Startup QA Lorenzo Franzi, Managing Director, ZipJet

Startup QA Lorenzo Franzi, Managing Director, ZipJet Startup QA: Lorenzo Franzi, Managing Director, ZipJet Image Source: Lorenzo FranziLorenzo Franzi and  Florian Färber  founded  their on-demand laundry and dry-cleaning startup, ZipJet, in 2014. The company picks up dirty laundry and dry cleaning from a customer’s home or workplace, and returns it clean and crisp at a time chosen by the customer.ZipJet’s services are  aimed at urban-based entrepreneurs, fashionistas and home-makers with too little time on their hands to deal with mountains of laundry. It’s a  hassle-free laundry solution that has its own  IOS and Android app to streamline the ordering process, and, unlike other services, does not require customer itemisation of laundry.This brief  ZipJet  promotional video shows how the  startup works and the simplicity of the operation conceived by Lorenzo Franzi and Florian  Färber.Video Source: ZipJetIf the success of this simple business idea  sounds to good to be true, think again.  ZipJet started in London in October 2014. By January 2015, they’d expanded to Berlin, with Lorenzo Franzi based in London, and Florian  Färber in the German capital. The remainder of 2016 will see them expand further into new markets.The startup has  grown to encompass a team of 50 in its two core locations, and  has a solid base of at least  25,000 customers. This is truly a customer-centric startup.  ZipJet is always working on enhancing its  functionality.The laundry sector is a hotly contested space, particularly in London, but Lorenzo Franzi generously freed up some of his time to climb into the AGENT Startup Hotset to answer questions about his startup story. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 1. Very simply, what does your company do?ZipJet is an on-demand laundry and dry cleaning service in London, Berlin and Paris. We pick up our customers’ dirty laundry and dry cleaning at a time of their choosing, from home or office. We return this within 6, 24 or 48 hours, depending on customer preference.2. What was the ‘Eureka!’ moment?I have a backg round in consulting, and was accustomed to working long hours, with neither the time (nor volition!) to visit the dry cleaners. It’s a  familiar problem for many! My slightly selfish solution  ZipJet is now used by thousands of users across Europe. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 3. What were you doing before starting?I started my career in finance, spending a little under four years at JPMorgan Chase. I later worked as a consultant at McKinsey for a couple of years. It was during my time at McKinsey that the idea of ZipJet was conceived.4. How are you funded?We are fully funded by Rocket Internet and a series of strategic investors.. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 5. What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs starting their own company?Have a clear initial vision, and focus on that resolutely. Before doing anything else, build a great product first and then set about conquering the world!