Startups Awards Hall of Fame: Edward Relf, Laundrapp

Founders: Edward Relf (CEO), Antony Pink (COO) and Nick Bransby-Williams (CTO)
Year started: 2015
Website: www.laundrapp.com

On a mission to help busy Brits save time and money, Laundrapp is an on-demand laundry service which picks up, cleans, irons and redelivers customers’ clothes from just £2 per item, and also offers linen rental for Airbnb hosts.

Using the handy app, customers simply book a collection slot online, and can then track their order’s progress in real time. For fans of smart tech, the app also offers a voice-activated booking service through Alexa.

Created by former Mind Candy CTO Edward Relf along with Antony Pink and Nick Bransby-Williams, Laundrapp brings an innovative concept together with cutting-edge technology to create an easy user experience.

This has been a recipe for success, with the business attracting a staggering £10m total investment and gaining a place in the esteemed Startups 100 top 20 for two years running.

In 2016, Laundrapp was crowned App of the Year at the Startups Awards. Now, Relf tells us what this victory meant for the business, and shares his ambitious plans for the future…

What’s happened in the year since you entered the Startups Awards?

Since winning the award for App of the Year in the 2016 Startups Awards, the business has gone from strength to strength. In the last year alone the Laundrapp service has expanded to over 100 towns and cities across the UK, and we have successfully launched our first international markets.

After initially soft launching in New Zealand, we subsequently launched in Australia and will shortly be launching across Brazil and the UAE, to be followed closely by several yet to be announced international markets.

The Laundrapp technology is now firmly positioned as one of the world’s leading on-demand technology platforms, and will be launching into 15 international markets within the next two years!

What’s been the single biggest highlight for the business since winning?

Without question our first international launch has been a big highlight for our business. Having built a successful business model here in the UK, it’s great for us to see our processes, technology and playbook being applied to other markets around the world! It’s vindication of the years of hard work and effort in building the UK business to see it successfully scaling internationally.

What are you hoping to achieve in the next year or so?

The focus is now firmly on scaling up the Laundrapp business. We’ve proven out the model here in the UK and now our sights are set firmly on establishing our business and technology in every major market across the world!

There’s a lot of laundry still to be done and our ambition is to continue to take war to the washing machine in every major market globally.

What did winning at the Startups Awards mean to you?

Everything! The recognition and trust associated with winning an award like this is unmeasurable. The business generated a number of great PR articles from the awards and from a customer’s perspective it’s great validation that this is a successful and trustworthy brand.

Awards are great accolades for the team, but also really help with the wider business’ culture and belief in what your business is doing and achieving.

Why would you recommend entering awards like this?

Startups.co.uk has been incredibly supportive to the Laundrapp team. From regularly featuring our business through to recognition and awards, the team have been a delight to work with and I’d proactively encourage any new start-up founders to build a relationship with them.

I couldn’t speak more highly of the team at Startups.co.uk, and if there is one awards competition to enter as an early stage business, it’s this one!

Applications for the Startups Awards 2017 are now open! To enter your business and follow in Laundrapp’s footsteps, click here.