Poplin (company)

Poplin (formerly SudShare) is an American company which allows people to hire independent contractors[1] to wash, dry, fold, and deliver laundry.[2] SudShare was co-founded in 2018 by Mort and Nachshon Fertel in Baltimore, Maryland, and operates through a mobile app of the same name.[3] The service is available in over 400 American cities.[4]

SudShare, Inc.
TypePrivate
Industry
Founded2018 (2018)
Founder
  • Mort Fertel (CEO)
  • Nachshon Fertel (CTO)
Headquarters
Baltimore, Maryland
Number of locations
400+
Key people
  • Ari Fertel
  • Mort Fertel
  • Moshe Fertel
  • Nachshon Fertel
  • Shira Fertel
ServicesLaundry services
Number of independent contractors50,000+
Websitesudshare.com

History

SudShare was developed as a mobile app in 2017 by Nachshon Fertel,[3] one of three teenage triplet siblings in a family of seven. The software was developed while Nachshon Fertel was a high school sophomore student at a yeshiva in Norfolk, Virginia, where he earned science credits for developing the app after school hours.[5] The Fertel family initially washed clients' laundry themselves, then began signing up contractors as demand expanded.[3]

The idea for the business model came from Ari Fertel, the Fertel triplet's mother, who was tired of doing laundry for the entire family. She challenged Nachshon Fertel to create an app that would allow her to outsource the task.[3] According to Ari Fertel, "the kids wouldn’t help with the laundry, but they solved the problem for me with code."[6]

The company was formally launched and co-founded in 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland,[7] with a later expansion in Norfolk and Washington, DC.[8] Mort Fertel, Nachshon Fertel's father, took the role of CEO.[3] Nachshon Fertel currently serves as Chief Technology Officer.[9] His triplet brother, Moshe Fertel, is Chief Operating Officer.[3]

Over the course of 2021, SudShare expanded to cover over 400 cities across America,[10] and according to the company, has over 50,000 independent contractors using the app.[11] The business does not generally cover rural or remote areas, due to increased costs of transportation.[9]

Operations
photograph of a group of folded clothes in bags, under a covered porch outside of a red door.
Example of SudShare home delivery, 2021

SudShare operates through a mobile app, with in-app options giving consumers a choice of cleaning methods.[12][13] Repeat customers can choose who services them.[14]

SudShare is used by independent contractors it calls "Sudsters," who pick up, clean, fold, and deliver user's laundry, often using their own washer and dryer, rather than a laundromat's.[15][16]

The service offers in-app training for new contractors, and allows them to choose which new orders to take on, if any.[17] The app also uses a rating system in which higher-rated contractors get access to more orders.[8] Contractors take a 75% commission for each transaction, plus tips.[18][4]

Reception

SudShare's business model has been compared to other platform economy companies such as Uber,[17] which profits through gig workers using the service.[6] According to marketing professor Marie Yeh, of Loyola University Maryland, "There are going to be some consumers who aren’t going to like that idea of people touching your clothes," potentially leading to lowered demand for the service.[3]

The company's use of service workers to outsource laundry has also been compared to the use of dhobis in India,[19] a group of castes in the Indian subcontinent whose traditional occupations are washing and ironing clothes.[20]

SudShare is part of a larger movement of on-demand laundry startups, with competitors such as Tide Cleaners, Rinse, Royal Clean and Hampr, which offer similar competing services.[21][22][23]

See also

References
  1. Russell, Terri (October 27, 2021). "SudShare now in Reno". KOLO-TV (Television production). Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  2. "App-based service 'SudShare' is the Uber for your laundry". Fox Business (Television production). September 30, 2021. Retrieved 2021-10-29.
  3. Mirabella, Lorraine (November 15, 2021). "Pikesville father and son roll out national 'Uber for laundry' concept". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  4. Roedel, Kaleb (September 29, 2021). "Business Beat: Reno Lands On-Demand Laundry App, Reno Startup Helps Fund New Tech Production". KUNR (Radio broadcast). Retrieved 2021-11-07.
  5. Armstrong, Kiah (2021-11-02). "On-Demand laundry pickup service expands to Salt Lake City". ABC 4 Utah. KTVX. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
  6. "SudShare Laundry Service Expands To Chattanooga". The Chattanoogan. Chattanooga, Tennessee. August 20, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  7. Dee, Patty (September 29, 2021). "The "Uber" of the Laundry World Has Arrived in Sioux Falls!". ESPN Sioux Falls. Retrieved 2021-10-29.
  8. Babcock, Stephen (November 17, 2021). "With an app built by a Baltimore teenager, SudShare takes on-demand laundry nationwide". technical.ly. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  9. Cordes, Renee (September 3, 2021). "Growing laundry app startup seeks gig workers, customers in Maine". Mainebiz. Archived from the original on September 4, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  10. Upton, Nicholas (December 2, 2021). "Sudshare Wants to Make Your Laundry Room Obsolete". Food on Demand. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  11. Reese, Ginny (2021-11-03). "'Like Uber, But For Laundry': New Laundry Service Coming To Salt Lake City". iHeart Media. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
  12. Jackson, Panama (2021-05-27). "My Washer Broke and I've Had to Outsource My Favorite Chore—Washing Clothes. I've Learned a Few Things". The Root. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  13. "Sudshare App-Based Laundry Service Launches in Alexandria". Alexandria Living Magazine. November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  14. "Get ready for the Uber of laundry services". CJAD (Radio broadcast). November 23, 2021. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  15. Kaleb, Roedel (September 22, 2021). "Baltimore-based SudShare rolls out platform in Reno". Northern Nevada Business Weekly. Retrieved 2021-10-29.
  16. Jordan, Atiya (2021-12-14). "An 'Uber-For-Laundry' App Makes Woman $5,000 A Month". Black Enterprise. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  17. Daleo, Jack (November 15, 2021). "Sudshare wants to be the Uber for laundry". Modern Shipper. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  18. "Jodi's Journal: Want to know why your business can't find workers? Meet the one I found". SiouxFalls.Business. 2021-09-26. Retrieved 2021-10-29.
  19. Nellore, Usha (November 24, 2021). "Washing clothes of others? In India, we've been there, done that". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  20. CHANNA, SUBHADRA MITRA (1991). "Caste, 'Jati' and Enthnicity—Some Reflections Based on a Case Study of the Dhobis". Indian Anthropologist. 21 (2): 39–55. ISSN 0970-0927. JSTOR 41919653.
  21. PYMNTS (February 22, 2019). "The Lure Of Laundry On Demand". www.pymnts.com. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  22. D’Oliveira, Michael (December 11, 2021). "'Uber for laundry': laundry apps let someone else worry about the whites". New Pelican. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  23. "[BEST] Laundry & Dry Clean Philippines: Royal Clean Dry Clean & Laundry". Royal Clean. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
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