Based in New York, New York, Clean is a direct-to-consumer dry cleaning service providing convenient cleaning without sacrificing quality. Think the "Starbucks of Dry Cleaning." This modern-day alternative to the careless mom-and-pop dry cleaners addresses the needs of busy Metropolitan Manhattanites & Long Islanders who have a "have-it-all" lifestyle and see garment care as a chore. Clean adopts an attainable luxury approach, boasting 2-day turnarounds, complimentary pickup and delivery, focuses on athleisurewear and baby-friendly detergents. Bootstrapped to this day, the brand partners with superinfluencers like Danielle Bernstein of WeWoreWhat and professional organizer Imagine It Done to quickly rise as the go-to everyday essential for professionals and parents.
Role - Head of Innovations, previously Project Manager, Startup Consultant
Timeline - April 2017 - January 2020
Launch - September 2018
Location - New York, New York
From our pop-up event at luxury apartment American Copper Buildings.
THE CHALLENGE
CEO Wayne & COO Marleen head Meurice – the leader in luxury garment care. With each pickup since 1961, they noticed there were 2 bags: one for Meurice and another bag for a low-cost dry cleaner for the clothes they didn't want to give extra TLC. After sitting on this idea for 10 years, they brought me on to make their pipe dream a reality.
MISSION
Snatch that extra bag strategically with all that they learned about their clients after 60 years.
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Our first order!
WORK
Focused on 3 sectors: Marketing, Customer Experience, Technology
Back in 2017, Wayne & Marleen brought me on to open up this new vertical under their Meurice brand. Using available operations and production facilities, I built their dream brand from an idea to fruition. During this time, I brought in The 2.0 Collective to put up a task force team to push the launch with a team of 10.
From creating the customer experience to supervising the production, I managed a team of 4 to run daily operations and strategy to grow Clean's brand following the launch. We managed the merge of the new POS system, built the website, all social channels, and partnerships. We were able to secure 6 launch partners and 4 partner luxury buildings within the first 6 months of launch.
IDEATION
PROJECT MANAGEMENT - SCRUM
USER RESEARCH + USER JOURNEY
DESIGN SPRINTS
BUSINESS MODEL & PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
PRICING ANALYSIS
OPERATIONS/PRODUCTION STRATEGY
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE DEVELOPMENT
HIRING & ONBOARDING
PITCH DECKS
BRANDBOOK + STYLE GUIDE
EMAIL MARKETING + SALES FUNNEL
PARTNERSHIPS
CONTENT CREATION
SEO
WEBSITE DESIGN/DEVELOPMENT
HIGHLIGHTS
Had the best clients.
Learned about how wasteful the fashion world is and got to tackle the sustainability question in cleaning.
Debuted as one of the top startups at TechDay NYC.
Found one of my favorite colors (#BAE1F4 - not because just it's bae).
TAKEAWAYS
This role enabled me to learn all that I wanted to about startups. I, quite literally, threw myself into this world, and I credit this as the catalyst. This was definitely a challenge as I didn't use dry cleaning – let alone afford it – and wasn't the ideal customer. Marleen did ask me one day, "I know no one loves dry cleaning, but do you believe in what we want to do?" And my answer then and from now for all of my work is "I wouldn't be here if I didn't."
Having the most supportive, passionate clients-turned-bosses showed me what was missing for those looking to launch their career. Boom. The 2.0 Collective was born.