Goshen’s Clotheslyne looks to hit the big time

When Goshen resident Camden Olivero was a student at SUNY Oswego, the thought of doing laundry repulsed him so much so that he began paying other students $5 to $10 to do it for him.

“It’s the bane of my existence,” he said. “I can’t stand laundry.”

So, naturally, upon graduation, he got into the laundry business.

Today, the 23-year-old Olivero has teamed up with fellow Goshen resident Daniel Feliciano, 48, to create Clotheslyne, a peer-to-peer marketplace that helps busy people and boutique hotel/short-term rental operators get their laundry done, folded, and delivered. They bring the ease and convenience of Manhattan-level laundry outsourcing to other areas of the country through a network of local “gig workers” using mobile apps that enable their workers, or “Clotheslyners,” to work efficiently and on their own terms.

“Clotheslyne is like a marketplace where our customers tell us how much laundry they want done and we do it by the bag,” said Feliciano. “Think of a tall garbage kitchen bag — about a 13-gallon bag — that you would fill up with as much laundry as you want. One of our local service providers, or gig workers, who live in the area will come to your house, pick up the laundry, take it back to their own house, wash it, fold it and bring it back to you within 24 to 48 hours. It costs $20.”

Started out of Feliciano’s garage last year in Goshen, Clotheslyne is now active in 35 markets across eight states and uses websites like Indeed.com to find “Clotheslyners” and then supports them by providing training, giving them sample orders, and setting them up with their own profiles. According to Olivero and Feliciano, approximately 80% of the “Clotheslyners” are women, mostly moms looking to make extra money, and 80% of their customers are also women.

Clotheslyne is also one of 12 companies participating in this year’s Techstars NYC accelerators program in New York City. Selected entrepreneurs undergo a three-month program with mentors and a network of corporate partners, investors and alumni. They are also afforded the opportunity to fundraise, participate in workshops, and network.

“Techstars NYC has a proud tradition among the very top and highest regarded accelerators in the world since the launch of the program in 2011, and we’re thrilled to continue that tradition with this exciting group of talented founders,” said Jordan Fliegel, managing director of Techstars NYC. “This New York City class will benefit from those who have come before – the existing community of mentors, alumni founders, and investors who will be eager to meet and support them.”

“The goal coming out of Techstars in two months is to bring in other people along with Dan and [me] to help achieve our goal of growing our company and spreading along the entire east coast from Maine to Miami,” Olivero said.

Olivero, chief of operations for Clotheslyne, and Feliciano, the CEO, met in a roundabout way after Olivero’s father, John, met Feliciano at a business function in Goshen.

“My dad was a first responder on 9/11 with FDNY and Dan’s brother-in-law was in my dad’s firehouse,” Olivero explained. “At the time, Dan was a marine about to be deployed to Afghanistan. After 9/11, my dad’s firehouse, through Dan’s brother-in-law, sent Dan a flag with all their signatures on it and Dan flew the flag in a helicopter over Afghanistan.”

It was not long before Olivero was helping Feliciano with his commercial painting company, Matte and Lacquer, which Feliciano is in the process of winding down so he can give his full attention to Clotheslyne.

Customers interested in Clotheslyne’s services can visit Clotheslyne.com or get the Clotheslyne on-demand app at the app store. In the month of December, they are also offering customers $20 off their first order with the promo code GIFT to celebrate the holidays and their acceptance into Techstars.