Ajay Prakash

gave him that unique kind of unfair advantage of understanding how the supply side of this equation would work. And so, you know, we got really excited about it and just spent that entire breakfast talking about what we could do here. He lived in New York at the time. I lived in San Francisco.

He actually flew back to New York and then a week or two later came back to San Francisco and we set up a test. We picked 11 of our friends. We said, you know, we were going to just try to pick up their dry cleaning and laundry, clean it, bring it back. and see what we learn. James was driving the car. I was in the passenger seat.

He actually flew back to New York and then a week or two later came back to San Francisco and we set up a test. We picked 11 of our friends. We said, you know, we were going to just try to pick up their dry cleaning and laundry, clean it, bring it back. and see what we learn. James was driving the car. I was in the passenger seat.

He actually flew back to New York and then a week or two later came back to San Francisco and we set up a test. We picked 11 of our friends. We said, you know, we were going to just try to pick up their dry cleaning and laundry, clean it, bring it back. and see what we learn. James was driving the car. I was in the passenger seat.

I'd run up to the door as the valet and, you know, get their clothes and special instructions. We took him back to James's parent shop. cleaned the clothes and brought them back. And every one of our friends said, hey, that was awesome. When are you guys coming back? And so we hadn't thought that far ahead. We just wanted to see if anyone would respond positively.

I'd run up to the door as the valet and, you know, get their clothes and special instructions. We took him back to James's parent shop. cleaned the clothes and brought them back. And every one of our friends said, hey, that was awesome. When are you guys coming back? And so we hadn't thought that far ahead. We just wanted to see if anyone would respond positively.

I'd run up to the door as the valet and, you know, get their clothes and special instructions. We took him back to James's parent shop. cleaned the clothes and brought them back. And every one of our friends said, hey, that was awesome. When are you guys coming back? And so we hadn't thought that far ahead. We just wanted to see if anyone would respond positively.

And so, you know, that kind of gave us the excitement and incentive to keep going. And so we then spent a couple of months just talking to as many people as we could about the last time they did dry cleaning, the last time they did laundry. And what we heard in those conversations, you know, it's effectively the same thing we've heard for the last 11 or 12 years as we built Rint.

And so, you know, that kind of gave us the excitement and incentive to keep going. And so we then spent a couple of months just talking to as many people as we could about the last time they did dry cleaning, the last time they did laundry. And what we heard in those conversations, you know, it's effectively the same thing we've heard for the last 11 or 12 years as we built Rint.

And so, you know, that kind of gave us the excitement and incentive to keep going. And so we then spent a couple of months just talking to as many people as we could about the last time they did dry cleaning, the last time they did laundry. And what we heard in those conversations, you know, it's effectively the same thing we've heard for the last 11 or 12 years as we built Rint.

It's just the existing experiences are so full of friction. And it's not one big point of friction. It's all these little points of friction. We call it death by a thousand cuts.

It's just the existing experiences are so full of friction. And it's not one big point of friction. It's all these little points of friction. We call it death by a thousand cuts.

It's just the existing experiences are so full of friction. And it's not one big point of friction. It's all these little points of friction. We call it death by a thousand cuts.

But what we realized was there's an opportunity to kind of systematically remove all of those points of friction to create a seamless experience from start to finish, a customer centric experience, a technology first experience. And so We worked for a few months and kind of put a circle around three zip codes in San Francisco. And then we launched the service officially in May 2013.

But what we realized was there's an opportunity to kind of systematically remove all of those points of friction to create a seamless experience from start to finish, a customer centric experience, a technology first experience. And so We worked for a few months and kind of put a circle around three zip codes in San Francisco. And then we launched the service officially in May 2013.

But what we realized was there's an opportunity to kind of systematically remove all of those points of friction to create a seamless experience from start to finish, a customer centric experience, a technology first experience. And so We worked for a few months and kind of put a circle around three zip codes in San Francisco. And then we launched the service officially in May 2013.

Well, you know, my approach is a little bit different. So when I knew I was going to start something, my exploration was in looking at the intersection of three things, right? One was the, where am I an expert? One was, where's their market opportunity? And one was, where am I passionate or really excited about it?

Well, you know, my approach is a little bit different. So when I knew I was going to start something, my exploration was in looking at the intersection of three things, right? One was the, where am I an expert? One was, where's their market opportunity? And one was, where am I passionate or really excited about it?

Well, you know, my approach is a little bit different. So when I knew I was going to start something, my exploration was in looking at the intersection of three things, right? One was the, where am I an expert? One was, where's their market opportunity? And one was, where am I passionate or really excited about it?

And the expertise thing, you know, sometimes people will say, oh, you know, you have to work in an industry and you have to have this domain expertise for a long time before you can actually start something. And for me, the expertise that I brought to the table was someone who had always worked really long hours, was always really busy and never had enough time to do. the things I needed to do.