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

<p>What if the best startup isn’t sexy at all? In 2013, Vijen Patel left private equity to pursue “the least-worst idea”: dry cleaning. No patents. No app wizardry. Just laundry lockers in high-rises, ruthless unit economics, and a $1.99-a-shirt price that was seared into America’s brain.</p><p>From bootstrapping routes at 5 a.m. to breaking even in 6 weeks, Vijen and co-founder Drew McKenna scaled Pressbox to hundreds of locations, stared down well-funded competitors, and ultimately sold to Procter &amp; Gamble, where Pressbox became Tide Cleaners (now ~1,200 locations). After the exit, Vijen launched The 81 Collection, a VC fund backing “boring” businesses that quietly power the economy.</p><p>This episode is a masterclass in building profit first, creating user behavior (not changing it), and protecting customer retention like your life depends on it.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>What you’ll learn:</strong></p><ul><li>How the “least-worst idea” found product-market fit</li><li>How sides...