Every shoe gets a fresh start at SteamPress

Joseph started a clothes ironing biz but soon realised that he had to pivot if he wanted business to grow. And he did, successfully

- Namita Shibad

PUNE: Sometimes it is the power of observation that leads to the start of a startup. In 2016, Jonah Joseph saw two well-to-do men wear similar shirts but "one was wearing a shirt that was not properly ironed while the other guy wore a crisp perfectly ironed shirt. This simple thing made such a huge difference to their overall appearance, just the way the shirt was ironed. This got me thinking. Why not offer perfectly ironed crisp clothes for people to wear?

How it started Jonah did a small study and found that the local istriwalas ironed people's clothes with or without the home delivery service. And they used dry ironing methods. Says he, "I thought what would it take to give people perfectly ironed clothes?" He realised that the steam press was the best way to get clothes ironed as "they did not use high temperature that can also damage the clothes." Apart from the fact that ironing can play a big role in one's appearance, the existing dhobis often damaged the clothes whilst ironing them, they got lost and they would come to your house at fixed times, often tying you down at home just to get your clothes ironed.

"I started SteamPress as a premium ironing service as I wanted to offer a service that went beyond the plain dhobi's ironing. I would steam press your clothes that offered a superior look, I would pick up and drop the clothes at a time suitable to you. Moreover, your clothes would be packed well and put in specially designed laundry bags, we would insert a collar patti to hold the collar preventing them from getting crumpled and pack them well."

Word of mouth helped this premium service and soon SteamPress had 2,500 customers who were very happy with the service. Jonah increased his staff to eight. All was going well. But soon enough in a year's time, Jonah realised that this business posed three very crucial issues that he had to find a solution for or else he would not be able to grow.