While vacationing, three college baseball friends decided that they were tired of their day jobs and still young enough to go after their dreams. They left those jobs, and in February 2017, Aaron Bowen, Jordan Suydam, and Mark Vlaskamp opened The Folde in Austin, TX.
The three founders began the upscale laundry business after much research about the type of companies that could do well in a city like Austin, TX. In the beginning, the three of them were working all parts of the business trying to learn how to run a laundry business effectively with little money. Realizing that limited funding was forcing them to choose between payroll for new employees or a marketing budget, they turned to LiftFund for help.
“LiftFund was right up our alley. They were willing to take the risk on a young startup and believe in the idea. They had worked with companies of similar size and stature before. They made us feel comfortable working with them,” Bowen recalls.
With their loan from LiftFund, The Folde founders were able to license out better software and reduce driving expenses significantly. Today, their goals are to grow The Folde and turn it into well-known brand in their community.
“We are much more comfortable marketing our business, and we wouldn’t have been able to do that without help from LiftFund. LiftFund is the friendly side of financing our business.”
