Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Alex Jekowsky is the co-founder and CEO of Cents, the all-in-one software, hardware, and payments platform for the laundry industry. A Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient, he sold his first company at 23 and recently closed a $140 million Series C, the largest software investment ever made in the vertical.
Somrat Niyogi sits down with Alex to break down the go-to-market channels that most tech founders overlook. They cover why Cents has a 99% in-person close rate, why field sales doesn't scale the way Toast made it look, how events became their most efficient acquisition channel, and why building relationships with distributors, and paying them more than anyone else in the space, turned out to be one of the most important bets they made.
[00:00] Why in-person selling has a 99% close rate for Cents
[00:50] Why field sales doesn't scale the way Toast made it look
[01:29] How events became Cents' most important GTM channel
[02:10] Going all-in on the Clean Show after Series A
[03:00] 30 people, no bandwidth, honey for lost voices
[03:36] From zero distributor shows in 2023 to 67 in 3 months
[04:48] How to know when you're ready to spend on events
[05:25] Buy computers at Best Buy, return them after the conference
[07:17] Why investors put you in a box and miss how you actually sell
[08:00] The distributor strategy: threading the needle between direct and channel
[09:17] Why Cents pays more in distributor commissions than anyone in the space
This is an excerpt from our full conversation with Alex Jekowsky. Watch the full episode here: youtu.be/d_8zpOVcizE?si=o_tRioZ6PDOYqFvK
Alex Jekowsky is the co-founder and CEO of Cents, the all-in-one software, hardware, and payments platform for the laundry industry. A Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient, he sold his first company at 23 and recently closed a $140 million Series C, the largest software investment ever made in the vertical.
Somrat Niyogi sits down with Alex to break down the go-to-market channels that most tech founders overlook. They cover why Cents has a 99% in-person close rate, why field sales doesn't scale the way Toast made it look, how events became their most efficient acquisition channel, and why building relationships with distributors, and paying them more than anyone else in the space, turned out to be one of the most important bets they made.
[00:00] Why in-person selling has a 99% close rate for Cents
[00:50] Why field sales doesn't scale the way Toast made it look
[01:29] How events became Cents' most important GTM channel
[02:10] Going all-in on the Clean Show after Series A
[03:00] 30 people, no bandwidth, honey for lost voices
[03:36] From zero distributor shows in 2023 to 67 in 3 months
[04:48] How to know when you're ready to spend on events
[05:25] Buy computers at Best Buy, return them after the conference
[07:17] Why investors put you in a box and miss how you actually sell
[08:00] The distributor strategy: threading the needle between direct and channel
[09:17] Why Cents pays more in distributor commissions than anyone in the space
This is an excerpt from our full conversation with Alex Jekowsky. Watch the full episode here: youtu.be/d_8zpOVcizE?si=o_tRioZ6PDOYqFvK
