Full Cycle

In this episode of Full Cycle, host Matt DeWolf checks back in with Tim Johnson for the third installment of his series following the launch of Operation Laundry, a destination laundromat in Holland, Michigan. The earlier episodes covered Johnson's decision to leverage his 401(k) to fund the project, the construction process and his approach to building community and staffing systems. This conversation picks up after opening day.

Johnson shares that Operation Laundry officially opened on June 1, roughly a month behind his original May target. Construction took about 90 days after a 50-day demolition process he handled himself. He describes the response from the community as overwhelmingly positive, noting the business has collected more than 360 five-star reviews in five or six weeks, which he attributes to building relationships with customers and asking for feedback directly.

The conversation also covers the more difficult realities of the first weeks in business. Johnson talks about running the laundromat at a loss while working to reduce labor costs, since staffing is the one expense he can control. He recounts unexpected challenges, including customers who ignore posted signage, an aversion to technology among older customers and two flooding incidents caused by improperly sized bulkheads. He explains the fixes put in place since, including remote water shutoff controls and floor sensors that alert him to leaks.

Johnson and DeWolf discuss the ongoing effort to build commercial accounts and wash-and-fold service, which Johnson sees as necessary to move the business toward profitability, since self-serve washing alone is expected to break even. He closes with a piece of advice he attributes to a college football coach: the value of consistently taking action, which he ties back to his own habit of showing up and doing the work even when progress feels slow.

Thanks for giving us a turn.

In this episode of Full Cycle, host Matt DeWolf checks back in with Tim Johnson for the third installment of his series following the launch of Operation Laundry, a destination laundromat in Holland, Michigan. The earlier episodes covered Johnson's decision to leverage his 401(k) to fund the project, the construction process and his approach to building community and staffing systems. This conversation picks up after opening day.

Johnson shares that Operation Laundry officially opened on June 1, roughly a month behind his original May target. Construction took about 90 days after a 50-day demolition process he handled himself. He describes the response from the community as overwhelmingly positive, noting the business has collected more than 360 five-star reviews in five or six weeks, which he attributes to building relationships with customers and asking for feedback directly.

The conversation also covers the more difficult realities of the first weeks in business. Johnson talks about running the laundromat at a loss while working to reduce labor costs, since staffing is the one expense he can control. He recounts unexpected challenges, including customers who ignore posted signage, an aversion to technology among older customers and two flooding incidents caused by improperly sized bulkheads. He explains the fixes put in place since, including remote water shutoff controls and floor sensors that alert him to leaks.

Johnson and DeWolf discuss the ongoing effort to build commercial accounts and wash-and-fold service, which Johnson sees as necessary to move the business toward profitability, since self-serve washing alone is expected to break even. He closes with a piece of advice he attributes to a college football coach: the value of consistently taking action, which he ties back to his own habit of showing up and doing the work even when progress feels slow.

Thanks for giving us a turn.

Host Matt DeWolf talks with Amy Knopf and Avi Robbins, co-founders of A+ Laundry in Atlanta, about leaving private equity careers to build a laundry business from the ground up.

Knopf and Robbins both spent years in private equity before deciding to strike out on their own. Knopf's background is in commercial real estate, where she spent 14 years as an owner and operator across office, retail and multifamily properties. Her family has also run a commercial laundry business in Ohio for 95 years, giving her an early connection to the industry. Robbins spent about 15 years running manufacturing businesses for private equity firms, focused on launching new products in the medical and life science space. The two have known each other for more than 10 years, and after independently considering their next moves, they landed on laundry as an industry with room to grow.

They founded A+ Laundry in February 2025 and spent months evaluating opportunities across the greater Atlanta area, which has more than 300 laundromats. Their first deal came together quickly after a seller who had discovered that laundry wasn't for them agreed to terms within days, though the lease assignment process with the property owner delayed closing until September. They also acquired a pickup and delivery business built on two decades of paper-based routes, which they have since moved to a digital system for online requests and route optimization.

Much of the conversation centers on how Knopf and Robbins approached retooling their first laundromat. They redesigned the customer flow, moving the attendant desk and payment center to the front of the store so staff can greet customers as they arrive. New lighting, paint and a dedicated welcome area were part of an effort to create what Knopf calls a better laundry day, whether customers use the physical location or the pickup and delivery service.

Robbins and Knopf also discuss the operational lessons they have picked up along the way, including the importance of finding a trusted equipment distributor, budgeting realistically for marketing and community outreach, and building technology tools that let them monitor equipment and supply levels remotely. Knopf notes that A+ Laundry's tagline, "It's about time," reflects their focus on saving time for both their team and their customers.

The two close by sharing what has surprised them most since launching the business, including how deeply they have become involved in community events, and by offering listeners a piece of advice each: start fresh each day and give it full effort, and take time to listen closely to what customers, employees and potential sellers actually need.

Thanks for giving us a turn.

Host Matt DeWolf talks with Amy Knopf and Avi Robbins, co-founders of A+ Laundry in Atlanta, about leaving private equity careers to build a laundry business from the ground up.

Knopf and Robbins both spent years in private equity before deciding to strike out on their own. Knopf's background is in commercial real estate, where she spent 14 years as an owner and operator across office, retail and multifamily properties. Her family has also run a commercial laundry business in Ohio for 95 years, giving her an early connection to the industry. Robbins spent about 15 years running manufacturing businesses for private equity firms, focused on launching new products in the medical and life science space. The two have known each other for more than 10 years, and after independently considering their next moves, they landed on laundry as an industry with room to grow.

They founded A+ Laundry in February 2025 and spent months evaluating opportunities across the greater Atlanta area, which has more than 300 laundromats. Their first deal came together quickly after a seller who had discovered that laundry wasn't for them agreed to terms within days, though the lease assignment process with the property owner delayed closing until September. They also acquired a pickup and delivery business built on two decades of paper-based routes, which they have since moved to a digital system for online requests and route optimization.

Much of the conversation centers on how Knopf and Robbins approached retooling their first laundromat. They redesigned the customer flow, moving the attendant desk and payment center to the front of the store so staff can greet customers as they arrive. New lighting, paint and a dedicated welcome area were part of an effort to create what Knopf calls a better laundry day, whether customers use the physical location or the pickup and delivery service.

Robbins and Knopf also discuss the operational lessons they have picked up along the way, including the importance of finding a trusted equipment distributor, budgeting realistically for marketing and community outreach, and building technology tools that let them monitor equipment and supply levels remotely. Knopf notes that A+ Laundry's tagline, "It's about time," reflects their focus on saving time for both their team and their customers.

The two close by sharing what has surprised them most since launching the business, including how deeply they have become involved in community events, and by offering listeners a piece of advice each: start fresh each day and give it full effort, and take time to listen closely to what customers, employees and potential sellers actually need.

Thanks for giving us a turn.

Kate Wolfe came to the laundry industry the way many do, by following a thread of curiosity until it became a plan. A TikTok video about passive income sent her down a research rabbit hole, and within a year or two she had identified a laundromat near her home in Pennsylvania, arranged financing, and called the owner before her husband even knew what was happening. That first location, which they renamed Laundry Lane, closed in December 2023. Six months later, they bought the building. Four months after that, they acquired a second location.

Wolfe runs both stores with her husband, George, and the division of responsibilities has developed organically. George handles the mechanical side, maintenance, and property management. Kate brings an MBA and a background in people management, process development, and systems design from her years working on a government contract. She wrote SOPs, built training programs, developed flowcharts and job aids, and tracked processing times. That experience translated directly into how she runs Laundry Lane.

When they hired their first employee, roughly 18 months in, Kate had already built out a checklist that accounted for daily, weekly, and monthly tasks, with specific days assigned to specific recurring work. The goal was consistency, making sure the store looked the same regardless of who had cleaned it. She traces that standard back to a simple test her husband applies: if his 77-year-old mother can feel comfortable there at night, then the space is doing what it should.

In this episode, Kate talks about how the culture she is building at Laundry Lane is the connective tissue between her brand and her customer experience. That includes hiring former customers when possible, backing her staff when a customer crosses a line, and making sure employees understand why the standards matter, not just what they are. The two-way security cameras serve as a customer service tool as much as a safety measure. Magnetic locks let late customers finish their laundry without being rushed out. Small decisions, consistently made, have added up to a customer base that sweeps the floors on their own and drives past closer options to use washer number five.

Kate is candid about what she and George did not know when they started and how much they learned after they were already in it. The CLA, the Laundromat Resource Podcast, and other industry resources came later, once they had already stumbled through the early lessons on their own. Her advice for anyone new to the industry is to find those resources before you need them.

Her closing thought for the episode is a reframe on productivity: rather than measuring a day against a long to-do list, identify the one thing that matters most that day and do that well. Some days that is a business goal. Some days it is being present for her daughter. Either one counts as a successful day.

Thanks for giving us a turn.

Kate Wolfe came to the laundry industry the way many do, by following a thread of curiosity until it became a plan. A TikTok video about passive income sent her down a research rabbit hole, and within a year or two she had identified a laundromat near her home in Pennsylvania, arranged financing, and called the owner before her husband even knew what was happening. That first location, which they renamed Laundry Lane, closed in December 2023. Six months later, they bought the building. Four months after that, they acquired a second location.

Wolfe runs both stores with her husband, George, and the division of responsibilities has developed organically. George handles the mechanical side, maintenance, and property management. Kate brings an MBA and a background in people management, process development, and systems design from her years working on a government contract. She wrote SOPs, built training programs, developed flowcharts and job aids, and tracked processing times. That experience translated directly into how she runs Laundry Lane.

When they hired their first employee, roughly 18 months in, Kate had already built out a checklist that accounted for daily, weekly, and monthly tasks, with specific days assigned to specific recurring work. The goal was consistency, making sure the store looked the same regardless of who had cleaned it. She traces that standard back to a simple test her husband applies: if his 77-year-old mother can feel comfortable there at night, then the space is doing what it should.

In this episode, Kate talks about how the culture she is building at Laundry Lane is the connective tissue between her brand and her customer experience. That includes hiring former customers when possible, backing her staff when a customer crosses a line, and making sure employees understand why the standards matter, not just what they are. The two-way security cameras serve as a customer service tool as much as a safety measure. Magnetic locks let late customers finish their laundry without being rushed out. Small decisions, consistently made, have added up to a customer base that sweeps the floors on their own and drives past closer options to use washer number five.

Kate is candid about what she and George did not know when they started and how much they learned after they were already in it. The CLA, the Laundromat Resource Podcast, and other industry resources came later, once they had already stumbled through the early lessons on their own. Her advice for anyone new to the industry is to find those resources before you need them.

Her closing thought for the episode is a reframe on productivity: rather than measuring a day against a long to-do list, identify the one thing that matters most that day and do that well. Some days that is a business goal. Some days it is being present for her daughter. Either one counts as a successful day.

Thanks for giving us a turn.

Cathy Neilley spent years working her way through corporate America, from clinical laboratory work at major New York hospitals to pharmaceutical sales, biotech management, and eventually e-commerce and product management at Johnson & Johnson. The training was excellent and the travel was broad, but the path upward grew uncertain, and she began looking for a way out on her own terms.

The idea for a laundromat came from a moment of genuine frustration. Returning from a work trip with a suitcase of dirty clothes, she found the building laundry room occupied and uninviting, then discovered a small neighborhood shop offering wash, dry, and fold service. The result changed her thinking: professional women needed a better laundry option, and she was going to build it. That was the beginning of Spin Doctor, which has now been operating for 13 years.

The franchise came later, and somewhat unexpectedly. A family relocation dried up the capital she had set aside for expanding her own store count, and her husband suggested they franchise the concept instead. They worked with a packaging company to build out the legal framework, prepared for a slow road, and then watched COVID pause and paradoxically accelerate everything. People reconsidering their careers after the pandemic were looking for small business opportunities, and Spin Doctor now has 12 franchisees in active build-out phases across New Jersey, New York, Florida, Georgia, Texas, and Minnesota.

Neilley speaks candidly about what it has meant to build this in an industry that has historically been male-dominated, much like the corporate world she left. Women make up less than five percent of laundromat owners, and she has a stated goal of reaching 30 percent female or female-majority ownership across Spin Doctor franchises. Visibility, she argues, is what moves that number. People need to see that it is possible before they will believe it is possible for them.

Her closing advice: admit what you do not know, and stay curious. Learning from industries and situations that have nothing obvious to do with your own work has a way of paying off when you least expect it.

Thanks for giving us a turn.

Cathy Neilley spent years working her way through corporate America, from clinical laboratory work at major New York hospitals to pharmaceutical sales, biotech management, and eventually e-commerce and product management at Johnson & Johnson. The training was excellent and the travel was broad, but the path upward grew uncertain, and she began looking for a way out on her own terms.

The idea for a laundromat came from a moment of genuine frustration. Returning from a work trip with a suitcase of dirty clothes, she found the building laundry room occupied and uninviting, then discovered a small neighborhood shop offering wash, dry, and fold service. The result changed her thinking: professional women needed a better laundry option, and she was going to build it. That was the beginning of Spin Doctor, which has now been operating for 13 years.

The franchise came later, and somewhat unexpectedly. A family relocation dried up the capital she had set aside for expanding her own store count, and her husband suggested they franchise the concept instead. They worked with a packaging company to build out the legal framework, prepared for a slow road, and then watched COVID pause and paradoxically accelerate everything. People reconsidering their careers after the pandemic were looking for small business opportunities, and Spin Doctor now has 12 franchisees in active build-out phases across New Jersey, New York, Florida, Georgia, Texas, and Minnesota.

Neilley speaks candidly about what it has meant to build this in an industry that has historically been male-dominated, much like the corporate world she left. Women make up less than five percent of laundromat owners, and she has a stated goal of reaching 30 percent female or female-majority ownership across Spin Doctor franchises. Visibility, she argues, is what moves that number. People need to see that it is possible before they will believe it is possible for them.

Her closing advice: admit what you do not know, and stay curious. Learning from industries and situations that have nothing obvious to do with your own work has a way of paying off when you least expect it.

Thanks for giving us a turn.

In this episode of Full Cycle, Matt DeWolf sits down with two women who have built long careers on the service and maintenance side of the laundry industry: Jennifer Gonzalez, Senior Manager of Service at Maytag Commercial Laundry, and Jackie McFeely, National Service Manager for Dependable Laundry Solution in Australia.

Both guests trace their comfort with tools and troubleshooting back to childhood. Jennifer recalls disassembling her father's lawn tractor at age six, and Jackie grew up helping in her father's mechanic shop. Neither set out specifically for laundry, but both found their way there through a combination of curiosity, good mentors, and an appreciation for working closely with customers. 

The conversation covers what it has been like to work in a field where women remain underrepresented, how both guests have navigated bias with patience and by simply demonstrating their expertise, and why they believe representation matters as much on the customer side as it does within their own organizations. Jennifer and Jackie also talk about their ongoing working relationship across two continents, and what makes the partnership between a manufacturer and a distributor function well over time.

On the question of encouraging more people into the trades, both guests point to the same thing: let people try. Jackie's advice is to have a go. Jennifer's is to remember that there is a video for almost everything, and that most mistakes can be undone.

Thanks for giving us a turn.

In this episode of Full Cycle, Matt DeWolf sits down with two women who have built long careers on the service and maintenance side of the laundry industry: Jennifer Gonzalez, Senior Manager of Service at Maytag Commercial Laundry, and Jackie McFeely, National Service Manager for Dependable Laundry Solution in Australia.

Both guests trace their comfort with tools and troubleshooting back to childhood. Jennifer recalls disassembling her father's lawn tractor at age six, and Jackie grew up helping in her father's mechanic shop. Neither set out specifically for laundry, but both found their way there through a combination of curiosity, good mentors, and an appreciation for working closely with customers. 

The conversation covers what it has been like to work in a field where women remain underrepresented, how both guests have navigated bias with patience and by simply demonstrating their expertise, and why they believe representation matters as much on the customer side as it does within their own organizations. Jennifer and Jackie also talk about their ongoing working relationship across two continents, and what makes the partnership between a manufacturer and a distributor function well over time.

On the question of encouraging more people into the trades, both guests point to the same thing: let people try. Jackie's advice is to have a go. Jennifer's is to remember that there is a video for almost everything, and that most mistakes can be undone.

Thanks for giving us a turn.