Cents, a Proptech Firm Aimed at the Garment Industry, Sews Up $40M

The Manhattan-based software and hardware business management platform targets small to medium-sized laundromat and dry cleaning businesses, and has raised a total of $77 million since it was founded in 2021.

In addition to the financing, Cents also announced that it has acquired Laundroworks, a hardware-based payments system for customers at laundromats and shared laundry rooms within multifamily buildings, as well as in hotels, universities and other facilities. The acquisition will reinforce the startup’s existing hardware product line.

Creating Cents was somewhat of an accident, said Alexander Jekowsky, CEO and co-founder of the company. Having founded the college campus commercial platform Ulyngo (now Modo Marketplace) in 2014, Jekowsky was looking for a new investment after Modo Labs acquired his startup in 2019. A friend mentioned investing in the laundromat industry, and, after some research, Jekowsky was intrigued but not totally sold on the idea.

“I didn’t buy any [laundromats] because I thought, ‘I don’t know how I would run these,’” said Jekowsky. “And because I wanted to buy more than one. Most of the industry is owned by multi-store owners, so I wanted to own multiple. But when I looked at the access to technology, how I would need to be able to run it in an automated way, there was really nothing.”

Cents does not own any garment care businesses, but it provides point of service, online ordering, payments hardware, marketing tools, and business management software for all garment care and vended laundry facilities. That includes laundromats, dry cleaners, tailors, and shared laundry rooms. The integrated platform has 2,700 retail laundries — about 1 in 14 of the laundromats in the U.S. — and more than 3,500 shared laundry rooms.

“We’re in a great position, not just with cash, but also our path to profitability is right around the corner,” Jekowsky said. “Our goal with this cash is to continue to invest in products that fit the market that we’re in and that can provide more innovative tools to help our operators grow their business, while also showing stability to our customers.”

The startup’s growth trajectory has caught the attention of real estate technology investors, he added.

“A reason that Camber Creek led our Series B is our excitement about, and moves into, the multifamily space, empowering managing laundry rooms within buildings, providing technology for the tenant experience within multifamily buildings, as well as our small businesses with buildings to create a really amazing amenity experience of laundry,” said Jekowsky.

“Cents is the clear category leader in serving independent garment care businesses,”said Camber Creek partner Alexandra Nicoletti in a statement. “Their drive for innovation, while staying focused on the needs of SMB’s is second to none. We see huge opportunities for Cents to continue to provide their game-changing technology for the real estate space, from technology that supports route operators and shared laundry rooms, to powering the amenity of laundry for tenants through their network of local laundry businesses.”

Philip Russo can be reached at prusso@commercialobserver.com.