We provide unparalleled access for the busiest families we serve—our starting point is meeting the family’s needs.

BY ALINA DIZIK

For Courtney Bragg T’18, the key to helping the millions of low-income people across the country started in an unlikely place—the laundromat.

As cofounder of Fabric Health, Bragg wanted to turn the two-plus hours that more than 30 million low-income families spend washing and drying clothes into time that’s even more productive. By working with health-care insurers, the startup encourages laundromat goers, many of whom are women, to tap into the critical health services they need to improve their lives. You’re a captive audience, says Bragg. The most urgent chore for people is clean clothes and that is why people are at the laundromat.

Making the most of this time is what Fabric Health is all about. 

While at the laundromat, users can tap into a variety of critical offerings including eye exams, registering for health insurance, and mobile mammograms. Fabric Health employees embed themselves in laundromats across a growing roster of cities, including Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and partner with health-care providers to offer the services. Fabric employees also help patrons with regular chores, such as opening doors or assisting those with multiple laundry bags. Some of the largest laundromats, including one in West Philadelphia, serve more than 3,000 people per month in a 7,000-square-foot facility. We provide unparalleled access for the busiest families we serve—our starting point is meeting the family’s needs, she says.

Bragg and her cofounder launched Fabric in 2021 and doubled the number of people they served in 2022. Today, the company works with both insurers and health-care systems, including the State of Pennsylvania, to offer health-care services. In the past, many of the health-care systems only offered critical care during traditional business hours or at facilities that can make it difficult for low-income workers to prioritize throughout the day. Choosing a laundromat where most people stay to move clothing from the washer to the dryer makes it easier to engage those who benefit from the services most. We are trusted with last-mile engagement, she says. We can close the gap and facilitate all the resources of the health-care system.

Looking back, Bragg credits her time at Tuck for enabling her to get the company off the ground and finding others who believed in the mission. Defining Fabric’s vision meant speaking with former classmates and professors. When I was kicking the tires, I spoke to lots of Tuck classmates and former professors, she recalls and adds that one of the startup’s earliest angel investors is a Tuck professor. From the start, it was very much about reaching out to classmates, alumni, and professors, which helped me launch after graduation.

This story originally appeared in print in the winter 2023 issue of Tuck Today magazine. Read the full article “Meet the Next Generation of Tuck Founders.”