The Laundry Lady
Comment: Other than the shark tank appearance not really seeing anything that isn't WP:ORGTRIV Sulfurboy (talk) 05:26, 17 July 2026 (UTC)
The Laundry Lady is an Australian on-demand laundry service that connects customers with a network of home-based independent contractors for pickup, washing, drying, folding, ironing, and delivery. Founded in 2012 on the Gold Coast, Queensland by Susan Toft, the company is headquartered on the Sunshine Coast and operates throughout Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, with a UK launch anticipated in 2026.[1][2]
The company's services are managed through its proprietary platform TimeBoss, which handles customer bookings, contractor scheduling, and payments.[3] Customers include residential households, businesses, Airbnb operators, National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants, hospitals, and aged care providers.[4]
In October 2023, The Laundry Lady appeared on the fifth season of Shark Tank Australia on Network 10, where founder Susan Toft secured a $1 million handshake deal from investor Robert Herjavec, the largest investment offer in the show's Australian history at the time.[5]
History
Foundation (2012)
Susan Toft founded The Laundry Lady in 2012 on the Gold Coast as a sole trader, after a redundancy from Australian Trade Commission (Austrade), initially performing the laundry service herself to understand the logistics of the business.[6] Toft, then a working mother managing a corporate career, identified laundry as a recurring household task with no widely available outsourcing option. She operated the business as a side project for several years while maintaining other employment.[7]
Growth and full-time operation (2020)
The Laundry Lady's expansion accelerated from 2020, when Toft was made redundant from her corporate role and redirected her attention to the business full-time.[7] To manage increasing demand, Toft collaborated with a developer to build TimeBoss, a custom digital platform replacing the off-the-shelf booking tools the company had previously used.
The Laundry Lady expanded into New Zealand in 2023, establishing its first international contractor network.[8]
Shark Tank Australia (2023)
In October 2023, Susan Toft appeared on the fifth season of Shark Tank Australia. She pitched for AU$750,000 in exchange for a 10% equity stake. Robert Herjavec, who also appears on the US edition of Shark Tank and Dragons’ Den Canada, countered with an offer of AU$1 million for a 30% stake, a handshake deal later confirmed by SmartCompany as the largest in the show's Australian history.[5]
Seed funding and international expansion (2025 - 2026)
In August 2025, The Laundry Lady raised AU$1 million in a seed funding round to support international expansion and technology development. The round was led by Karl Jacoby of the Jacoby Group and supported by Brisbane Angels, AngelLoop, AI entrepreneur Dr Catriona Wallace, and other South East Queensland-based angel investors. The Queensland Government's Female Founders Co-Investment Fund and Austrade's Export Market Development Grant also contributed to the round. A follow on round brought the total seed funding raised to $1.4million.[3][9]
Canada launched at the start of 2026, with contractors operating across two provinces. A UK launch is anticipated before the end of 2026.[1] Revenue reached AU$8.6 million by early 2026, compared to AU$2.7 million at the time of the Shark Tank appearance in 2023.[1]
Business model
The Laundry Lady operates as an online marketplace. Customers book services through the company's website or app; independent contractors, referred to as Laundry Partners, collect, launder, and return items directly from their own homes using their own equipment.[4] Contractors set their own hours and coverage areas.
Technology
TimeBoss is the company's proprietary platform, managing customer bookings, contractor scheduling, payments, and communications. The platform incorporates AI tools and advanced segmentation capabilities developed in preparation for international expansion.[3] [8]The Queensland Minister for Science and Innovation, Andrew Powell, described TimeBoss as an industry-first AI-driven platform when commending the business upon its 2025 seed funding.[9]
Recognition
The Laundry Lady has received recognition from several Australian business organisations: In 2023, the company was listed at number 44 on the Australian Financial Review's Fast Starters list.[10] In 2022, CEO Toft was named the Corporate Business Woman of the Year in the Sunshine Coast Business Women's Network Awards. In 2024, it ranked 19th on SmartCompany's Smart50 list and won both the Smart50 Marketing Award and the People Power Award.[11] Also in 2024, The Laundry Lady was named among the Australian Financial Review's BOSS Most Innovative Companies, with recognition centred on its TimeBoss platform.[12] In 2025, it ranked 22nd on the Smart50 list.[8] The company was also named a finalist in the Startup Daily Best in Tech Awards (Best Regional Startup category) in 2025. Other achievements include the Telstra Awards finalist in several years, and the Ausmumpreneur Awards. In this initiative to recognise mums in business in Australia, the company won in the B2B Service Business and Digital Innovation categories. [13]
In 2024, The Laundry Lady won the Retail and Commerce category at the SXSW Sydney Pitch competition, presenting its TimeBoss platform to a panel of investors and industry experts.[14] That same year, the company also won the "Best of the Best for Product and Business" award at the River Rivals competition, the grand finale of Something Tech, held in Brisbane.[15]
The Laundry Lady was also a winner at the 2022 Sunshine Coast Business Awards in the Trades and Services (large business) category, and a Queensland state finalist in the 2023 Telstra Business Awards for Outstanding Growth.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Australian Mum Started a Laundry Side Hustle — 'The Laundry Lady' Scaled to $12 Million Across Three Countries". IBTimes UK. May 2026. Retrieved https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/laundry-lady-contractor-model-success-1797359.
|Authors list=missing|1=(help); Check date values in:|access-date=(help) - ↑ InDaily Queensland (21 August 2025). "Sunshine Coast's The Laundry Lady set for global expansion". InDaily Queensland.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Westerlund, Camilla (19 August 2025). "The Laundry Lady secures $1m seed funding to expand offshore". Business News Australia.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Our Services". The Laundry Lady.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Adams, David (4 October 2023). "Shark Tank Australia recap: The Laundry Lady cleans up with record-breaking $1 million deal". SmartCompany.
- ↑ Busby, Cec (July 2025). "The Laundry Lady taking flexible work global, one load at a time". Business Builders.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Laundry Lady hooks $1M investment on The Shark Tank". Hervey Bay Advertiser. November 2023.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Laundry Lady hooks $1M investment on The Shark Tank". Noosa Today. 08 October 2023. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ 9.0 9.1 Thomsen, Simon (18 August 2025). "Bootstrapped Queensland rising star The Laundry Lady bags $1 million Seed round for global ambitions". Startup Daily.
- ↑ "The Laundry Lady makes the AFR Top 100 Fast Starters List". Startup Scaleup. 30 November 2023.
- ↑ "19. The Laundry Lady". SmartCompany. November 14 2024. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ "Laundry Lady CEO named Founder of the Year at Women in Digital Awards". Noosa Today. 09 November 2024. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ "Best in Tech 2025 Awards finalist announcement". Startup Daily. 11 August 2025.
- ↑ Adams, David (14 November 2024). "Cleaning up: The Laundry Lady turns to marketing success, new tech to drive growth". SmartCompany.
- ↑ "Awards and Recognition". The Laundry Lady.
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