In many neighborhoods and boroughs across New York City, residents often rely on laundromats to wash their laundry. The typical laundromat experience can often be mundane and time-consuming, but Laverie, Inc. seeks to change that.
Located in the Soho neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, Laverie, Inc. owns a top-of-the-line laundry facility that offers a range of laundry services for its patrons. Customers can wash and dry their own laundry using machines powered by an app, which allows them to earn redeemable points. Laverie, Inc. also offers drop-off laundry services 7 days a week and specialty garment care services. Most importantly, the company is dedicated to establishing a community where people can collaborate and build relationships.
Laverie, Inc. was founded by Christian Raymonvil and husband and wife duo Steven and Nia Thomas. All three have extensive backgrounds in entrepreneurship and have pursued many business endeavors over the years. Christian’s background is primarily in marketing and strategic commercial planning. Steven and Nia both have backgrounds in education and business, but play distinct roles at Laverie. Nia focuses on the financial impacts of the business, and Steven specializes in operations and infrastructure. During the pandemic in 2020, they noticed that while most businesses in NYC had shut down, laundromats stayed open. Christian, Steven, and Nia set out to acquire their own laundromat, and began the process of conducting marketing research and connecting with seasoned industry veterans. They encountered a few roadblocks, including needing financing for the acquisition. After meetings with other small business owners and professionals, they decided that an SBA 7(a) loan would be the best long-term solution for their funding needs. To take the next step, the trio worked with a boutique Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) consulting firm called Maroon Strategist. The firm introduced them to Julia Smith, one of our experienced Business Development Officers, as an SBA financing resource.
Julia connected with Christian, Steven, and Nia, and learned more about their business plan and what they wanted to achieve in order to tailor a financing solution that fit their needs. Once the time came to apply for the loan, Julia served as their guide through the SBA loan process and remained diligent and responsive. They were able to achieve an SBA 7(a) loan, which helped them acquire the business and finance new equipment, all while meeting their cashflow needs.
Christian, Steven, and Nia had this to say about their partnership with Julia and the FNB Small Business Finance Team:
There truly aren’t enough words to express how thankful we are to have met Julia. From inception, Julia was attentive to our needs and made it a priority to foster a genuine and solutions-oriented relationship which never felt transactional, all of which is rare to find in the lending industry. We would unequivocally recommend Julia and FNB to small businesses akin to ours that are looking for a hands-on approach to their financing needs.
Congratulations to Christian, Steven, and Nia on the successful acquisition of their laundromat! We wish them all the success in the world on their new business and can’t wait to see what comes next.
