Susan Toft, chief executive officer and founder of The Laundry Lady, has been named Founder of the Year at the prestigious Women in Digital Awards.
Known for her innovative business model that turns an everyday task into a sustainable, technology-driven service, Susan’s mobile laundry service is redefining convenience while creating jobs and supporting work-life balance.
Taking to the stage at the glittering Awards Gala in Brisbane on Friday night (October 25), Susan says the journey from startup to a $6M revenue business has been a “rollercoaster”.
“Laundry Lady was my little, sole trader business I started from home to have more time and flexibility with my kids,” Susan said.
“Over the past 12 years, it’s transformed into a thriving, innovative business that supports job creation and solves an everyday challenge – everyone has laundry!”
Catering to residential, business, and National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) customers, Laundry Lady is a pickup and delivery laundry service which can be booked online at the click of a button.
Driving Laundry Lady’s growth is its custom-built software platform, TimeBoss, which connects customers with contractors (Laundry Ladies and Lads) in their area for convenient and affordable wash, dry, fold and ironing services.
Susan extended her thanks to ACS Labs, sponsors of the Founder of the Year Award, and event organisers.
“Thank you to the team at Women in Digital for a fantastic event, and a heartfelt thanks to my team – you’re the ones who got us here!”
Judges commended Susan for her “Innovative, sustainable business model that solves everyday challenges, while driving impressive growth, customer satisfaction, and job creation.”
Laundry Lady now has a team of 300+ work from home contractors Australia-wide, and in the past 12 months expanded into the New Zealand market.
The Women in Digital Awards, held at Brisbane’s Queen Wharf, gathered over 1,000 attendees to celebrate women making groundbreaking strides in technology and innovation.
Since launching The Laundry Lady in 2012, Susan has championed a people-centric approach to business.
The mobile laundry service operates with a flexible, independent contractor model that provides valuable employment to a diverse group across Australia and New Zealand.
From working parents to career changers, The Laundry Lady empowers individuals by creating job opportunities that fit seamlessly into their lives.
The win follows a raft of accolades for the business. Susan won the recent River Rival pitching event as part of Something Fest in Brisbane and took out the Retail and Commerce category at the SXSW Sydney Pitch event.
Laundry Lady’s TimeBoss platform, which has applications beyond the laundry industry, also landed 8th place on the Australian Financial Review’s list of the Top Technology companies.
