{"id":38738,"date":"2023-10-20T14:58:39","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:58:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/iot-startup-eziwash-gets-mobile-in-latest-bid-to-make-going-to-the-laundromat-a-cashless-experience-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T14:58:39","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:58:39","slug":"iot-startup-eziwash-gets-mobile-in-latest-bid-to-make-going-to-the-laundromat-a-cashless-experience-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/iot-startup-eziwash-gets-mobile-in-latest-bid-to-make-going-to-the-laundromat-a-cashless-experience-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"IoT startup Eziwash gets mobile in latest bid to make going to the laundromat a cashless experience – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"laundromat\"<\/div>\n

An Internet of Things startup that began in 2014<\/a> is hoping to capture a greater share of Australian laundromats by adding digital wallet integration to its offering.<\/p>\n

Ian McFarlane is the founder of Eziwash, a Brisbane-based technology startup that is attempting to remove cash from laundromats around Australia by replacing them with internet-enabled washers and dryers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got about 15 clients across Australia, with about 20 sites between them,\u201d McFarlane told StartUpSmart<\/em>. McFarlane owns four of those sites, and across all 20 locations, the startup accepts $50,000 in payments every month.<\/p>\n

Eziwash is now hoping to increase that number, thanks to a new app that allows users to pay seamlessly through mobile. Previously, Eziwash required users to scan QR codes on machines, which linked them to a sign-up website.<\/p>\n

Eziwash functions through a low profile solid-state webserver on the front of the machine, which is connected to the machine\u2019s controls. Through the recently released app, users can sign up to the service and deposit money to run the machines, along with remotely stopping and starting the cycle.<\/p>\n

A tough market to crack<\/strong><\/h3>\n

McFarlane readily admits he has encountered challenges when attempting to scale the business, with finding the right partnerships one of the key hurdles to overcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s growing, but not growing as quickly as I\u2019d like. There\u2019s not much of a laundromat market in Australia, and the owners are usually not very tech savvy,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

While finding interest in the product hasn’t been an issue, training workers to install the machinery has been.<\/p>\n

To overcome his difficulty, McFarlane has sought out partnerships with other businesses that already do installations of laundromats.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re getting a lot of interest from other washing machine manufacturers, and we want to partner with them now. The thing now is getting workers trained up so they know how to install the hardware,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Recently a competing startup has entered the market, but instead of lamenting the potential lost customers, McFarlane says he welcomes the competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have one other competitor on the market now, and it\u2019s good to have a competitor. When people have to compare and evaluate we stand out more,\u201d McFarlane says.<\/p>\n

The competitor only offers card-based payments, so McFarlane believes Eziwash\u2019s digital wallet technology puts his startup a cut above.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why we built it the way we did, to embrace digital wallet technology. Running a card system with a surcharge for each swipe isn\u2019t cost effective,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

However, McFarlane says being first to market hasn\u2019t been all it\u2019s cracked up to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople think that being first or the only one to market is a good thing, but it\u2019s not, it\u2019s a hard road,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce there\u2019s more than one business in the market, their marketing ends up helping us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eziwash\u2019s system is built to be compatible with phone based contactless payment systems such as Android Pay and Apple Pay, and is fully integrated with customer\u2019s smartphones. This has huge benefits for both customers and laundry owners, says McFarlane.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the new online service laundry owners can remotely stop and start machines, which can help with basic level maintenance,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The registration for the service also helps Eziwash market to customers, and McFarlane says knowing your customer is \u201cessential\u201d for all small businesses and startups.<\/p>\n

As for why the market has taken so long to embrace cashless payments, McFarlane believes prevailing attitudes in the industry are to blame.<\/p>\n

\u201cTruthfully it\u2019s the owners. Many of them are in the mindset that laundromats are a cash business and they will always be a cash business,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Australia there\u2019s going to be cash for quite a while. With Eziwash, I hope to get rid of cash-changing machines, I\u2019ve been robbed four times because of those.\u201d<\/p>\n

Future growth<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Not content with only focusing on the Australian market, McFarlane is also casting his eyes to international opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been getting a lot of interest internationally, from the US and Spain. Next year we\u2019ve been given the opportunity to present at the US trade show,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re continuing our Australian roll out, but the markets uptake on new products is definitely slow and steady.\u201d<\/p>\n

For other startups and entrepreneurs looking to tackle the burgeoning IoT space, McFarlane says partnerships are key.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a true believer in partnering, [and] getting partnerships right at the right level,” he says.<\/p>\n

“Startups can’t be the sole channel to market.\u201d<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s a slow process, but it\u2019s necessary to get the people with an industry knowledge, that is the key.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just having good ideas, it\u2019s about engaging with the market through existing channels.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An Internet of Things startup that began in 2014 is hoping to capture a greater share of Australian laundromats by<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61543,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38738"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}