#73: Lean, Mean, and Clean with Ajay Prakash & James Joun

Today on the show Jayson is talking with Ajay Prakash and James Joun, co-founders  of Rinse, a laundry and dry-cleaning app started in 2013. Ajay was COO and CFO of Humble Brands, a consumer product startup. He also had experience at Bonobos, Berkshire Partners, the NBA and Bain & Company. James was a health care investor at Essex Woodlands, a product manager at Genentech, and a consultant with Monitor Group.  The company, founded by Ajay Prakash and James Joun, is headquartered in San Francisco. Rinse is a portfolio company of Green D Ventures and Yard Ventures. Rinse started serving customers in 2013, but it was actually 30 years ago when the story really started. Joun’s parents have owned a dry cleaning storefront for more than three decades, and for years he’d been wondering how to increase sales in a particularly static industry. Ajay Prakash, befriended Joun at Dartmouth university. James Joun has degrees from Dartmouth and Harvard Business School. Joun was schooled in operations, such as running contraptions like the topper, which presses pant tops, and in the finer points of separating dirt and stains from all manner of fabrics. Joun now competes against the people who brought him into the business who also happen to be his parents.   Links:    Follow True Underdog on IG: www.instagram.com/true_underdog Reach out to Jayson directly at [email protected] Follow Jayson on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayson-waller-/ Follow Jayson on Instagram: www.instagram.com/jaysonwallerbam Check out our website to meet the team, view show notes and transcripts: www.trueunderdog.com   Mentioned in the Episode:   Rinse’s Website - https://www.rinse.com/ Rinse’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/Rinse James’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesjoun/ Ajay’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprakash03/ Ajay’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/aprakash03   Timestamps:   1:38 - James’s Childhood Experience 3:31 - How James and Ajay Met 6:13 - James and Ajay’s Relationship as Business Partners 7:10 - Bootstrapping the Business From the Start 9:25 - How Rinse Differentiates Itself From Others in the Market 13:46 - 2 Minute Pitch for Rinse 16:33 - Hardest Thing That James and Ajay Have Had to Overcome While Running Rinse 21:11 - Growth Strategy for Rinse Moving Forward 23:08 - ‘Covid Proofing’ Your Company in the Future 26:22 - Cow vs Buffalo 28:17 - What Ajay and James Are Most Proud Of Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices