From Farm Kid to 22 Locations: How One Operator Used Technology to Build a Modern Laundromat Empire

From Farm Kid to 22 Locations: How One Operator Used Technology to Build a Modern Laundromat Empire

Dillan Smith thought he was buying a semi-passive business. What he built instead was a technology-driven operation that’s redefining what modern laundromat ownership looks like.

Growing up on a small family farm in northwest Iowa, I learned two things early: the value of hard work and the hunger to build something of my own.

In 2018, my brother-in-law Jon Schemmel and I began searching for what we called a semi-passive business — something that might eventually let us step away from corporate careers and build something we were genuinely proud of. We looked at everything. If it was for sale, we considered it.

By the fall of 2020, we had our answer: a car wash and laundromat combo. One location became three by year’s end. The growth didn’t slow down from there.

Neither did the reality check.

Five years ago, our operation ran on paper timecards, a carabiner full of keys and a suggestion box nailed to the wall. Managing everything meant constant in-person trips, a never-ending stream of phone calls and the kind of sleepless nights where you’re never quite sure you have a handle on anything.

The turning point came when we forced ourselves to name the pinch points keeping us up at night: cash collections, auditing, maintenance, parts ordering, payroll. In 2020, all of it was manual. All of it was a liability.

Today, our tech stack looks fundamentally different.

ConnectTeam serves as our management hub — the place where we assign and track tasks, run daily progress reports, manage parts and supply needs and audit cash collections across every store. It is, as we think of it internally, the heartbeat of the business. For customer communication, we started with a burner flip phone and have since upgraded to Quo, formerly known as OpenPhone, which allows our entire management team to monitor messages and spot trends in real time.

Most recently, I built an AI tool called OpenClaw, which is being trained to monitor and respond to customer inquiries, automate task creation based on conversations, and eventually route the right issues to the right team member directly. We’ve also added smart door locks, smart key lock boxes, an Alexa system for in-store music and remote messaging, and platforms including Dexter Live, Speed Queen Insights and Laundroworks for payment solutions, remote machine management and sharper business data.

Every tool we adopt gets held against the same standard.

Our business motto is simple: Clean. Efficient. Friendly. Before any new technology earns a place in our operation, we ask one question — does it help us deliver a better experience for our customers and our team? If the answer is yes, we’re in.

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