Baris Mirzai shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Baris, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What is a normal day like for you right now?
Every day is a bit of a rollercoaster — in the best way. As CTO at Clean & Carry, I’m switching hats constantly. Mornings usually kick off with a quick check on our system health and any overnight alerts. Then it’s straight into standups with the dev team to make sure we’re shipping fast and fixing smart.
The rest of the day is a mix of product brainstorming, debugging odd edge cases, refining architecture for scale, and syncing with ops to make sure our tech keeps up with the crazy pace of laundry pickups and deliveries. I also spend time talking to users and laundromat partners — their feedback fuels our next build.
At night, I might be reviewing code, optimizing our AWS spend, or pitching our tech vision to a potential hire or investor. It’s scrappy, it’s fast, and it’s never boring. We’re building the Uber of laundry — and that means moving like a true startup.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Sure! I’m the CTO and co-founder of Clean & Carry — think Uber, but for laundry.
We’re building a tech-powered delivery platform that connects customers with local laundromats, making it insanely easy to get your laundry picked up, washed, and delivered back — all with just a few taps.
My background is in software engineering and creative automation, but what makes this journey exciting is that we’re not just writing code — we’re rebuilding a traditional industry from the ground up.
What makes Clean & Carry special? It’s not just convenience. We’re giving small laundromats access to tools that were once only available to big chains. And for customers, we’re making laundry one less thing to worry about.
We started this with zero investment, handled deliveries ourselves in the beginning, and built every feature by listening to real customer pain points. We’re now growing fast and aiming to bring Clean & Carry to every city where Uber operates.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
As a child, I believed I had to wait for the perfect moment — the right time, the right resources, the right circumstances — before I could take action.
But life taught me something different: if you keep waiting, the moment may never come.
Today, I believe in creating momentum instead of waiting for it. I’ve learned to build with what I have, start before I feel ready, and trust that clarity and confidence often come after you take the first step — not before.
That shift in mindset has changed everything for me — and it’s the reason Clean & Carry exists today.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Absolutely — more times than I can count.
One of the biggest moments was during my move to the U.S. I had spent over a decade traveling between Turkey, the U.S., and Europe for business, dreaming of building something meaningful in the States. When I finally decided to move, I applied for an investor visa — and poured my entire life savings into launching my startup.
The catch? I had no idea if my visa would actually be approved. If it was denied, everything I had worked for — all those years of effort and every dollar I invested — would be gone.
The wait was long and filled with uncertainty. But eventually, it got approved. That moment changed the course of my life.
I’ve learned that sometimes the scariest leaps bring the biggest breakthroughs. You just have to keep going — even when the outcome isn’t guaranteed.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Whom do you admire for their character, not their power?
Hans Zimmer. Not because of his fame, but because of his character.
When I was very young, I started writing music — and my dream was to compose for Hollywood films. Hans Zimmer was (and still is) a huge inspiration for me. His creativity is boundless, but what I admire most is his focus and humility.
He doesn’t chase fame — he pours everything into his craft. He’s professional, consistent, and always pushing boundaries without needing the spotlight. That kind of quiet excellence and deep dedication is something I deeply respect.
While I didn’t end up in film scoring, that same mindset now shapes how I build technology: stay creative, stay focused, and let the work speak for itself.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Are you tap dancing to work? Have you been that level of excited at any point in your career? If so, please tell us about those days.
Absolutely. I’ve built a life around doing what I love — and that’s something I don’t take for granted.
Entrepreneurship has always been my path. I never spent much time in the corporate world, and instead, I focused on creating something of my own — something I’d be excited to wake up to every day.
With Clean & Carry, I’ve built a business I genuinely love working on 24/7. At the same time, I designed a lifestyle that gives me the freedom to work from anywhere, to travel when I want, and to take breaks without guilt.
It’s not perfect, and it’s definitely not easy — but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. There’s nothing more energizing than working on something that’s fully yours.
Building something meaningful on your own terms — that’s my definition of success.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cleanandcarry.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baris_adrin_mirzaei/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/baris-adrin-mirzai-07932826/
