Loopie, the peer-to-peer laundry startup that connects people who don’t have the time or desire to wash their own clothes with those who want to earn money doing it, sold its wash and fold business to two companies offering the same services.
Co-founder and CEO John Vincent Lee told GeekWire Wednesday that Loopie is transitioning its customer list in Portland to Charlotte, N.C.-based HappyNest. The Seattle market and other active Loopie cities are being sold to Rinse, a San Francisco-based startup that is already active in 12 markets, including Seattle, where it arrived last summer.
Lee said Loopie is retaining its IP, software and branding.
Launched in July 2018, Lee liked to call Loopie “Uber for laundry,” and the app-based laundromat grew to nine markets across the U.S. Lee said the startup facilitated close to $3.5 million in laundry orders since its inception.
Loopie raised $4 million to date, including nearly $1 million in 2022 from startup investor and entrepreneur Jason Calacanis and the Launch Syndicate.
But Lee said profitability was difficult to maintain and Loopie couldn’t raise its next round of funding coming out of the pandemic to continue its growth trajectory in the laundry space.
“The decision to transition our customer list to Rinse and HappyNest aligns with our dedication to ensuring our customers continue to receive exceptional service in all their laundry and dry cleaning needs,” Lee said via email.
Rinse previously acquired Room Service and FlyCleaners in 2022 and ButlerBox in 2021. Loopie acquired gig economy job-bidding platform BidBud in March.
