Full Cycle

On this episode of Full Cycle, host Matt DeWolf talks with Brian Wallace, president and CEO of CLA, The Laundry Association, about a side of the organization's work that rarely gets discussed: legislative and regulatory advocacy on behalf of laundromat owners.

Wallace walks through CLA's new Advocacy Impact Report, which puts a dollar figure, $7.4 billion, on decades of legislative wins. That includes the effort to have laundromats...

Joe Ebanks did not set out to become a laundromat owner. A real estate investor for more than 25 years, Ebanks was negotiating a home purchase from a woman named Linda when the deal fell through. Weeks later, Linda called with an unexpected offer: would he be interested in buying her laundromat instead. Ebanks and his wife, Lisa, knew nothing about the business beyond the old assumption that laundromats were reliable cash generator...

Catherine Fisher never planned to enter the laundry industry. A longtime real estate agent in Corvallis, Oregon, she built a side business managing about a dozen Airbnb properties, a portfolio that produced an overwhelming amount of laundry. Towels, sheets, blankets and pillows piled up faster than she expected, and for years she paid someone else to handle it at a local laundromat.

The math that changed everything

At some point, F...

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.

J...

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 ...

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 Dec...

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 ...

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...

Catherine Chalpin came to laundry the way a lot of people do these days: she saw something on Instagram, thought it looked manageable, and started doing her homework. What followed was about as fast a path from interest to open doors as you are likely to find. In this episode of Full Cycle, Chalpin shares how she went from watching someone unload quarters into a bucket to running Pop In Laundry in Poughkeepsie, New York, all within...

We are checking in with Tim Johnson and his progress as he builds Operation Laundry. This is the second conversation and a lot has changed since the first one two months ago. Johnson is building Operation Laundry in Holland, Michigan, and the project is moving closer to the finish line. Johnson joins host Matt DeWolf to talk about the current status.

The construction is ongoing but the theme of this episode is community engagement....

On this episode of Full Cycle, Matt DeWolf sits down with Tim Johnson, founder of Operation Laundry in Holland, Michigan, for a conversation unlike most on the show. Tim's laundromat is not open yet, and this episode follows his journey in real time, offering a candid look at what it actually takes to build something from scratch in this industry.

Tim's background is anything but traditional for a laundromat owner. A former Air For...

In this episode of Full Cycle, Matt DeWolf sits down with Alex Jekowsky, founder and CEO of Cents, to discuss the company's recently closed Series C funding round, The round finalized at $140 million, and it is the largest outside investment the laundry industry has seen.

The conversation covers what this capital signals about the state of the industry, how Cents plans to deploy the funds, and what operators at every scale should b...

Host Matt DeWolf sits down with Brian Henderson and Ian Gollahon, co-owners of Liberty Laundry and founders of Wash Dry Fold POS, to explore what it takes to run and grow a laundry operation.

Brian Henderson went from studying chemistry to managing, and eventually purchasing, a chain of Oklahoma laundromats from his family. That journey led to the creation of a point-of-sale system now used by over 1,200 laundromats nationwide. Ian...

In this episode, host Matt DeWolf sits down with Cristina Iacobelli, owner of College Coin Laundry in Oceanside, Calif.. With over 31 years of experience in the laundromat industry, Cristina shares her journey from entering the business as a young mom, to running her laundromat solo for 25 years after buying out her family and navigating life as a single woman business owner.

The conversation covers the unique challenges and proud ...

Welcome back to Full Cycle, the podcast that explores the entrepreneurial spirit behind the laundry business. In this episode, host Matt DeWolf sits down with Beau Perra, the founder of Lotta's Laundry, a pickup and delivery laundry service on Bainbridge Island. Beau and his wife didn't come from the laundry industry. They brought their branding and digital marketing backgrounds and channeled that experience into building a communi...

In this episode of Full Cycle, host Matt DeWolf and guest Jim Hohnstein take you on a journey through time and transformation. Jim Hohnstein shares the fascinating story of how he turned a historic 1907 bank building in Lafayette, Colorado, into a thriving, modern laundromat with a loyal customer base; some of whom drive over 35 miles just for the experience.

Discover how Jim Hohnstein comb...

In today’s special segment, "Laundry Leaders Unfolded," join CLA CEO Brian Wallace as he sits down with Alex Jekowsky, CEO of Cents. 

Discover why recurring revenue is the envy of so many businesses, and how memberships -once a novelty - are now becoming an essential part of creating dependable income and deeper customer relationships. Jekowsky breaks down practical examples of successful subscription models, offers acti...

Welcome to the very first episode of the newly rebranded Full Cycle podcast, formerly the PlanetLaundry podcast!

Hosted by Matt DeWolf, this episode sets the stage for a fresh perspective on the laundromat industry—one that digs deep into the stories, insights, and innovations shaping both community and business.

Joining Matt DeWolf is Amanda Sidell, owner of The Laundry Basket in Maine. Amanda Sidell brings a unique backgrou...

Welcome to the final episode of the PlanetLaundry Podcast, a show that’s been a trusted voice for laundromat owners and industry professionals for years. Today, Matt DeWolf is joined by Brian Wallace, President and CEO of the Coin Laundry Association (CLA), to talk about a big transition: the PlanetLaundry Podcast is evolving into the Full Cycle Podcast, accompanied by a revamped publication and expanded digital resources.

In...