# How I Built Resilience: Ajay Prakash and James Joun of Rinse

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2020-08-27
- Length: 21m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-08-27-how-i-built-resilience-ajay-prakash-and-james-joun-of-rinse

## Summary

Rinse co-founders Ajay Prakash and James Joun explain how they built a laundry and dry-cleaning pickup and delivery service by partnering with existing cleaners rather than owning facilities. They discuss the operational complexity of managing W-2 valets, the resilience provided by their subscription laundry model during the pandemic, and the importance of aligned co-founder values in navigating crisis.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-08-27-how-i-built-resilience-ajay-prakash-and-james-joun-of-rinse#t=0) Introduction and Rinse's Origin Story
- [1:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-08-27-how-i-built-resilience-ajay-prakash-and-james-joun-of-rinse#t=78) Solving Friction in Dry Cleaning
- [4:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-08-27-how-i-built-resilience-ajay-prakash-and-james-joun-of-rinse#t=263) The Asset-Light Partner Model
- [7:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-08-27-how-i-built-resilience-ajay-prakash-and-james-joun-of-rinse#t=444) W-2 Employees vs. Gig Workers
- [8:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-08-27-how-i-built-resilience-ajay-prakash-and-james-joun-of-rinse#t=497) Pandemic Impact and Mask Production
- [12:59](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-08-27-how-i-built-resilience-ajay-prakash-and-james-joun-of-rinse#t=779) Early Customer Acquisition and Validation
- [14:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-08-27-how-i-built-resilience-ajay-prakash-and-james-joun-of-rinse#t=864) Financial Discipline and Competitive Landscape
- [17:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-08-27-how-i-built-resilience-ajay-prakash-and-james-joun-of-rinse#t=1057) Co-Founder Alignment and Core Values

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Hiring & workforce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/hiring-and-workforce)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Rinse (company)
- Uber (company)
- Lyft (company)
- U.S. Bank (company)
- DoorDash (company)
- Grubhub (company)
- Caviar (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Garrett McCurrach and Canon Reeves (Co-Founders, Pipedream Labs)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/just-gonna-send-it/2025-12-17-garrett-mccurrach-and-canon-reeves-co-founders-pipedream-labs) (Just Gonna Send It)
- [178 - A company started by Packaging Engineers! Dwayne Rainey from Advanced Packaging](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2023-01-10-178-a-company-started-by-packaging-engineers-dwayne-rainey-from-advanced-packagi) (People of Packaging)
- [#252 - The Rise of Laurel's Coffee: Whole Foods, Wegmans & 1,800 Target Stores in Two Years](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-06-09-252-the-rise-of-laurels-coffee-whole-foods-wegmans-1-800-target-stores-in-two-ye) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [From Hand Sanitizer to Tomato Sauce - How Sauz Went From 10 Doors to 3,500 in a Year](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-08-29-from-hand-sanitizer-to-tomato-sauce-how-sauz-went-from-10-doors-to-3-500-in-a-ye) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [170 - Wipes and Weenus Wednesday w/Sean Riley and AJ Peek](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2022-11-30-170-wipes-and-weenus-wednesday-w-sean-riley-and-aj-peek) (People of Packaging)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-08-27-how-i-built-resilience-ajay-prakash-and-james-joun-of-rinse. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to How I Built This.