Assertion Supported
Boyd: Dry cleaning chemicals degrade delicate fabrics and strip natural oils
“So ultimately the chemicals in dry cleaning are not great for you, for the environment or for the clothing.
especially the clothing, it tent, it leaves it's not even really cleaning it.
It's a solution that will take care of stains and it cleans it, but it's …”
Assertion Supported
Boyd: Silk and cashmere fabrics are washable at home
“Silk is washable. Cashmere is washable.”
What-if
Boyd: The Laundress would have lost brand control taking early VC money
“We probably could have done a lot more at a faster pace. Not probably. We definitely could have. But we wouldn't have the same amount of control. Our brand would most likely look very different today.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Boyd: Europe and Asia adopted The Laundress faster than the US
“They are fanatics about caring for their wardrobe. So they jumped on board quickly. And so did Europe as well, a lot faster than the U.S. Market.”
Insight
Boyd: Getting acquired does not instantly scale a brand overnight
“While scaling will happen, it's not, oh, you acquire, you get acquired and like, poof, you're an overnight sensation. Like it's not, it doesn't work that quickly.”
Disclosure
Boyd: The Laundress avoided contract manufacturers to control product formulations
“We wanted, we didn't want to go to a manufacturer and just say, make something for us. We wanted to know what we were making, and I think that's what's woven into the whole business, is that we wanted to make sure we were in control of what we were making.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Boyd: The Laundress ordered just 250 units per SKU initially
“We ordered about 250 of each SKU, a very small run.”
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Boyd: The Laundress gave Bergdorf Goodman a six-month exclusive retail window
“We gave them an exclusive for six months to be the only people selling the laundress, and this worked out really well.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Boyd: A Russian distributor secretly produced counterfeit Laundress products
“Ultimately the distributor that we were working with then come to find out, which is even worse than what he was doing with the manufacturer, was that he was making counterfeit product.”
What-if
Boyd: The Laundress survived the 2008 crash by avoiding US boutique reliance
“Because if we were only sold in the U.S. Boutiques, we would not have come out of that the way we did.”
Assertion Supported
Boyd: The Laundress opened its first retail store in Tokyo, not NYC
“Actually, our first store wasn't in New York City. It was in Sinjuku Station in Tokyo, Japan.”
Assertion Supported
Boyd: Unilever kept The Laundress operating independently post-acquisition
“The way that they work is that they really are adamant about keeping the brand separate, but obviously joined, but separate in the sense where we're still have our same office. We still have all the same employees and Our DNA looks and feels the same. We have …”
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Saks Fifth Avenue and Henri Bendel bought Boyd's side-hustle t-shirts
“Ultimately, Saks Fifth Avenue and Henry Bendel's bought them”
Disclosure
Boyd: The Laundress raised its first $10K through a Soap Splash party
“We threw what we called the soap splash, and that was something, it was a for-profit party where we invited all of our friends and family and past boyfriends and current boyfriends and anyone that would show up we would say we serve them wine and our idea and …”
Disclosure
Boyd: The Laundress secured a $100K SBA loan leveraging 401(k) accounts
“And then, ultimately, we were able to secure an SBA loan of a 100,000 dollars.”
Assertion Open · timeframe Jul 2020
Boyd: The Laundress trademarked its brand in every country it sold in
“We early on had all our name trademarked in any country that we were sold to. So we owned the licensing and the trademarks.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Boyd: Landed Chanel account executive role via Women's Wear Daily ad
“I found an ad in Women's Wear Daily. I think it's like one of the few times they put an ad in, and I read that that was my paper, and I didn't know anyone there. I just sent in my resume and called them and called them and called them, and then I got the job. …”
