Vijen Patel

Vijen Patel (born July 2, 1986) is an American entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He is a founding partner at The 81 Collection and a co-founder and former CEO of Pressbox, an on-demand dry cleaning and laundry service company acquired by Procter & Gamble and rebranded as Tide Cleaners in 2018.
== Early life and education ==
Patel was born and raised in the Chicago, Illinois metropolitan area to parents of Indian and Ugandan origin. His first business was selling Chicago Cubs tickets using eBay in 2003. He graduated from Barrington High School in 2004. He then received a bachelor’s degree in finance and mathematics from the University of Notre Dame in 2008. He worked as a Summer Analyst with Goldman Sachs in 2007.
== Career ==
=== Early career ===
Patel began working as a business analyst for McKinsey & Company, based in New York City, in 2008. He was promoted to senior business analyst in 2010 and subsequently moved to London. In 2011, Patel worked as an associate in private equity for Friedman Fleischer & Lowe (now FFL Partners) in San Francisco. He focused on consumer, healthcare, and retail. 
=== Pressbox ===
Patel’s business ethos premised that any highly fragmented vertical market lacking technology and Brand|branding was ripe for disruption. Operating on this belief, Patel partnered with Drew McKenna (who was then running game day operations at the University of Notre Dame) to create a new laundry service that would turn a “chore into an experience”, according to Patel.
In 2013, Patel and McKenna launched Pressbox in Chicago, Illinois. Pressbox eliminated storefront rent and labor costs through proprietary lockers in high-end residential buildings and neighborhoods in urban cities. This allowed residential buildings to use Pressbox services as a building amenity with no additional costs, while also reaching customers not typically able to drop off laundry during regular business hours. It was also marketed to younger generations who were not as loyal to traditional laundry brands and more willing to outsource chores.
Dry cleaning and wash and fold laundry services were accessible twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and users could utilize a mobile phone application to track their orders. Customers dropped off laundry at a nearby locker location, then Pressbox drivers would deliver items to a local, third-party launderer. Finished laundry would then be returned to the locker within 48 hours, and customers would retrieve their items with a unique access code. Customers could customize their laundry preferences, such as wash temperature, through the application. Belt and zipper repairs were also available. Prices were comparable to traditional cleaners. Within five years, the company grew to serve over 100,000 consumers, with 150 employees and an anticipated 2,000 locations.
=== Pressbox acquisition ===
In July of 2018, Procter & Gamble acquired Pressbox for an undisclosed sum. The company was later rebranded as Tide Cleaners. The acquisition aligned with Procter & Gamble’s initiative to capture the out-of-home market (which at the time was 26 million American households) and expand the Tide brand into Pressbox’s user demographics. Following the acquisition, Procter & Gamble added new locations and grew their customer base. For example, the company marketed services to college campuses, with long-term plans to move into supermarkets and convenience stores. Patel became CEO of Tide Cleaners in 2018 and transitioned to an advisory role in July 2020.
=== The 81 Collection ===
Patel launched a Founders Fund, The 81 Collection, in January 2022. The 81 Collection finances startup companies typically overlooked by venture capitalists.Patel noted the difficulty he had in securing funding for Pressbox as one of his reasons for creating The 81 Collection. Other founding partners include leaders at Grubhub, ShipBob, Industrious, Farmer's Fridge, and Cubii.
== Personal Interests ==
In his spare time, Patel is passionate about mental health and the Chicago community. He is also a minority owner of One Knoxville Sporting Club and serves on the US Soccer Federation Development Council. 
Category:American people
Category:American businesspeople
Category:1986 births