Veteran Couple Signs To Bring Three LaundroLab Locations to Denver

Shannon Christianson and Evette Velez, two veterans with a myriad of professional experiences and a passion for entrepreneurship, are bringing LaundroLab to their Denver communities. The duo is laying the groundwork for a family venture in hopes that their daughter can become involved, experience entrepreneurship young and carry that expertise through her life.

“I am a veteran of the Navy, and she is a veteran of the Air Force,” Christianson explained. “I’ve had an interest in being an entrepreneur for many years. We’ve always wanted to have a business, and we have a history in residential real estate. Leveraging our portfolio from residential real estate to a business, we connected with a franchise broker through some friends, and we discovered LaundroLab.”

The pair was looking for a semi-absentee concept, as Velez intends to continue with her current occupation — contract work for the Navy — in the coming years. As Christianson shifts away from her current role in physical therapy, she will take on most of the daily LaundroLab requirements.

“I’m getting out of physical therapy. I plan on being, initially, an owner-operator, but we’ve bought three territories,” Christianson explained. “So we plan on hiring a manager to oversee all three over time. Right now, though, it’s kind of semi-retirement through semi-absenteeism.”

Allowing the business to “just operate,” as you can do with a semi-absentee opportunity such as LaundroLab, will enable the couple to spend more time with their family and thirteen-year-old daughter.

“The laundry space, I think, is an exciting one. It’s more of a passive business than most,” explained Dan D’Aquisto, the brand’s co-founder and president. “People should look at this versus buying another rental property or investing in stocks.”

Christianson explained that they chose the Denver area for their units because of its diverse nature. An important driver for laundromat concepts is the existence of multi-family residences or apartment complexes that do not offer in-unit or on-site laundry.

“There are many apartments and a large, compact population. That’s what’s really helped drive this business model,” she said.

As the duo searches for the perfect location for their first unit, Christianson says they hope to have it open within nine months. Looking forward, this opportunity will not only provide flexibility in time as the couple looks to devote more attention to family, but it will create a steady, long-lasting business opportunity that can carry on for years to come.

“They’ve dialed it down to perfection,” Christianson said of LaundroLab. “They know how to tweak numbers and make the business succeed, and they really care about their franchisees. In terms of financial fit, it allows more financial freedom to spend time with your family. We want to think of this as a family-owned and operated business and something that, over time, will be passed along to our daughter.”

A prospective LaundroLab owner needs $500k liquidity and a $1M minimum net worth. A new LaundroLab store can range anywhere from $1.1M - $1.7M, which includes equipment, buildout, franchise fee, working capital and more. For more information on franchising, visit