Revolutionising The Logistic Services Platform
In early March, 11 companies were chosen to receive an investment of RM250,000 (US$61,844) each to grow their business regionally from Scale Up Malaysia and Quest Ventures.
ScaleUp Malaysia’s Cohort 2 key partner, Quest Ventures is a regional venture capital firm based out of Singapore that counts Temasek as one of their key investors. With more than 50 investments under their belt, Quest Ventures’ investments boast regional powerhouses like Carousell, 99.co and Carro.
Head’s Up will be interviewing all 11 chosen startups to discuss further on the challenges they face as a startup to grow regionally and how the investment will impact their journey moving forward.
7th on the list is Load2Go, on demand big truck service provider that operates through an online platform.
Head’s Up speaks to Ivan Seah, Chief Executive Officer and Co Founder on the journey the startup has undertaken and what is in store in coming months.
And if you missed some of the other features in this series, click here, here , here and here
Can you share more about your startup and what has the journey been like till now?
Unprecedented. As an on demand big truck service provider that operates through an online platform, the current climate is working with and also against us. The new normal favours our business model’s flexibility however the situation makes it challenging and costly for us to reach out to new B2B corporate customers.
Were you confident of getting selected to receive the investment?
Yes, confidence is part of Load2Go’s DNA. We feel that investments can be in many forms, waiting for us in every challenge/competition that we are part of. The investments may come in terms of experience, exposure and connections from previous pitch attempts that led us to this financial investment.
How will you be utilising the RM250,000 investment coming from the partnership?
One of our missions is to fuel our brand and business critical facilities. Both of which are key drivers in increasing our domestic market share and realising our regional expansion aspiration. As a start, we are looking towards marketing campaigns, process digitalisation, UX engineering and cloud migration to be the utilisation plans.
What are the challenges a startup like yours face in growing regionally?
Regional policies, regulations, and population of independent/SME transporters. Our policies for decision making may be disrupted resulting in excessive burn rates. Regions with low independent/SME transporter population may limit our service coverage and availability.
Which country do you think holds the biggest potential to market your product?
Indonesia. Research shows that 70 to 80 percent of Indonesia’s total domestic freight volume is transported by road transport. With increasing logistic costs, the largest population in Southeast Asia needs an efficient and competitive on demand big truck service provider.
Paired with data showing a steady increase in local truck population, the Indonesian market is primed for Load2Go.
The pandemic has proven to be some of the most challenging times for a lot of businesses. How did you overcome the challenges?
The cost efficient and flexible nature of our business model helps us to overcome challenges. Requiring only a skeleton crew for daily operations with no overhead expenses of having a fleet of transporters, we adapted to our customers’ transport demands effortlessly. Importantly, our business setup offers the flexibility to engage and keep track of our services remotely or on the go with ease.
What opportunities do you think this investment will give rise to for your startup in the long term?
The visibility gained from receiving an investment from this prestigious initiative puts Load2Go on the e-commerce radar. This improves investor and customer perception towards us and opens the door for new business connections, sort of a shortcut for attracting new investors and customers.
In the long run, it is a catalyst for accelerating our progress to increase our domestic market share and regional expansion.
We will be introducing our transport fleet to the nation soon, look out for our branding on the next lorry you see!
How important do you think these initiatives are for startups in the country?
Startups are like Nasi Lemak, they are great but may lack the necessary kick. Initiatives like this are like the Sambal for Nasi Lemak. They provide the necessary exposure, experience and business networks which are the “kick” to make start-ups awesome.
Whether its a feedback or a pitch to feature your startup, SME or social enterprise, feel free to reach out to me at headsupnewsletter@gmail.com