philadelphia, he knew right away that getting funding was going to be tough. >> some people were like, that's the coolest thing ever. other people were like, that's one way to pay your bills while you find something else. >> reporter: his bike laundry pickup and deliver service wash cycle laundry had a bit of an image issue. >> people are like how could you possibly service a large account on a bike? what do you do when it rains? like what about the snow? >> at first gabriel seriously considered just going at it alone. >> when i started the business i sort of thought that the savings in my bank account would be enough. and i was going to do it all myself. then, of course, like the savings in my bank account sort of ran out. >> but he realized that as he grew he would actually need some money. so he started out by bootstrapping it to show everyone, including investors, what the company was capable of. >> people have been initially skeptical about how -- whether this is a gimmick or whether it's a real business. >> step one was to stick to the most important part of his plan, the bikes.