What killed a laundry start-up: Fresh Fold’s unit numbers
Tom Okafor ran a pick-up laundry in London for three years. The orders came; the margin never did.
In 30 seconds
- Know what one order costs you before you advertise
- Free delivery is a cost, not a feature
- Growth makes a bad margin worse, not better
Orders without profit
Fresh Fold grew its orders every year. Its verified numbers show sales rising while money kept went below zero.
The cost of one bag
Every order carried a van trip, a driver and packaging. Free delivery made each one cheaper to buy and more expensive to serve.
“Every ad we ran made the hole deeper.”
What to check first
Work out the full cost of one order, including the trip. If it is above the price, more customers will close you faster.
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