Before becoming an investor, Vijen co-founded Pressbox in 2013 with his Notre Dame classmate Drew McKenna. Starting from a 600 sq ft Chicago office, they revolutionized dry cleaning through proprietary lockers in high-end residential buildings, eliminating traditional storefronts. In just 5 years, Pressbox scaled to 1,200 locations, becoming the world's largest dry cleaner before being acquired by Procter & Gamble in 2018 for an undisclosed sum. Post-acquisition, Vijen led the company's rebranding as Tide Cleaners.
Prior to entrepreneurship, Vijen worked in private equity after graduating from the University of Notre Dame. Today, through The 81 Collection—which he calls "The Founders Fund for Hard Industries"—he backs entrepreneurs using automation and AI to transform traditional, capital-intensive businesses that others find "boring" or difficult to scale.
Based in Chicago, Vijen brings decades of operating experience to identifying high-margin opportunities hidden within low-margin industries, focusing on founders tackling structural inequities and unsexy but essential work.
Link to The 81 Collection: https://www.81collection.com/
Connect with Vijen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vijenpatel/
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Time Stamps:
[00:00 - 2:48]: Introduction & Chicago as the American Dream
[2:49 - 8:23]: Building loyalty & community in Chicago business
[8:24 - 12:32]: Indian roots, family immigration story & values
[12:33 - 17:25]: From medical family to entrepreneurship calling
[17:26 - 24:16]: Recreating the laundry industry with Pressbox
[24:17 - 29:01]: Building consumer trust & scaling without capital
[29:02 - 34:43]: Bootstrap vs venture funding philosophy
[34:44 - 38:10]: Mental health & finding equilibrium as a founder
[38:11 - 42:00]: The P&G exit & performing under pressure
[42:01 - 46:08]: Starting The 81 Collection & investing in "boring" industries
[46:09 - 47:40]: Values to instill in children & closing thoughts
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