Laundry Sauce makes what Ian Blair calls the world's first designer laundry detergent, which means high-end fragrances in pods, dryer sheets, scent boosters and a fabric spray. It launched direct to consumer in 2021, reached about $170,000 a month inside the first 90 days, half a million a month inside the first year and a $10 million run rate at eighteen months, and in 2026 it went into Target. Ian had built a software company before, Buildfire, which published around 15,000 apps, and he knew that the brand he wants to build needs capital to keep the momentum going. What he found was that even at a million dollars a month there is always a reason for an investor to pass, and by the time he spoke to Pairs his own network was a little tapped out.
Growth did not make the raise easy.
At a million dollars a month, investors still said the cohorts were too short and they did not believe the LTV numbers. In Ian's experience there is always a reason to pass, however well the business is doing.
The network was tapped out.
Ian had raised from institutions before and his own contacts had run their course. He needed investors he did not already know and had no route to.
Not every check fits a consumer brand.
Institutional money comes with strings, and at this stage Ian wanted investors who understood consumer and believed in brand, which pointed him toward family offices.
“I thought, we got to a million dollars a month, it should be so easy to raise capital. And then people are like, oh no, you don't have long enough cohorts, we don't believe the LTV numbers.”
Ian Blair, CEO, Laundry Sauce
Laundry Sauce came on in February 2025, and from the day it signed to the day the wire landed took about 90 days. Onboarding on the Pairs platform now takes a few minutes and loses none of the depth, and first introductions are booked within 24 to 48 hours of completing it.
1
Go past the network Ian already had.
Pairs brought serious funds and family offices that Ian had no route to, including the family office that went on to invest. He says that connection would never have happened without the introduction.
2
Give the business the story investors buy.
Ian's view is that fundraising is a sales process and that Pairs speaks the language of investors, so part of the work was packaging Laundry Sauce for the people it was about to meet.
3
Keep the process moving.
Enough conversations at the same time to create some competitive tension, and someone nudging each one along while Ian ran the company, and the whole thing ran about 90 days from signing to the wire.
“The family office we got connected to was one that we never would have made the connection with had it not been for you guys.”
Ian Blair, CEO, Laundry Sauce
The family office had made money in consumer before and saw what Ian was building. The first meeting went well because both sides believe in brand and see the category the same way, and after two or three calls they invested. The timing suited Laundry Sauce, and from the day Ian signed with Pairs to the day the wire landed took about 90 days.
Ian describes the family office as great partners and the company's biggest cheerleaders. They have been through several exits and sold large companies, and as Laundry Sauce gets closer to its own, that is the experience he plans to lean on. On bringing in help at all, he says it added credibility rather than taking any away, because Pairs has to be selective about who it works with and does not bring weak deals to its network.
RELATIONSHIP IN NUMBERS
Client since
February 2025
Round
Series A extension
Investors met
30+
Investor types
Funds and family offices
Time to first introduction
24 to 48 hours after onboarding on the current platform
Signing to wire
About 90 days
Calls before the investment
Three
Investment closed
1.5M, from a family office in consumer
Growth is not proof enough.
Even at a million dollars a month, investors questioned the cohorts and the LTV. Ian's view is that there is always a reason to pass, so the process has to be run properly however well the business is doing.
A family office can be the better fit.
Institutional money comes with strings. For Laundry Sauce at that stage, investors who had made money in consumer and believed in brand fit better, and that pointed to family offices.
Fundraising is a sales process.
Ian ran it the way he would run a pipeline, with enough conversations at once to create competitive tension and someone keeping each one moving while he ran the company.
Momentum begets momentum.
Growth brings capital on better terms, and capital brings more growth. Ian raised because the brand he wants to build needs fuel on the fire, and the outcomes he is aiming for have all raised money.
Bringing in help reads as credibility.
Ian saw no downside to having help with the process. Pairs has to be selective about who it works with, so an investor knows a deal has already been screened before it arrives.
Pick investors for the exit as much as the round.
The family office that invested has been through several exits and sold large companies. When Laundry Sauce gets close to its own, that is the advice Ian plans to lean on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pairs introduced Laundry Sauce to funds and family offices outside Ian's network, helped package the business for investors, and kept the process moving with enough conversations at once to create competitive tension. One of those introductions was a family office that had made money in consumer and invested after two or three calls. From signing to the wire took about 90 days, and Ian ran the company the whole time.
Ian's own list was tapped out, and what he needed were investors he could not reach and would not have found on his own, which is where the family office came from. The introductions were warm, the names fit a consumer brand at his stage, and Pairs stayed in the process from the first call to the wire.
No, and Ian puts it this way. You can only lead a horse to water. Pairs controls the inputs, meaning the right targets, the outreach, the process and how the business is told to investors, and the check depends on the quality of the company.
Serious funds and family offices. For Laundry Sauce the fit was a family office whose principals had made money in consumer, believed in brand and had been through several exits, so they saw the business the way Ian does and moved in two or three calls.
The full process ran about 90 days from signing in February 2025 to the wire, and with the current platform onboarding takes a few minutes at the same depth and first introductions are booked within 24 to 48 hours of completing it.
Ian says the opposite. Having someone run the process brought a level of professionalism and credibility, because Pairs has to be selective about who it works with and does not bring poor deals to its network, so an investor knows the deal has already been screened.
Laundry Sauce went into Target and is now working on new retail expansion. The family office remains one of the company's biggest cheerleaders, and Ian expects to lean on his investors' exit experience when the time comes.
