All Black legend Dan Carter backs ‘uberising laundry’

New Zealand rugby legend Dan Carter is preparing for a life after football.

All Black Dan Carter lines up a kick for goal.

New Zealand rugby union great Dan Carter has emerged with a cornerstone shareholding in Laundromap, an on-demand dry cleaning pick-up and delivery service that is aiming to “uber-ise” the $2 billion dry cleaning and laundromat industry.

Carter’s investment business, 910 Limited, a venture with former Canterbury Crusaders rugby player Ben Hurst, has taken a 10 per cent stake in Laundromap as part of a $3 million capital raising by the company to fund its Australian and New Zealand expansion plans.

Laundromap chief executive Hayden Foster had previously flagged the company may pursue a listing on the Australian Securities Exchange next year.

Laundromap is an on-demand service that picks up, cleans and returns clothes to a house, apartment, or a workplace.

“One of the reasons Laundromap stood out to me was that the idea seemed so obvious; I couldn’t believe no one had done it before. I’m not an expert in the business world, but this seemed like a pretty good idea to me,” Carter told The Australian.

“My involvement with Laundromap will expose me to the inner workings of a high growth company. I plan to stay across the business ongoing, with a view of potentially becoming more involved in high level strategy and planning in the future.”

Last month, Laundromap, which has 25 investors in Australia and New Zealand, launched in Sydney and is planning to expand into Melbourne and Brisbane.

Mr Foster said Laundromap was excited to have Carter involved, not just as a shareholder but as an integral part of the Laundromap family.

“The profile-building opportunities that he brings to Laundromap will be invaluable, and we’re looking forward to being involved in his transition from footy field to boardroom,” he said.

910 Limited was set up by Carter and Hurst specifically to invest in Laundromap but the firm is only one part of Carter’s investment portfolio.

The 910 name is based on the rugby positions Carter and Hurst had when playing together at the Canterbury Crusaders in New Zealand.

Carter, who guided the New Zealand All Blacks to successive Rugby World Cup victories before joining the Paris-based Racing Metro club on a $NZ6 million deal — making him the world’s highest paid player — said he was open to other corporate opportunities after rugby.

“I’m not quite sure what transitioning away from rugby looks like, so my plan at the moment is to open as many doors as possible and keep learning as much as possible,” he said.

“I like the idea of learning on the job and my involvement with Laundromap will help me to do that when I’m ready. I’m also open to doing some formal business study down the track, which will help support my transition.”

He said while he was still very much embedded in the world of rugby, friends and family had encouraged him to think about life after sport.

He said his rugby career had taught him the importance of “resilience”, which would be invaluable in business.

“Resilience is a key lesson I’ve learnt from rugby that will be invaluable to me over the next decade. I believe the ability to adapt and bounce back when things don’t go as planned is often more important than luck or skill. What resilience has allowed me to do is embrace not only my strengths, but my weaknesses too,” he said.

He added that rugby had also given him a healthy outlook on life and taught him to deal with pressure.