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This month on our #DimeOfTheMonth series, we are excited to feature and introduce our Head of Dispatch, Nick Chapleau! Nick is a problem solver. From becoming a lawyer to creating the software platform, Starchup in 2014 to now joining Cents, Nick isn’t afraid to go after his career goals.
Earlier this year, Cents acquired Starchup. By consolidating the advanced pickup and delivery platform that Starchup has built with the product Cents has developed for gig economy pickup and delivery, we will be able to offer the single best pickup and delivery solution on the market: Cents Dispatch.
Q. What gets you out of bed every morning? 
Usually, it’s my baby that’s yelling at me to wake up or one of my five-year-olds (twins) who wants me to play with her. Family is the most important thing to me, so that gets me out of bed. They're amazing and there's something new every day that brings joy. But from a professional perspective, I really, really, really love solving problems. Working at a startup, there's no shortage of problems to solve. And, I get a lot of dopamine hits throughout the day when I get to help solve them.
Q. What makes Cents different from other places you’ve worked?
People are excited to get out of bed in the morning. It’s obvious that our team loves what they do here. There's a lot of enthusiasm, and everyone is excited about what Cents is doing for operators. I think the passion for problem-solving is shared across the board.
Q. What has your career path looked like?
I went straight from college to law school, then I practiced as an attorney for four years. After that, I just decided at a certain point that I liked client services. I liked helping people, but I was much less interested in the legal problems that people have than I was in business issues, where I saw a real opportunity to add value. I decided to leave the legal field and I started interviewing at some consulting firms thinking that would be a good way to combine client services with business problem-solving and value-building. But, as I was going through those interviews, a buddy of mine from law school had the early idea for Starchup, and I offered to help as I was going through these interviews. We raised some early capital and then landed some big customers pretty early on. I liked doing it, so I stopped those interviews and, eight years later, here I am.
Q. What is your proudest career moment and why?
Building a company to a point where somebody wants to pay a substantial amount of money for it was certainly a proud moment. The conversations I had with customers afterward and their reactions was a proud moment. At first, there was a lot of trepidation because they liked our platform, they liked the product, and they were worried that I was going away, which in itself was something to make me proud. But, I had built up trust with Alex and the team. We accomplished the goals that we set out and I’m super proud of that.
Q. What advice would you give to your younger self?
I would say buy stock in Amazon and do your research. One thing I tended to do was dive in. I learned that before you make a decision on a path, make sure you do your research that it's the path in five or ten years you can see yourself still on. For instance, if you're thinking about going to law school, go work for a law firm or go work for someone that is doing what you want to do in five years and make sure that it’s everything it’s cracked up to be before you dive in. The same for startups: research the industry before you dedicate the next five to ten years of your life to it. I've gotten lucky with the laundry and dry cleaning industry. Although it's not the sexiest of industries, it's been really well-suited to my skill set and I've enjoyed it so much.
Q. What is your secret to making progress each day?
Asana, which is a task management platform. Asana literally changed my life. I can't really put it any other way. I was terrible at task management up until I started using it. It used to be that months would go by and I realized I didn't do something I was supposed to do. But having everything in one place that I can just look at, check off, and see if I did it is what I still have to do. It has helped me organize my life in a way that I could never do before. That is my secret.
Q. A typical weekend for me is…
A typical weekend for me is making pancakes for breakfast—a crowd favorite over here. Then, we either go to the farmer's market or we jump in the pool. I play golf, hang out with my family, watch movies, play games, and go for walks.
Q. What advice do you have for prospective Cents candidates?
Be curious and find ways to learn more about the overall business, not just your particular task. I think that is the key to really being able to make an impact here. And if you can really master those two things, then the sky's the limit.
Looking to join a team of innovative, dynamic, and creative individuals? Check out our careers page to learn more about us and view our open positions! We’re growing fast and are always looking for new talent to help us revolutionize the laundry industry.
