Q: What is the process like for selecting and adding a school to Cribspot's network?
There isn't an exact science for launching at new colleges. We typically consider several qualities such as the university type, size, location, geography, and make-up. Once we've targeted a school, we then ask landlords to add their rentals to Cribspot.  It's a very laborious and tedious process, so we typically work with universities to aid in that process.

Q: Can you talk a bit about your competition.  There’s plenty of it between Craigslist, Zillow and then of course the entrenched major property owners in the college towns.  How do you get students to go to Cribspot before them?
College students know they need a place to live the next year, but they aren't just going to use one website and lease the first place they find. We find that most renters use multiple sites and our advantage is that our site is built by college renters, so we typically have more data than other competitors.

Q: Cribspot is super active on social media and its own blog, generating a ton of quality content.  What's the strategy for the company when it comes to using social media specifically?
As a college start-up, we naturally focus on social media as a marketing tool. However, the real motivator behind sharing our content is that most new renters are completely ignorant of the rental process. We know this because we were once freshmen on campus. We really want to help these renters find a place and we've found that good content provides greater transparency to the chaotic housing search.

Q: You guys just raised a big seed round recently ($660,000), how will that additional capital help with the next phase of growth at Cribspot?
We raised the seed round to grow our portfolio of current campuses. The rental process is so broken that we are only tackling the first part of the problem. Eventually, we want to use the capital to alleviate some of the other stresses surrounding the rental search and leasing time.

 

If there is someone out there who enjoys doing laundry or dry cleaning, I have yet to meet that person.  The words tedious, dull, and time-consuming often come to most people’s minds when they walk by their overflowing dirty clothes bin or realize they have to rush to the dry cleaner before it closes.  A remedy for this problem now exists for Chicago residents thanks to two young entrepreneurs who have added laundry and dry cleaning to the humongous list of annoyances, problems, and subjects addressed by the ubiquitous phrase “there’s an app for that”.

Laundrymate is an on-demand laundry and dry cleaning pickup and delivery service. Launched in Chicago just last month, Laundrymate is the brainchild of co-founders Michael Facchinello and Tyler Mikev.  “Personally, the whole process was a huge pain in our butts, so we solved the problem in a way we would want it to be solved on a personal level” said Facchinello.  Tyler utilizes his background in mobile development to run the technical side of the business, leaving Michael to handle business and operations.  Together, the two have stressed delivering a great overall user experience from the very beginning, and have been rewarded by a steady increase in orders week after week.

Eager to give Laundrymate a try, I set aside a couple of work pants, a pair of jeans, and a few button downs to be picked up and dropped off without having to step outside my apartment.  I downloaded the easy to use mobile app, which prompted me to enter a pickup time and location, and even gave me the option to get an estimated breakdown of how much my order would cost.  Instead of bracing for the long, cold walk to the nearest dry cleaner, I sat back while my clothes were picked up when I knew I someone would be home.  About 48 hours later, I got a push notification from the app asking me to schedule a drop off time.  From beginning to end, the process was a breeze and had me seriously wondering if I was going to be making another trip to the dry cleaner anytime soon.

Learning quickly and efficiently has become a mantra for this two-man team as they work to balance perfecting logistic and technical elements of the business against marketing and promotion.  “Finding the sweet spot for speed has been really important for us in the early going,” Facchinello insists.  Despite having a growing to do list, Michael took a quick break from his duties at Laundrymate to chat with me about the company, his background, and the early lessons of running a business.

Q: You recently graduated from Chicago’s latest Startup Institute class. What was that experience like?
I cannot say enough good things about Startup Institute. Everyone involved in running the program both locally and nationally are top of the line. Before Startup Institute, I knew I loved designing and creating products, but did not have a formal education to do so. Startup Institute taught me best practices in product design and management.

They also do a phenomenal job of putting you in front of the best startup people in the area. Also, the education model is incredible. The approach is holistic and has instruction given by the best people currently practicing what they are preaching.

Q: There are quite a few companies, both large and small, that are in this growing delivery space that will pick up and deliver groceries, alcohol, clothing and everything else right to your door.  What is different or unique about creating a business around the dry cleaning/laundry experience? 
Companies like Uber, Grubhub, and Peapod do a great job of addressing very specific problems that need to be solved on a regular basis. They do not try to be something they are not, and this translates to satisfied customers who know exactly the value they will get by using that service. As a result, these companies have customers with a high life time value. That is what we are trying to do with Laundrymate.

I think companies that handle things like alcohol delivery have a place, but do not solve a problem that happens frequently enough, and are always more of an afterthought when that need arises. Similarly, companies that deal in hyper-local logistics do not hone in enough on a specific problem, so they do not come to mind when a customer could actually use them.

Q: What makes Chicago a good starting market for Laundrymate?
The demographics in Chicago are prime for it; just in Lincoln Park, there are roughly 60,000 people 21 or older making an average annual household income of $77k.  This single neighborhood represents a market with significant potential demand.  Another thing, the dry cleaning market is directly related to total population, which makes Chicago the third largest dry cleaning market in the country. On a more qualitative level, Chicago is home to thousands of consultants, bankers, and other time-pressed professionals who could realize significant value from Laundrymate. 

Q: Having just launched, what are some of the most important assumptions you are trying to prove about this business?
We believe the hatred people have for doing their laundry and trudging their dry cleaning to the cleaners will translate into a high desire to use Laundrymate. We also believe never having to visit an ATM or deal with payment when picking up clothes from the cleaners is valuable.  We are already starting to see that our peak hours of demand are outside of the traditional 8am to 8pm dry cleaning hours, which was an assumption going in. We operate from 5am to 10pm, 7 days a week.

Q: Someone comes up to you saying they want to start their own business, what is the first thing you would tell them to make sure they know before they make that leap?
I think it is important for people to get to the root of the real, tangible problem their business is solving. I would tell them to make sure they know why they want to start a business, and tell them to make sure their "why" is strong. Answers like, "wealth" and "prestige" are possible by-products of starting a company, but not a sufficient "why." 

When it comes to custom clothing, men can be pretty clueless.  As a recent college graduate without much of an eye for fashion or style, I would certainly fall into this category.  Men typically want shirts and suits that fit well, yet often times we know practically nothing about custom clothing, or how we go about finding it. Unlike women who spend time scouring the internet for clothes (and who seem to genuinely enjoy doing it), young men are often deterred from shopping for expensive clothes they know little about.

Nevertheless, it’s a product and a look more and more men are clamoring for, as the market for custom fitting menswear continues to grow. Looking to reinvent the custom clothing experience for men, Monarc offers a seamless online retail experience allowing its customers to purchase quality and perfectly fitting clothing from the comfort of their home or office. 

After various stints in start-ups and consulting (and a brief getaway to Fiji), Mookie Lee noticed a serious lack of solutions for men with an interest in purchasing high quality custom apparel but without proper knowledge of custom menswear. Since launching in Chicago in late 2012, Mookie and the rest of the talented Monarc team have been steadily building a company focused on outfitting men in Chicago with custom fitting suits, blazers, and button-downs while providing high-end service without the high-end price tag. Check out a video of a Monarc photoshoot here. 

Having just started a job after school, I recently went through the process of searching for shirts and suits that fit well and looked good, but I hated every minute of it.  Bouncing aimlessly from store to store and wondering if the price tag on many shirts was some sort of sick joke, I became fed up with the process before it really even began. Basically, I was the ideal customer for Monarc.  Wanting to chat more with Mookie and the other co-founders, I arranged a custom fitting with one of Monarc’s style advisors at their office right outside downtown Chicago.  

While one of their friendly style advisors measured me for a brand new Monarc button down, I asked Mookie about how Monarc is able to provide cost savings to its younger and budget-conscience customers.   “Unlike other companies, we are partners with our manufacturer so we are able to cut costs from the beginning, passing on savings to our customer,” Lee explained. Additionally, the lack of a physical store allows Monarc to save substantially on inventory costs.

Beyond the cost savings, Lee insists the value of Monarc comes from the top-notch service its customers get through the lifecycle of a purchase with Monarc. “For the guys that hate shopping, we provide the high-end services that people normally pay thousands of dollars for.  Our knowledgeable style advisors come out to your home or office and provide recommendations, walk you through the custom process and hand deliver your clothes to your door in under four weeks.”

From its sleek and helpful website to its helpful and informative blog, Monarc spares no expense when it comes to marketing the style and convenience of the company.  Ray J. Park, Monarc’s do-it-all Digital Community Manager recognized the value of online brand engagement the minute he joined the company.   “As a new startup promoting affordable yet premium product AND service, it is important for the public to get a feel for your brand, style, and voice,” says Park.  “Our message from social media to our style advisors needs to be consistent and appealing.  Overall, our goal is to help men learn and experience the benefits of custom [clothing].”

Within a few weeks, my brand new custom Monarc shirt arrived at my doorstep.  Among a closet full of work shirts that are too baggy or loose, a custom fit shirt stands out because I know it was made to fit me.  At first, it was hard not to be skeptical of such a new company promising quality and convenience while still being affordable and accessible, yet Monarc delivers on their promise and then some.  Trading expensive and frustrating trips to the mall with custom fittings and affordable quality is something I could certainly get used to.

Startups solving some of the smallest yet most frequent problems in our lives can often be the most unique and exciting to follow.  It seems like every day I walked across campus during my four years of college and passed someone whose name I forgot.  Whether it was pulling out my phone and pretending to text or replying with the generic yet slightly insulting "Hey, man", I barely found a way to avoid these daily awkward moments that painfully reminded me how bad I was at remembering names.  

Co-founders Sohn and Elie Schoppik might have found the perfect solution for me, and the hopefully millions of others who suck at remembering names, with their startup Knowyo.  Through the process of gamification, Knowyo tests your knowledge of your fellow professional contacts on Linkedin.  After being provided a picture of the contact, users can guess the name, receive a hint, or receive a single letter of the person's name.  The software also tracks your progress and lets you know where you can improve.  Click here for the a quick 5 min demo/pitch with feedback from judges at San Francisco's 2013 Lanuch Festival

Since I no longer have the option to duck into the dining hall or fake speedwalk to a class I'm not even late for, I'll probably use this fun and easy way to remember the names of people in my office I should know and want to know.