From Instagram to Open Doors with Catherine Chalpin
Catherine Chalpin came to laundry the way a lot of people do these days: she saw something on Instagram, thought it looked manageable, and started doing her homework. What followed was about as fast a path from interest to open doors as you are likely to find. In this episode of Full Cycle, Chalpin shares how she went from watching someone unload quarters into a bucket to running Pop In Laundry in Poughkeepsie, New York, all within roughly a year.
Catherine Chalpin came to laundry the way a lot of people do these days: she saw something on Instagram, thought it looked manageable, and started doing her homework. What followed was about as fast a path from interest to open doors as you are likely to find. In this episode of Full Cycle, Chalpin shares how she went from watching someone unload quarters into a bucket to running Pop In Laundry in Poughkeepsie, New York, all within roughly a year.
The location she landed on was a zombie mat, stripped of equipment after a dryer fire, but with its infrastructure largely intact. Chalpin, who has a background in project management through years of renovating rental properties, saw the bones of the space and knew what to do. She managed the buildout herself, skipping a general contractor, and opened in January 2026.
Her day job selling indoor athletic flooring for nonprofits and athletic facilities has shaped how she thinks about community relationships, and that shows in how she runs her store. In her first few months, she organized a clothing drive with the Salvation Army, launched a summer reading program in partnership with the local library, secured a deal to flyer cars in her plaza, and began providing laundry cards to clients of Family Services of Poughkeepsie. A pop-up comedy show at the laundromat was also on the list. She credits a background in marketing and promotions for her instinct to keep things fresh and community-facing.
Chalpin and host, Matt DeWolf also get into the practical side of running a new store: the lint trap surprise mid-construction, the value of a good automated floor mopper, the importance of a simple pricing reference sheet for staff, and the challenge of managing time across a full-time job and a new business. Her advice to anyone just getting into the industry is straightforward: read, listen, network, and learn the permit process in your municipality before you need it.
Her final answer on what one thing you can do today to be better tomorrow: get familiar with AI. She’s been using it to build frameworks, manage scheduling, and handle operational work since before the store opened, and considers it an essential part of how she runs things now.
Thanks for giving us a turn.
Host: Matt DeWolf | Guest: Catherine Chalpin, Founder, Pop In Laundry
Related Posts
-
PodcastCuriosity and Mentors Make the Difference for Two Women in Laundry Service
In this episode of Full Cycle, Matt DeWolf sits down with two women who have built long careers on the service and maintenance side of the laundry industry: Jennifer Gonzalez, Senior Manager of Servic…
2 min read -
Member SpotlightBuilding for the Long Run: How One Long Island Operator Turned Strategic Thinking into Three Thriving Stores
Joseph Musheyev didn’t stumble into the laundry business. The Long Island storeowner came in with intention, armed with research and a clear-eyed understanding that success in this industry depends as…
6 min read -
NewsCLA Advocacy Has Saved Laundromat Owners and Customers $7.4 Billion, Report Finds
Two decades of work in statehouses and Washington kept taxes, mandates and shutdown orders from raising costs across the industry
CLA Advocacy Has Saved Laundromat Owners and Custome…
3 min read