Fuels Technology and Market Scale to Automate Laundry for Property Managers and Renters Nationwide
Taps Former Washio Founder to Debut New Pickup and Delivery Service for Gig Workers
SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Tumble, the smart laundry technology platform, announced today that it has raised $7 million in seed funding to modernize the shared laundry experience and transform outdated machines into revenue-generating assets. Funding will be used to scale its proprietary software platform–powering an all-digital experience from cashless payment to cycle tracking and machine security–to serve rental properties and residents nationwide, and soon consumers with a new pickup and delivery service.
The round was led by Hivers and Strivers and includes participation from Array Ventures, Western Technology Investment (WTI), the PenFed Foundation, Zag Capital, as well as angel investors, including former AWS Senior Vice President and current Board Member at Twilio and Intuit, Richard Dalzell, and early Groupon Investor, Rich Heise. Tumble also secured $1.5 million in venture debt from WTI.
“For well over three decades, property teams have had to rely on outdated technology and services, leaving residents with a terrible laundry experience and billions of dollars on the table,” said Doug Doan, Founder and General Partner at Hivers and Strivers. “In only three years, Tumble has built the first and only fully integrated smart laundry technology built to benefit the bottom line and truly make laundry easier for residents.”
With only two shared laundry companies capturing the market share, and the vended laundry category (also known as “coin operated laundries” or “laundromats”) valued at $5 billion overall, the industry is ripe for innovation as Tumble taps into the multifamily industry’s $53 billion potential. A recent report anticipates the online laundry services global market will hit $221 billion by 2030.
Tumble’s growth trajectory, backed by a proven model for boosting net operating income (NOI) for property management companies throughout California, will now bring smart laundry to 25 more major metros and 200 cities nationwide.
“The multifamily industry has been stifled by ‘dumb laundry’ for too long–Tumble is saving property managers and their residents with the ‘smart laundry’ experience,” said Tumble CEO and Founder Scott Patterson. “We’re also giving back valuable time to onsite teams who have lost countless hours, and renters, to laundry complaints and machine maintenance. With Tumble, one of the most important amenities is now a valuable revenue stream.”
To use Tumble, residents simply download the app, add balance to their wallet, choose their location and connect to Tumble’s washer and dryers. They can also pay, track and lock their machines, getting notifications once the cycle is complete. Tumble’s key features include:
- Cashless Payment – secure payment done by smartphone
- Machine Availability – real-time window into machine availability
- Cycle Tracking – real-time window into cycle progress
- Locking Mechanism – lock/unlock remotely, keeping laundry secure
- Push Notifications – receive alerts when laundry is ready
- Predictive Maintenance – data-driven machine learning keeps machines in-service
Tumble Support allows residents to report issues and provide feedback in real time, freeing up onsite teams by at least 52 hours a year, on average. It also allows for 90 percent of the maintenance to be done remotely, while also handling 99 percent of service tickets.
“We trusted Tumble with our portfolio of 2,945 units across 300 properties which has directly resulted in an exponential increase in both resident and property management satisfaction,” said CEO and Founder of 2B Living Brooks Baskin. “Tumble has provided much more than smart laundry services, it has become a cornerstone in our portfolio’s amenity offerings, providing best-in-class property management and commitment to adopting only the best technology to serve our residents. As both a property management company and a team that has supported Tumble through this last investment round, we’re doubling down on the growth and success of the company and look forward to seeing their continued expansion.”
Tumble was founded in 2019 by CEO Scott Patterson, having just finished serving 11 years in The United States Marine Corps, where laundry was a valued commodity–learning to fold or find whoever owned the clothing in a machine. After leaving the military and moving to San Francisco, Patterson found mostly broken, unreliable laundry machines, dirty rooms, stolen clothes and expensive cards to refill.
Shortly after, the U.S. experienced a coin shortage during the height of the pandemic, further perpetuating the pain of the traditional laundry room while rendering some completely useless. Patterson quickly launched Tumble in San Francisco in 2021 and has since quadrupled its market share and has grown the team to meet a nationwide demand for smart laundry.
Tumble is set to soon debut a new pickup and delivery service that taps into the growing gig economy’s $347 billion potential. The offering will further expand platform capabilities and value for Tumble customers, and give consumers the opportunity to earn using their existing laundry rooms.
“We have re-engineered the shared laundry model by creating the infrastructure and technology that brings the machines and software to people, allowing us to streamline and monetize the experience,” said Tumble CTO and former founder of Washio Bob Wall. “Our new pickup and delivery service provides a way for people to earn money using an existing amenity in their apartment building while tapping into pent up demand for gig economy workers that may not have, or may not want to drive their car in order to earn extra money.”
“Tumble is driving the industry towards value creation, instead of extracting income from residents. We’re incredibly proud to have the support of our investment partners and customers to further our vision to modernize the laundry experience and ultimately, end laundry day for good,” added Patterson.
Tumble is currently in thousands of units managed by leading property management companies including: 2B Living, Veritas Investments Inc., FPI Management, Moss & Company, AMC Management LLC, Rainey Property Management, Shomof Group, GreenTree Property Management, Mosser Structure Properties, R.A. Snyder, AWI Management, Q10 Property Advisors, to name a few.
To learn more about Tumble, visit Tumble.to. To join the waitlist for Tumble’s new pickup and delivery service, sign up today at jointumble.com.
About Tumble
Tumble is the smart laundry technology platform that offers an all digital experience from cashless payment to cycle tracking and machine security. Tumble’s Smart Laundry platform is first of its kind, allowing users to simply download the app, add balance to their wallet, choose their location and connect to Tumble’s laundry machines with a unique code. Using its proprietary technology, Tumble allows users to pay, track and lock their machines, getting notifications until the cycle is complete. Tumble also offers Smart Support for help, to report issues and give feedback in real time, freeing up onsite teams by 90 percent on average. Founded in 2019 out of San Francisco, Tumble currently services California, with expansion plans for Chicago and NYC in 2023. To learn more, visit tumble.to.