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News & Updates - Thursday, August 17, 2006

Car Wash To Silicon Valley Gets VC Lovin'

Some readers may find it hard to believe that a VC firm has invested in a car wash. However, some high school buddies of ours own a chain of car washes so we know first hand that car washing can be a big and profitable business.

Dave Whorton, who was once the right hand man to John Doerr and is now on his own with Tugboat ventures, has invested $1.5M in Mountain View-based Siteler. The difference between Siteler and regular car washes is that Siteler works with corporations to schedule car washes on-site while execs work. Siteler caters to execs with high-end Mercedes and Porches who are willing to pay extra for hand detailing.

We see a lot of these people at a local high-end car wash most weekends. We suspect they would prefer to be on the slopes or playing golf then spending an hour at the wash, so our hunch is that Siteler has a business on its hands.

Siteler charges $9 for a basic car wash and up to $300 for a full detailing, which includes shampooing the interior, removing tar and bugs and treating the tires, seats and dash. The company, which has three trailers equipped with hoses, buckets and pressure washers, now services 15 Silicon Valley corporations including as Google, Yahoo and Sun.