Starchup

Name

Starchup

Legal name

Make Cents Technologies Incorporated

Website

https://starchup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Starchup is a Chicago-based SaaS platform founded in 2014 that enables app-based delivery services for businesses, with an initial focus on dry cleaning operators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Subscription Software (SaaS): Cents operates primarily as a SaaS platform with subscription-based pricing for access to Cents OS and its various modules including POS, business management, memberships, marketing tools, and reporting.
2. Payment Processing / Transaction Fees: Cents Connect enables card payments at laundry machines, generating transaction fees on payment processing through their payment infrastructure.
3. Hardware Sales (Cents Connect Devices): Sale of Cents Connect hardware devices that enable machine payment capabilities. These are physical card readers/payment devices installed on laundry equipment.
4. Professional Services & Setup: Implementation, training, and customer success services to help operators adopt and optimize the platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Starchup is a SaaS platform that enables app-based delivery for service businesses, starting with the dry cleaning vertical. The aggregated source content positions it within a broader integrated laundry and dry-cleaning business management software ecosystem offering POS, machine payment integration, pickup and delivery dispatch, AI-powered customer service, memberships, marketing automation, websites, commercial invoicing, insurance, inventory, and financial reporting — all unified under a single cloud platform used by 4,500+ stores.

Product overview

Cents (Make Cents Technologies Incorporated) offers an all-in-one laundry and dry cleaning business management platform called Cents OS, serving 4,500+ stores. The architecture consists of a core unified business management platform (Cents OS) with integrated modules for Point of Sale, machine payment systems, and pickup/delivery management, supplemented by add-on modules including AI Receptionist (Cents Assist), marketing automation (Cents Accelerate), membership subscriptions, website building, commercial invoicing, insurance, inventory tracking, online ordering, team management, and financial reporting. The company also maintains the Laundroworks brand for card payment systems, acquired and integrated into the platform ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Laundroworks: Industry-leading laundry card payment system technology
• Cents POS
• Cents Dispatch
• Cents Connect
• Cents Assist
• Cents Accelerate
• Cents Memberships

Products and services

• Starchup Delivery Platform SaaS platform enabling service businesses — starting with dry cleaning — to offer app-based ordering and on-demand delivery to their end customers, providing the underlying technology infrastructure for digital delivery operations.
• Laundry Business Management Platform (Cents OS) Cloud-based integrated business management platform for laundromat and dry cleaning operators, unifying machine tracking, employee management, financial reporting, and multi-location control. This is the broader platform surfaced in the aggregated source content surrounding Starchup, indicating the delivery capability sits within a wider laundry operating system.
• Pickup and Delivery Management (Dispatch) Pickup and delivery management module featuring on-demand driver integration, geofenced route optimization, custom delivery zones, and real-time customer tracking, allowing laundry and dry cleaning operators to expand into delivery services using their own drivers or gig-economy drivers.

Quantifiable outcome

• AI receptionist filters 80-100% of customer inquiries before reaching the team
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• LaundroworkscoreTechnology or IntegrationLaundroworks is a laundry card payment system company that uses Cents technology under a 'Powered by Cents' arrangement. This represents a technology integration partnership where Cents provides the underlying platform technology that Laundroworks leverages for their card payment system product. The relationship is mutually beneficial, with Laundroworks extending Cents' reach into the machine payment hardware space.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• CleanCloud: Cloud-based POS and business management SaaS for dry cleaners, laundromats, and shoe repairers — the international equivalent in Starchup's vertical, with online ordering and pickup/delivery modules.
• Rinse: On-demand laundry and dry cleaning pickup/delivery service operating in major US metros. Comparable as a dry cleaning delivery platform, though Rinse operates its own delivery rather than providing SaaS.
• Wash.com: Laundry and dry cleaning pickup/delivery service with app-based ordering. Closely comparable consumer-facing dry cleaning delivery product and a competitor for Starchup's operator-side SaaS partnerships.
• Cents (Make Cents Technologies): All-in-one SaaS platform for laundromats and dry cleaners covering POS, machine payments, dispatch, AI receptionist, and memberships. Most directly comparable to Starchup as a vertical SaaS for the same buyer persona, with much greater scale (4,500+ stores, $140M Series C).

Emerging players

• Mulberrys Garment Care: Premium dry cleaning and laundry chain with strong app-based pickup/delivery operations. Comparable as a digitally native dry cleaning delivery brand and a potential partner or competitor for Starchup's platform.
• FlyCleaners: App-based on-demand laundry and dry cleaning delivery platform. Comparable as a digitally native delivery product in the same end-market.
• Poplin: On-demand laundry delivery service operating via independent 'laundry pros'. Comparable consumer-side dry cleaning/laundry delivery experience and a competitor for operator relationships.
• Posimply: POS and business management software purpose-built for dry cleaners. Closely comparable vertical SaaS competitor targeting the same SMB operator buyer.

Regional players

• Laundryheap: UK-headquartered on-demand laundry and dry cleaning delivery platform with international expansion. Comparable delivery product but operates primarily outside Starchup's US geography.

Others

• Laundroworks: Laundry card payment system technology brand now powered by Cents. Comparable as a machine-payment technology provider in the same operator ecosystem, and a potential integration partner or competitor for Starchup.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/starchup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/starchup

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Starchup