About Claro
Operators by experience. Distributors by choice.
I've spent most of my life around laundromats.
Built from experience
Before the Laundry Matchmaker, there was the Bagman.
Long before anyone called me the Laundry Matchmaker, I was the Bagman, or at least that's what I call it now, looking back.
Every week I'd walk into the bank behind my grandfather, both hands clenched around bags of rolled quarters, arms dragged straight down like I was hauling anchors, and he'd tell the tellers I was his bodyguard. Dead serious about it, too.
I was nine years old. And I took the job about as seriously as a nine-year-old could.
My grandfather immigrated from the Netherlands when my mother was young, worked a string of jobs, and eventually went into business for himself: a laundromat in the early 1960s, then a second, then a third. Later, my mom became involved, helping out with the books and handling his other real estate interests.
By the time I was in high school, whenever my grandfather went on vacation, I was the one covering his store: opening in the morning, checking in at lunch, back after school, locking up at night.
Our roots
Three generations in laundry. Built for what comes next.
Three generations of my family have now worked in the laundry business. I'm still operating laundromats today: buying equipment, building and renovating stores, switching payment systems, taking service calls, testing new technology, and making plenty of decisions I'd probably make differently the second time around.
Claro grew out of that experience.
Why I started Claro
I never got my price. I never bought the ironer.
For years, before Claro existed, I was just a customer, same as you. And what I kept running into wasn't bad products. It was distributors who wouldn't follow up, and distributors who were out of touch with how much the industry had actually changed, still selling whatever moved the sale, even when it was the wrong fit for the store, even when it cost the operator down the line.
I remember asking a distributor for a price on a flatwork ironer. I asked more than once, and no price ever came.
Then their sales rep stopped into my store one day, and I figured I'd try my luck directly. I need an ironer, I told him. Can you get me a price? Sure, no problem, he said.
Still nothing came.
Eventually I found out why: if the rep priced it for me, the distributor would owe him a commission on the sale.
I remember thinking: isn't that what having a sales guy is for?
I never got my price. I never bought the ironer.
Years later, I ended up consulting for a manufacturer and was asked to help a distributor. The leads I was handed had already been sitting for a couple of months before they ever reached me. By the time I called, it was usually too late.
That's the frustration Claro was built to fix: a distributor who calls back, tells you the truth about a product, and treats a laundromat owner like an operator, not a commission line.
Jeff Moak, Founder
Canadian at the core
Built in Canada. Connected to the laundry industry worldwide.
Claro serves Canadian laundry businesses, sourcing from global manufacturers and technology partners. Where a product comes from matters less than whether it fits what operators actually need.
Operators first
Experience shapes what we put our name behind.
01 · Operate
We run stores ourselves.
We use many of the same products and systems we recommend to our customers.
02 · Evaluate
We test what works.
We consider how products perform in the real world, how they're supported and whether they make sense for the operator.
03 · Select
We choose carefully.
We focus on products and partners we believe bring real value to laundry operators.
04 · Support
We stand behind it.
We provide ongoing support to help operators get the most from the products and systems we supply.
Curated, not comprehensive
A line-up we chose, not a catalogue we inherited.
People in the industry call me the Laundry Matchmaker. Over the years I've built a wide network (operators, manufacturers, technology companies) and I'm usually the guy introducing one company to another, because I can see how the pieces fit together.
That instinct is basically what Claro is. I only offer products I've tested myself, use in my own stores, or have real feedback on from operators I trust. And where I offer more than one option (payment systems, for example), that's on purpose. One system isn't the right fit for every store, and retooling a laundromat isn't a small ask.
I have a customer I started working with on a payment system. The first day I stopped in to meet her, I asked why she had twelve 20-pound washers. "Why, what's wrong?" she said. "That's what I was told I needed."
What she actually needed was more large-capacity equipment. My guess is the previous distributor knew he'd lose the sale if he priced out bigger machines, so he sold her twelve small ones instead, an easier yes, even if it wasn't the right fit for her store. The better move would have been to explain why she needed larger equipment, plan for it, and sell a few less pieces up front.
That's the difference I'm trying to make: talk to the operator, understand what the store actually needs, and say so, even when it's not the easiest sale.
Let's talk laundry
Tell us what you're working on.
Whether you're building new, upgrading an existing operation or looking for a specific product or system, we're happy to start with a conversation.