Hamperapp, an innovative online platform focused on laundry pickup and delivery, has achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first company from the Miami area to be accepted into the Morgan Stanley Inclusive & Sustainable Ventures (MSISV) program.
The program, which spans five months, offers mentorship and a $250,000 investment to each selected startup.
Morgan Stanley confirmed that Hamperapp was among 33 early-stage innovators chosen from thousands of applicants across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa for its 2025 cycle that has just launched.
In February, Hamperapp and its peers will showcase their ventures during a global demo day aimed at attracting potential investors.
Since its inception in 2017, under the guidance of co-founder Alejandro Chang, Hamperapp began with the aim of helping a family laundry business attract customers online.
Today, the platform operates with around 60 partners spanning 12 states, earning revenue through commissions from laundry services and fees charged to app users.
According to co-founder and CEO Jorge Rodriguez, last year’s transactions exceeded $3 million.
Rodriguez first discovered the MSISV program during a panel discussion at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, and later connected with someone from the program during the eMerge Americas tech conference held in Miami Beach.
Being selected for the program signifies much more than just a financial boost.
Rodriguez stated, “This will give us lots of exposure. We’ll be going to New York two to three days a month for the accelerator program, and we’ll have access to Morgan Stanley’s team to help us connect with their network.”
He added, “Then, in February on demo day, we’ll present to more than 400 investors.”
Earlier in 2024, Hamperapp participated in the Miami Innovation Academy run by Northeastern University, which included an 8-week program featuring workshops, mentorship, and access to a capital-markets ecosystem designed to aid startup growth.
In 2023, the company reached the top 25 in a competitive pitch competition at eMerge Americas, advancing from an initial pool of 100 companies.
Morgan Stanley’s MSISV program builds on previous initiatives like its Inclusive Ventures Group and Sustainable Solutions Collaborative, which have collectively allocated over $30 million to more than 130 startups over the past eight years.
To date, Hamperapp has mainly funded itself through bootstrapping, raising approximately $500,000 from its founders and their networks.
Rodriguez reported that the venture is already profitable.
With the new investment from Morgan Stanley, Hamperapp plans to expand its partner network to include around 2,000 laundries and dry cleaners that are currently on its waiting list.
The company also anticipates hiring more staff to support this growth.
Rodriguez noted, “So, we are putting the new capital to work.”
Looking ahead, Hamperapp may eventually branch out into related cleaning services such as rugs, shoes, and sneakers, as mentioned by Chief Growth Officer Chang.
Rodriguez articulated the company’s vision: “to be a marketplace to empower laundromats with underutilized capacity” to enhance connections with customers.
image source from：refreshmiami
