Pressbox and Tide Cleaners: Vijen Patel. The $1.99 Gamble That Built a National Brand

In this episode of How I Built This, Guy Raz interviews Vijen Patel, the founder of Pressbox, a dry cleaning and laundry service that utilized lockers in apartment buildings for convenient 24/7 access. Patel recounts his journey from a disillusioned private equity associate to an entrepreneur, identifying the fragmented and low-tech dry cleaning industry as an opportunity. He details the initial struggles of bootstrapping the business with his co-founder Drew McKenna, the challenges of raising capital, and the innovative strategies they employed to gain market share, such as targeting new construction buildings and focusing on unit economics. Patel also discusses competing with larger companies like Washio and Procter & Gamble's Tide Spin, and the eventual acquisition of Pressbox by P&G. Finally, he shares his post-acquisition experience and his current venture into investing in "boring" but essential businesses through his venture firm, the 81 Collection.