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Wash Cycle Laundry wins Blackstone competition

Things continue to roll well for Philadelphia's Wash Cycle Laundry, the bicycle-powered laundry delivery service that recently expanded to Washington and Austin.

Gabriel Mandujano (right), founder of Wash Cycle Laundry, aboard one of his company's tricycles. With him was employee Jake Clark. "The blessing and the curse of laundry is that everybody has to do it," Mandujano says.
Gabriel Mandujano (right), founder of Wash Cycle Laundry, aboard one of his company's tricycles. With him was employee Jake Clark. "The blessing and the curse of laundry is that everybody has to do it," Mandujano says.Read more
    by By Diane Mastrull, Inquirer Staff Writer
    Published 

Things continue to roll well for Philadelphia's Wash Cycle Laundry, the bicycle-powered laundry delivery service that recently expanded to Washington and Austin.

Gabriel Mandujano, founder and CEO of the eco-friendly company, won the $25,000 first-place prize Tuesday at the Blackstone LaunchPad Demo Day pitch competition in New York.

Calling Blackstone "among the savviest investors on the planet," Mandujano said the win was valuable recognition for sustainable businesses in general.

"Not too long ago, companies that wanted to do good and do well were often on the fringes," he said. "I think this award is another sign that building a business that cares for people, planet, and profit is the new mainstream."

A member of Philadelphia University's sustainable design faculty, Mandujano represented the school's Blackstone LaunchPad in the competition of 20 entrepreneurs. PhilaU's LaunchPad, which provides coaching resources to entrepreneurs, helped Mandujano prepare his contest pitch.

dmastrull@phillynews.com

215-854-2466 @dmastrull