Behind Her Empire Podcast: Doing What Hasn’t Been Done with Lindsey Boyd, Co-founder of The Laundress
On this episode of the "Behind Her Empire" podcast, hear from Lindsey Boyd, the co-founder of The Laundress, a premium collection of eco-friendly laundry and home cleaning products.
Before starting the company, Boyd was working in high-end fashion in New York as a manager of Chanel's Ready-to-Wear division. While working in the industry, Lindsey noticed a real need and void in the market. Although consumers were willing to spend a lot of money on their clothes, they were spending even more money on dry cleaning, which was not only toxic but also damaging to their garments. After years of researching and understanding how detergents work, Boyd and her college friend-turned-business partner, Gwen Whiting, decided to launch eco-friendly detergents that were gentle enough to be used at home on dry clean-only items.
"We both came from Midwest families where you keep things in your life for a long time. So quilts and things that were meaningful and you cared for them properly, you wash them. You didn't dry clean them," Boyd says. "So for us, it was kind-of bringing back that lost art."
They bootstrapped, crowdfunded and took a small SBA loan to launch their business. For years the company struggled to make a profit, but they eventually grew a loyal following, and in 2019, sold to Unilever for a reported $100 million.
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