What started as a class project has become part of a long-term life plan for senior Nick Price. The project, conceived in September and launched in January, is a waterless car cleaning service called City Sleekers.
The idea behind City Sleekers is that cleaners go to the customer. They ride out on custom Citizen foldable bikes and clean cars with a special chemical that bonds itself to the dirt and grime to be wiped clean. Unlike similar services that can cost over $70, they don’t use a drop of water.
[We’re] here to help the environment,” Price said. “Make money, yeah, but it’s not the most important thing.”
In early February, Price placed third in a pitch contest at an entrepreneurship conference at the University of Tampa. He was nervous about the presentation because he only had a few days to prepare.
“They grilled us,” he said.
Price’s efforts to be green don’t stop at the waterless cleaning. City Sleekers’ cleaners ride bikes to cut down on pollution. Parts of the company’s profits are going to building water wells in foreign countries. Even the microfiber towels used to wipe off the cars fit into Price’s long-term plan to give back to the community — he plans to have them recycled into blankets and socks.
“It’s not just washing cars,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to give back to the world.”
Price sees turning his used microfiber towels into other products — something like TOMS Shoes, the company that gives a free pair of shoes to a child in Africa for every pair they sell in stores.
After an initial $20,000 investment from Price and his former business partner, City Sleekers has hired six people, and another 10 are interested in employment.
Price says a competitor has tried to find out the company’s cleaning solution so he can create his own version of City Sleekers. Price is in the process of trademarking the name and concept.
In the short term, Price is hoping to add “more and more” locations for their $25 per wash service. City Sleekers and Price have a presence at a lot of markets and golf courses. In the long term, Price wants to make City Sleekers even more central to his life.
“[It’s] more important than a degree,” he said. “It would validate me as a business person.”
