Student's 'green' laundry business wins global prize

— -- In a Chicago hotel the day after the presidential election, a young man defied long odds for the chance to make his own imprint on the future.

In this case, it was Dominic Coryell, who basked in the glow of personal achievement.

Coryell had just beat 26 other finalists to win the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards — the so-called Heisman Trophy for college undergraduates who own businesses. A receiving line of peers and others offered celebratory toasts and back slaps.

But he was already thinking about his next challenge.

"If you become too comfortable with accomplishments, it's game over," says Coryell, CEO of Garment Valet, a high-tech laundry and dry-cleaning service in Boston.

Coryell took an existing business and turned it into Garment Valet, transforming it into a 21st century venture. In five years as CEO — while attending college — he has ramped up revenue from $125,000 to $950,000 last year. And he is convinced the service — used primarily by residences and students — can buck the economic malaise: Coryell believes revenue will hit $1.5 million in 2009.

He's overseen the ramp up by improving operational efficiencies, adopting best practices and revamping its brand with customers — through surveys, focus groups, and market data.

And the steely Coryell intends to build the business into a national brand after he graduates in May. There are plans to establish franchises in 15 other cities over the next five years — places like Philadelphia and Chicago that are rich in college students and working professionals who make up a majority of Garment's customers in the Boston area. Coryell also plans to license Garment's technology to other dry cleaners.

The company recently began using a "greener" cleaning process, which reduces the amount of waste commonly associated with dry cleaning. "Eventually, we will process everything using water," says Coryell.

To win the entrepreneurship competition, Coryell topped a field of 1,000 collegians from more than 300 universities in 11 countries. The competition was overseen by the nonprofit Entrepreneurs' Organization.

EO's contest is different from scores of other college student competitions. While others are judged based on business plans, EO's focuses on real companies with real revenue. "Our awards are based on real world results," says Dean Lindal, EO's global vice president. "The students are sweating how to make payroll, and cope in a recession."

Coryell, a 23-year-old senior majoring in finance and accounting at Northeastern University in Boston, won more than $100,000 in cash and donated services, including Web services and business consulting.

"He was very good in targeting his audience — young, working professionals — and understanding their needs," says Janice Ellig, an executive recruiter. As a finalist judge, she graded Coryell highest in the competition.

Getting to know you

This is as much a story about Coryell as Adam Jacknow, 29, who founded then-Husky Express in 1999. In September, it changed its name to Garment Valet.They met when Coryell interviewed for a delivery job in 2004 during his freshman year. "The interview should have lasted 15 minutes, but continued for hours as we brainstormed," Jacknow says.

Suffice it to say, Coryell got the job. Within a year, he was CEO. Jacknow is chief visionary officer.

Garment Valet is all about convenience and simplicity, they say.

Customers log onto www.garmentvalet.com, where they select service, price, and pick-up and delivery locations. "We're not your typical dry cleaners," says Coryell. He says Garment's customer and service focus is heavily influenced by that of Zappos.com, the well-regarded online shoe store.

Born in Manitou Springs, Colo., Coryell at age 14 moved with his mother to New York. He won an academic scholarship to Northeastern. Before attending college, however, he landed an internship at a Wall Street law firm that sharpened his mind and introduced him to one of the most important people in his life.

"(Dom) wasn't good; he was great," says Alfred Goldfield, whom Coryell worked for as an intern in 2004. Goldfield became a mentor. "He could do things that a law student couldn't do — organize documents, spot key passages in documents."

With the economy in the ditch, Coryell will need all of his business skills to help guide Garment Valet..

"He has strong abilities to deal patiently and constructively with overwhelmingly bad scenarios," Jacknow says.

"Dom is one of the few people I've met that does what he says he will do without adding stress," Jacknow says. "He already follows a healthy balance to life and a lot of other life lessons that normally come a decade or so later in life."