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Not if you’re launching a startup based in the real world. Tell me how AI will make a laundromat business DoA? If your business is selling services at 40% marg

Not if you’re launching a startup based in the real world. Tell me how AI will make a laundromat business DoA? If your business is selling services at 40% margin that are entirely digitally based, then maybe you’ll need to cut some margin, sure.

SoftTalker 7mo ago
A laundromat isn't a startup in that sense. There's no potential for exponential growth. A VC would never give you money to open a laundromat, you'd go to a bank and get a business loan for that.
- nyeah 7mo ago
  Doordash for laundry.
  - hackingonempty 7mo ago
    You jest but I searched "Uber for laundry" and found services partnering with both Uber and Doordash for transportation.
  - skeeter2020 7mo ago
    Washio was an American on-demand laundry cleaning and delivery service. The company was founded in 2013 by Jordan Metzner, Bob Wall, and Juan Dulanto, and raised $17 million in funding. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washio_(company) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washio_(company)
  - SoftTalker 7mo ago
    Laundries have offered pickup and delivery since ... forever? It's like pizza. The markets are very local, and the growth opportunity is limited.
    - nyeah 7mo ago
      Taxis have offered pickup and delivery service since forever, and yet here we are.
      - SoftTalker 7mo ago
        OK, again, the context is a "laundromat" business. Laundry as a service with an app to schedule pickup and delivery? OK, people have tried that. Not that exciting, not that scalable. You still need a lot of facilites, machines, and humans to make that work. It's not something that exists as a virtual product that can be scaled up with an AI.
        deleted 7mo ago
        [deleted]
        nyeah 7mo ago
        Ok, again. Taxicabs are not exciting, not scaleable, and involve a lot of machines and humans to make them work. How many iterations do you have in mind for this? EDIT: My answer for "can a rapidly growing start-up successfully take on taxicabs?" is "yes."
        SoftTalker 7mo ago
        Will AI take over the taxicab business, somehow eliminating the need for cars and drivers?
- amazingamazing 7mo ago
  Was uber a startup? Airbnb?
  - eesmith 7mo ago
    Uber was considered a startup: "Uber: The history of the ride-hailing app, from start to IPO" https://www.businessinsider.com/ubers-history https://www.businessinsider.com/ubers-history "[Uber] quickly became the world's most valuable startup, "disrupted" personal transportation and food delivery, and became an emblem of the arrival of the gig economy" https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/111015/story-uber.asp https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/11101... "Kalanick tried to recruit him to join the startup, but at the time Uber looked like a luxury town-car service, not a worldwide transportation juggernaut." - https://techcrunch.com/2017/02/07/the-inside-story-of-the-rise-and-rise-of-uber/ https://techcrunch.com/2017/02/07/the-inside-story-of-the-ri... Ditto Airbnb: "Reservation-booking app Resy just got a massive investment from Airbnb, one of the most valuable startups in the world" https://www.businessinsider.com/resy-airbnb-investment-2017-1 https://www.businessinsider.com/resy-airbnb-investment-2017-... Airbnb is one "of the top Travel, Leisure and Tourism startups funded by Y Combinator" https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/industry/travel-leisure-and-tourism https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/industry/travel-leisur...

SoftTalker 7mo ago

A laundromat isn't a startup in that sense. There's no potential for exponential growth. A VC would never give you money to open a laundromat, you'd go to a bank and get a business loan for that.

nyeah 7mo ago
Doordash for laundry.
- hackingonempty 7mo ago
  You jest but I searched "Uber for laundry" and found services partnering with both Uber and Doordash for transportation.
- skeeter2020 7mo ago
  Washio was an American on-demand laundry cleaning and delivery service. The company was founded in 2013 by Jordan Metzner, Bob Wall, and Juan Dulanto, and raised $17 million in funding. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washio_(company) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washio_(company)
- SoftTalker 7mo ago
  Laundries have offered pickup and delivery since ... forever? It's like pizza. The markets are very local, and the growth opportunity is limited.
  - nyeah 7mo ago
    Taxis have offered pickup and delivery service since forever, and yet here we are.
    - SoftTalker 7mo ago
      OK, again, the context is a "laundromat" business. Laundry as a service with an app to schedule pickup and delivery? OK, people have tried that. Not that exciting, not that scalable. You still need a lot of facilites, machines, and humans to make that work. It's not something that exists as a virtual product that can be scaled up with an AI.
      - deleted 7mo ago
        [deleted]
      - nyeah 7mo ago
        Ok, again. Taxicabs are not exciting, not scaleable, and involve a lot of machines and humans to make them work. How many iterations do you have in mind for this? EDIT: My answer for "can a rapidly growing start-up successfully take on taxicabs?" is "yes."
        SoftTalker 7mo ago
        Will AI take over the taxicab business, somehow eliminating the need for cars and drivers?
amazingamazing 7mo ago
Was uber a startup? Airbnb?
- eesmith 7mo ago
  Uber was considered a startup: "Uber: The history of the ride-hailing app, from start to IPO" https://www.businessinsider.com/ubers-history https://www.businessinsider.com/ubers-history "[Uber] quickly became the world's most valuable startup, "disrupted" personal transportation and food delivery, and became an emblem of the arrival of the gig economy" https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/111015/story-uber.asp https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/11101... "Kalanick tried to recruit him to join the startup, but at the time Uber looked like a luxury town-car service, not a worldwide transportation juggernaut." - https://techcrunch.com/2017/02/07/the-inside-story-of-the-rise-and-rise-of-uber/ https://techcrunch.com/2017/02/07/the-inside-story-of-the-ri... Ditto Airbnb: "Reservation-booking app Resy just got a massive investment from Airbnb, one of the most valuable startups in the world" https://www.businessinsider.com/resy-airbnb-investment-2017-1 https://www.businessinsider.com/resy-airbnb-investment-2017-... Airbnb is one "of the top Travel, Leisure and Tourism startups funded by Y Combinator" https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/industry/travel-leisure-and-tourism https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/industry/travel-leisur...