Village Global Podcast · 2026-05-21 · 1h 2m
Alex Jekowsky is the co-founder and CEO of Cents, the all-in-one software, hardware, and payments platform for the laundry industry. A Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient, he sold his first company at 23, and last month closed a $140 million Series C. Cents now powers more than 1 in 6 laundromats in the country and processes over $1 billion in payments a year. Somrat Niyogi sits down with Alex to go from the very beginning: the aha moment that led him to laundromats, how he got his first customers through cold emails and contact forms, why he priced Cents at a flat $299 from day one, and what it actually took to build a durable go-to-market motion in a market most investors wrote off. They also cover the distributor strategy that unlocked scale, how the Laundry Works acquisition changed everything, what Alex gets right about hiring slow, and why he thinks agentic AI is the only version of AI that actually matters for SMB operators. Thanks for listening. If you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at or get in touch with us on X @villageglobal. Want to get updates from us?
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