they've got a round of capital
22:20and then they've got another round of
22:22capital and then before you know it,
22:23they've got $70 million.
22:24to, you know, go after exactly your
22:27market that you've been, you know,
22:29bootstrapping for the past, you know, I
22:32guess the time was five, five or six
22:34years or whatever. I mean,
22:35>> well, it's very validating.
22:37>> It's like, oh yeah, there is a market
22:38here. I remember when when we first
22:40started, it was unclear if there was
22:43even anybody was going to buy this
22:45product,
22:45>> what they would buy it at,
22:48>> how many uh laundromats would would even
22:51need this type of product. I mean,
22:53getting going all the way back to that
22:54that uh conversation on the plane on our
22:57way to Las Vegas, right? Doing the the
22:59back of the envelope type math and
23:00trying to figure out the total
23:01addressable market.
23:03>> Um, and why we bootstrapped and built
23:05our company the way we did. We we've
23:07iterated, we've joked several times,
23:09it's a thousand iterations to success,
23:11right? It's it's just been little pieces
23:14that we've add on added on along the way
23:16and really have stairstepped our way to
23:18success. and it's given us the the time
23:21and space to make it successful and
23:23solid and solving real problems for real
23:26people.
23:27>> But then several years later to then see
23:29somebody come in with with venture
23:30capital money and and they're trying to,
23:32you know, uh take all the air out of the
23:34room kind of thing,
23:35>> revolutionize the industry.
23:37>> Yeah. I I I think it's been interesting
23:41now that we've I mean we've kind of
23:44lived through it in a way that even with
23:47a lot of that capital deployed, we still
23:50were able to have our best year in in
23:522025, right? Last year being our best
23:54year.
23:55>> And so it kind of does say, you know,
23:58getting to that like what you were
23:59saying about building on good
24:00fundamentals. It's like, you know, if
24:04someone was like, "Oh, what if what if
24:05somebody gave, you know, what if what if
24:08I got $70 million to try and take your
24:10your lunch, you know, to go after
24:12exactly what you built your company
24:14around doing?" And then that happened.
24:16And it's like, and now on the other side
24:18of it, it's like, actually, I think
24:20we're doing better than we've ever done.
24:22And part of it has been h we've had to
24:25self-improve
24:27>> at a faster rate because we've had a
24:30competitor that is so aggressive. Oh
24:31yeah. Yeah. It It's the capitalist
24:33competition thing. I've joked several
24:35times before saying all I want is an
24:36uncontested monopoly. That's all I want.
24:38Same for the laundromats. I want to be
24:39the only laundromats in town without any
24:41other store being built. I mean, I don't
24:42think that's task.
24:44>> No, competition does make you stronger
24:46and better. And if you are solving real
24:48needs for real people, then then you
24:50have a runway. And again, if you've
24:52built your company profitably with with
24:54solid foundations, then you're here for
24:56the long run. You and I have talked
24:58before about how to assess um price
25:01increases and then also how to do like
25:03threat risk analysis type stuff. And I
25:05always it's just the way my brain works
25:06is looking at best case scenario, worst
25:08case scenario. Worst case scenario,
25:11everyone unsubscribes all at the same
25:13time and no one ever subscribes ever
25:15again.
25:17>> Worst case scenario,
25:19>> I don't think that's going to happen.
25:20even if somebody has a billion dollars
25:22to to try to dominate the laundromat
25:24industry. That's right. I think we we
25:26have a
25:27>> billion couldn't do that. Yeah.
25:28>> Not to take our our customers for
25:30granted, but our unsubscribe rate, the
25:32churn rate is extremely low. And that
25:35means once somebody in fact uh it's it's
25:38negative because our expansion revenue
25:40as successful launch owners add more
25:41stores add on more subscriptions that
25:44happens regularly with our customer base
25:47and that tells us that they're they're
25:49with us for the long haul as long as we
25:51continue doing what we do and continue
25:52to improve the product and all that. And
25:54we have an obligation to launch owners.
25:56They are building their operations
25:58around using our software and uh they
26:01depend on it. And so for us to do
26:04anything that would put that at risk by
26:06taking big swings or taking in a bunch
26:08of you know capital that you know you
26:11know um where did
26:14>> where do they think they're going to get
26:15that $70 million back out of it right
26:17they're going to extract it out of their
26:19customers and you know
26:22>> and not just that it's 10 yeah a
26:25multiple of that
26:26>> or 100x yeah yeah
26:28>> or bust do that or bust right so it's
26:31like No thanks.
26:32>> Yeah, you know, going back to keeping a
26:35cool head, I have always been impressed
26:37that even when you know, an employee
26:40does something crazy or customer does or
26:42said something crazy,
26:44uh, you've always been able to kind of
26:47just have perspective on it and not get
26:49caught up in the moment of the the the
26:52passion of the the, you know, of the
26:55thing that is going on right at this
26:57time. And I don't know, I think there's
26:59a lot to be said for that. For
27:00personally as your business partner, it
27:02feels like uh I know there's a steady
27:05hand at the wheel and that
27:07[clears throat] like you know if we see
27:08a car swerve in front of us, we're not
27:10headed into a ditch just because we saw
27:12the car swerve or whatever. And so um I
27:15think I think we've been a good balance
27:18for each other on that particular topic.
27:20And it's something I've always admired
27:21about uh your personality is that you've
27:24you've kind of maintained that that cool
27:27head. If this is someone, let's say
27:29they're listening to this and they're
27:31wanting to start a laundromat or they're
27:34just wanting to start a business in
27:36general, what what are your big
27:38takeaways from 10 years? What have you
27:40really learned that you think is
27:41actionable for that? You know, what
27:44would you tell yourself 10 years ago? or
27:45what would you tell someone like what's
27:47what's worked, what hasn't worked
27:49>> with the start of the new year, all the
27:50podcasts and business books and all that
27:52you listen to, uh I hear this phrase a
27:56lot about how you overestimate what you
27:59can accomplish in one year
28:01>> and you underestimate what you can do in
28:0310 years.
28:04>> God, isn't that true for us? It's crazy.
28:06>> It's been the journey of a lifetime,
28:08Ian. It really has. And
28:11>> it's it's funny how the
28:15frustrations you have and the things you
28:18do at the time when you're going through
28:20it can seem so difficult,
28:25>> but then 10 years later you realize it
28:26was the origin story
28:30>> of your success. It was the origin story
28:32of where you are now. And I wouldn't
28:34trade anything
28:35>> for it. Now, I had to go through
28:39tough times and frustrations and and
28:42uh uh you know, a series of um unknowns.
28:47>> Mhm.
28:47>> And working through it to get to where
28:49we are now. And um if I were to try to
28:53go back and redo anything,
28:56I wouldn't have I wouldn't have the same
28:57out outcome. And uh and so selling that
29:01product and learning all the things we
29:03did and getting all the feedback on what
29:05could be improved.
29:07>> That was part of the journey of building
29:08the better product, right? and building
29:11the marketing engine to sell the product
29:15that you know maybe maybe um
29:19you know if you had fornowledge of oh
29:21they were going to forget to collect you
29:23know fees from everyone for a year or or
29:26they were going to have a new CEO that
29:28that maybe you don't agree with the
29:30direction they took the company or
29:32whatever um you almost having that
29:35fornowledge might have been damaging and
29:37in fact not having that fornowledge
29:40we were able to
29:43um learn. We were able to grind. We were
29:46we were able to um improve.
29:50>> Yeah. I think I think that would be I
29:51think that would be it is sometimes too
29:53much knowledge actually can be a
29:54hindrance to you getting the ball
29:56rolling.
29:57>> So I would say that's my best advice for
29:59somebody looking to get into business
30:01for themselves or looking into
30:02laundromat ownership in general is
30:06>> what's what's the first step you can
30:07take? Of course, do your research. Of
30:10course, learn from others what what
30:13examples they have. Uh what knowledge
30:15can you gain? Um you know, if you can
30:19buy a book to learn about somebody
30:21else's 10,000 hours of experience, then
30:23that's that's great. You know, money
30:25well spent. But, um but don't let a lack
30:28of knowing all the pieces prevent you
30:30from getting started. Pick any starting
30:34point.
30:35>> Get started. just get going. That's
30:38going to inform your next steps.
30:40>> So, have courage. Know that no matter
30:43what you do,
30:44>> there is 0% chance you're going to get
30:46100% success right from the start. You
30:48know,
30:49>> um your batting average only gets better
30:51by playing the game. Yeah.
30:53>> Yeah. You just have to get enough things
30:55right. You know what I mean? It doesn't
30:57have to be everything, but as long as
30:58you're
30:59>> as long as you're trying and improving
31:02and occasionally getting something
31:04right, it's like you just kind of build
31:05on those wins.
31:07>> Yep.
31:07>> And then the losses or the the mistakes
31:09you are just lessons along the way.
31:12>> And that gets the question about what is
31:14what is the definition of failure and
31:15when it comes to business. So long as
31:17you are profitable and so long as you
31:19are still playing the game, you have not
31:21failed,
31:22>> right? You know, you may have found ways
31:24that didn't work [laughter] and things
31:26to avoid, but so long as you didn't make
31:29>> too did get too upside down on things.
31:32Um, then you get to keep playing the
31:34game.
31:35>> That's right. That's right. Awesome,
31:36man. I think uh I appreciate you setting
31:39some side some time aside to
31:42>> discuss all these things. It's been kind
31:43of fun going down memory lane and
31:46getting to getting to talk shop about
31:50our last 10 years of building these two
31:52great businesses together.
31:53>> I can't believe it's been a decade, man.
31:55It's gone so fast.
31:58It's we're we're both totally different
32:00people than we were 10 years ago, you
32:03know, and uh and I think the biggest
32:07difference is not that we have I mean
32:10the business is sure, but it part of it
32:12is that we've become the people that we
32:14wanted to be 10 years ago or we've we've
32:16self-actualized kind of the the things
32:19that we thought we were maybe capable
32:20of. Well, I remember thinking when I met
32:22you, I was like, well, you know, his dad
32:24his dad was able to make it work. I
32:26think he'll be able to make it work. he
32:27seems like, you know, he'll he'll figure
32:29this out. I think he's going to, you
32:30know, whatever it is, he'll be
32:31successful at doing something. And uh,
32:35you know, now 10 years later, that that
32:38has really turned out to be true. So, I
32:40think I bet made the right bet on the
32:42right horse there. Um, but, um, but I
32:45think that, um, it's really been a real
32:48honor and privilege to,
32:50uh, build that together and to
32:54>> Appreciate you saying that, man. I
32:55literally could not have done it without
32:57you. Um really feel that
32:59>> couldn't have done it without you.
33:00>> The the scale and scope of the success
33:03we've accomplished has been because of
33:04my partnership with you. So
33:06>> I appreciate that. Right back at you on
33:08that one. [laughter]
33:10>> All right, man. [music] Uh unless you
33:12want to go over anything else, I think
33:13we're good. Talk to you later. [music]
33:16All right. Have a good one. Thanks for
33:17joining us.

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