Meet the founder of Wash Doctors and Automate

I’m Will Mapstone, the founder of Wash Doctors. A 26-year-old entrepreneur who has turned a failed angel-backed business venture into a high growth start-up revolutionising the car care market from an outdated analogue industry into a tech-enabled service marketplace.

Tell me about Wash Doctors.

Wash Doctors has been coined the ‘Deliveroo’ of the car-care industry because we are making it super easy for proud car owners to make their cars look a million $, like it's just come out of the showroom. We are a mobile app-based, car care platform founded in 2017 as a hassle-free way of keeping your car clean from the comfort of your own home. Customers simply book a local professional through the WashDoctors app, who then arrives to clean their car. Importantly we are giving local Valeting, Detailing and Smart Repair companies the opportunity to showcase their businesses.

We have even built up a celebrity fan base over the years including David Gandy.

My vision is for Wash Doctors to make car care as easy and desirable as male grooming or visiting a beauty salon.

What inspired you to launch your business and what is the end goal?

I have always been interested in solving problems and I have always taken inspiration from the world to try to understand why certain things are the way they are and if there is a better way to do it. The exact moment of inspiration for Wash Doctors came just after I had finished my masters and was working as a rider for Deliveroo. I was amazed at the growth of startups like Deliveroo and Uber and wanted to get a bit of an understanding of the industry whilst also earning some money. 

And whilst I was delivering food, I kept noticing how outside all the nice homes I was delivering to, sat dirty unloved cars and I couldn't help but wonder why. If I could deliver restaurant quality food to someone's house, then why can't a professional car valeter do the same?  And that's when the penny dropped.

Are there any new launches we should know about?

Wash Doctors have just launched ‘Automate’, a booking and scheduling platform specially designed to enable car care professionals to automate their business. No more emails, DM’s or telephone bookings - this technology is designed to help mobile car washers, valeters, detailers and smart repair professionals transition into the digital world, and give them the ability to efficiently and profitably manage their day-to-day bookings and operations. At the same time it is also simplifying the booking process for customers. We’re giving back time so car care professionals can focus on what really matters, and at the same time empowering local entrepreneurs to take their business to the next level.

How do you set yourself apart from other businesses in your industry?

Wash Doctors set ourselves apart from any other platform because we are focused on the success of every business that operates on the platform. We see our success through the lens of their businesses not just the Wash Doctors platform. Our main goal is to enable the industry to grow and to do that, we need happy, successful partners. Many platforms struggle to create a prosperous supply and ultimately take advantage of their power to create profit. But at Wash Doctors, we see the health of the businesses on the platform as a number one priority and will only do something if we can see a clear benefit for both our customers and our partners. This approach has led us to find new opportunities within our business model and has ultimately led to the latest edition of our Automate software.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as an entrepreneur?

In late 2018, Wash Doctors hit a period of turmoil, we were out trying to raise money on a different business model which I  had completely lost faith in and I was presented with a choice... Raise money for a business you don't believe in or shut it down. I felt I had no options at the time and consequently shut the business down.  I then went through about 2 months of hell, but I learnt my most valuable lesson to date... which is that as an entrepreneur you must learn to accept failure. Without the ability to accept a failure and learn from it, then you will never be able to move forward.  But I didn't give up. I continued to obsess with what was wrong with our original approach and slowly but surely I put together the pieces of what I thought was a broken business into something that now has an amazing potential. 4 months after closing we relaunched with a new approach. Going through that experience has given me a deeper understanding of what it can take to be successful and a better understanding of myself.

What are your top tips for entrepreneurs wanting to get their business out there?

Speak to as many people as you can who you think will be able to point you in the right direction. Building a network of people who you can rely on for good advice is the most important thing. No one will ever expect you to know what you're doing the first time around, so speak to the people who do or even people who might be able to introduce you to people who do. I have met so many people who have great ideas who are too scared to tell any one from fear their idea might be stolen, and ultimately never end up moving forward with it. From my experience, the people you speak to will fill your idea with energy and enthusiasm (if it's a good idea) and this may be exactly what you need to take your first steps.

How did you conquer those moments of doubt that so often affect entrepreneurs or stop many with great ideas – what pushes you through?

Having been through major periods of doubt and ultimately accepting periods of failure over the last few years and always managing to come out the other side with a better solution, I personally believe that I have a problem-solving mindset and grit to not give up. But I have also learnt that the process is a complete rollercoaster and that you will never know how you will react until you are forced into that dark place. I have now come to accept the journey and understand that the tough period will end if you keep focused on the core activities that will make your business a success.

What’s the most important question entrepreneurs should be asking themselves?

What is stopping me from moving forward and why is it stopping me?

How do you believe the evolution of tech will affect your industry over the next 10 years?

In the next 10 years, the way in which the car care industry operates will change forever. The car care industry is years behind other service industries and yet the automotive sector at large is changing at neck-breaking speeds. With the advent of electric,  connected and potentially driverless cars from Tesla and other automotive leaders, the relationship between the owner and their car is going to be dominated by tech. We believe at Wash Doctors, technology between service providers and the cars themselves will bring about a new era of truly seamless car service which car owners have never had access to before. 

Wash Doctors aim to be at the forefront of this change.