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Tired of washing clothes? Call Dhobi Wala - Three entrepreneurs offer pick up and drop laundry services in Bhubaneswar

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PRATYUSH PATRA Published 18.02.14, 12:00 AM

Bhubaneswar, Feb. 17: Doing your laundry is just a call away now.

Dhobi Waale, a start-up by three young men, makes cleaning dirty laundry as simple as ordering a pizza from home.

Srijeet Mishra, 29, who has been working in different cities, was on a visit to his hometown Bhubaneswar when he failed to find a hassle-free laundry unit in the city. It was then that he had a brainwave. He met up with friends Animesh Ekka, a 30-year-old engineer, and Ajaya Kumar Behera, a 30-year-old shutterbug, and came up with the idea of Dhobi Waale.

Offering services in ironing, washing and dry-cleaning, their unit at Patia provides laundry pick and drop services as well. Needless to say, their clientele mostly includes college goers and young professionals.

“I met a few entrepreneurs in New Delhi and discussed the idea of opening an online laundry service. I got a fair idea of finances required and the three of us did some brainstorming. We launched our website and after a short trial run, we started operations,” said Srijeet, an engineer handling web and mobile application-based projects.

The name, Dhobi Waale, was chosen because the three friends wanted it to sound a little desi.

Their initial struggle was to make citizens believe that they were not a fraud company. “People did not initially believe that such a service was available at their doorstep. We convinced them that we did not come up with a website just to steal a few clothes,” grins Ajaya, who is at the helm of managing the day-to-day affairs of the business. Srijeet, who is based in Bangalore, is working on expansion plans while Animesh, based in Hyderabad, looks after the accounts. They took the help of social media, bulk emails and pamphlets to market their start-up.

One of the major attractions of Dhobi Waale is the price. “We offer attractive prices that are at least five rupees less than the roadside washerman,” said Srijeet. While pillow covers are cleaned for Rs 6, blankets are rendered spotless at Rs 150. It also offers monthly, bi-weekly subscription plans and special plans for students.

The unit that began in November, today has 125 loyal customers and this number is only growing. As far as profits are concerned, the team is happy to be able to run without losses.

The trio has employed eight washermen, who have been doing the job for more than four generations and have good knowledge of fabrics and detergents. Three delivery boys pick up and deliver the laundry. Dhobi Waale believes in using hands to clean rather than machines because they claim it damages clothes. “We wash with love” goes their tagline.

By February end, the company aims to extend its services to Cuttack, Rourkela and Angul. “Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi are next in line,” said Animesh, who want to make Dhobi Waale a national phenomenon.

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