What exactly is Garment Valet and its purpose?
Garment Valet is a service oriented laundry and dry cleaning delivery service with a high tech spin. Initially, when we were Husky Express, we were focused on providing the service experience for customers when placing an order. My business partner would actually run a scale up to weigh laundry in front of customers to prove the weight and charge! After purchasing a couple off the shelf solutions, we realized that they were all just glorified ticket printers. We had to create our own so we hired a program and embarked on our high tech journey.
Garment Valet CEO, Dominic Coryell (left)
How did the idea for Garment Valet come about ?
I’m in a unique position where I actually did not come up with the “idea” myself. My business partner, Adam Jacknow, thought about it when he was a sophomore in college and started what was then Husky Express. When I went to school at Northeastern University, I joined the company as a part-time job. Within a couple of years, I had gotten very involved and actually took post as the CEO and 49% shareholder. I never really imagined when I started that I would get so involved. I wanted to go back to Wall Street to work in banking, which I did in high school as an intern. But after looking into the opportunity, I got really excited and involved in driving changes.
What role do you play in the organization ? Are there any other key founders?
Primarily, I oversee everything that is going on. That doesn’t mean that I control everything that is going on but rather give input and hear ideas. I am fortunate to have people around me that are self-starters and can accomplish what they set out to do. I also play a heavy role in sales/marketing because, over the years, I have learned that our company is nothing without sales! I try to spend as much time on developing or working “on” the business strategy as possible. But strategy is a luxury that you have when everything else is going right. My business partner Adam is the other key founder. His title is CVO for Chief Visionary Officer. He is really an idea person and a perfectionist by nature; a very good compliment to me. I tend to be the pusher/driver type.
In developing Garment Valet , what obstacles have you crossed along the way?
There are many obstacles, some of which make you want to stop going. The biggest obstacle is funding. Money is a wonderful but terrible thing. It is disappointing that money is the primary metric of success in business today, but I think that is shifting. There are so many wonderful things to do, but if you are not capitalized to do so, it is impossible. Going to school fulltime and making time for girlfriend and friends is a challenge as well. Balance is tough because sometimes your top priority doesn’t get the attention.
Do you plan on branching out to othercities outside of Boston?
Most definitely! There are a lot of cities similar to Boston in demographics (working professionals and college campuses). All of them are prime targets. We plan to be operating at least one other city by 2012. For those cities we do not see economic value in operating ourselves, we will franchise out to independent owners.
What are some unique aspects of Garment Va let that set it apart from other dry cleaning companies?
We practice almost 100% un-attended delivery, which means that we conduct deliveries to secure delivery locations that do not require the customer to wait around for either pick-up or delivery. Not only is this really convenient for the
customer, it is also super efficient for us. Some other unique aspects about Garment Valet have to do with our digital locker system that enables us to conduct secure deliveries 24/7. It is similar to an ATM, but for laundry and dry cleaning. The locker system, along with our custom software, put us into a position in our marketplace no one is currently at.
Have any advice for other up-and-coming entrepreneurs?
Keep going no mater how discouraged you get. Understand your marketplace and know if it is really going to perform to your expectations. Stay out of your comfort zone. It is ok to feel like you are always “just” catching up. It means you have a lot going on, which you need to. Don’t forget about “YOU ” time. Even more important than remembering it – make sure to exercise it!
By Lilah Abrams
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