It’s 2020 and there’s no more need for logistics, people are delivering--helping each other out. Where travelling is earning, if not earning then saving at least. Can you envision a system like that? Where eCommerce companies are saving more than burning, people are more than satisfied with 1 day delivery system. “That’s such a dream,” No it’s not. Here we’re talking about the concept of Let’s take you to the other part of it. It’s the mango season and I’m desperately craving for it but too lazy to gout and buy them from the nearby market. So, I drop in a request on the app, saying I need a kg of fresh Alphonsos. People nearby (Just like Uber), get the notification and they start placing bids on the cost they’ll be delivering. Rs 50 , is acceptable, i click on the accept button on the bid by a person X. 10 mins and my mangoes are here. Hooked? This is not just a fantasy anymore, BeckInstant and BeckFriends are right here.
Founded by
So, what are BeckFriends and BeckInstant?
BECKFriends.com is a peer-peer international delivery network. They offer a single platform to users to send anything anywhere in the world. Deep stated it’s a platform that offers you multiple options to send your package anywhere in the world. The product connects travellers with the package senders and also offers you an opportunity to earn as you travel. The end objective is to enable logistics through technology to cater to diverse shipment requirements all over the world. While BeckInstant enables users to send anything, anywhere in the city on the same day.
Addressing Security Issues
People have often argued about the uncertainty of delivery in crowdshipping, how do you plan to counter it?
To answer this I will like to tell you how BeckFriends.com Work: person who wants to send a parcel anywhere can connect with other users of BECK Friends over the platform where details like location, details of delivery and pickup and picture of the parcel need to be filled. The platform’s algorithm then gives an estimated pricing based on factors such as the time requested for delivery, the package size and the distance. Other users can then respond to the request, which delivers a notification to the sender and gives him/her an option to see the Facebook profile of the user interested in making the delivery. Once the interested party is approved by the sender, numbers are then exchanged through SMS. This ensures privacy as well as establishes trust for both parties involved.
We are mitigating the risks by having verified profiles for the users. By making users connect other social profiles online along uploading scans of Govt IDs like: PAN Card, social security ID, Passport etc. which will get authenticated by third parties within 48 hours making the user profile as verified profile. Along with this the user can also insure the delivery very soon using an insurance option by paying a small fee.
Monetization & Traction
Deep claims that BECK Instant does over 3000 deliveries a month with over 90% repeat customers. While recently launched BeckFriends which went live couple of months back has already done over 200 deliveries within India & International.
The monetization model is quite simple, for BECK Instant the company charges Rs.100 for first 5 kms and Rs.10 per km for every additional km. Furthermore, Deep stated that “We’re at average 15% profitability on each delivery we do.”
He further added, “For BECKFriends.com, we are currently focusing on signups to get users on board to experience the product. Currently we do not charge to the users, but we see several revenue streams for the near future. The simplest being, charging a convenience fee. We currently are not focused or worried about the monetization for BeckFriends.com. Once we have people hooked on to the platform and understand the value of the service, it is the user who will lead us to the revenue model.”
Funding Status
The company is currently being bootstrapped by the founders. Though when asked Deep he stated that they’re looking for the ‘right investor/s’ and raise $7 million to setup international offices, expand on technology, user acquisition, expansion in other international markets.
About Founders
Deep Malhotra
A veteran professional with more than 14+ years of entrepreneurial and start-up experience, Deep Malhotra is a Co-founder at BECK Technology Ventures Pvt. Ltd. In his role, he leads the team with along with spearheading the organizational strategy and funding-related aspects, and is also responsible for overseeing the product and the overall business. Deep was part of the founding teams of Google India & Fox Interactive Media (MySpace.com) in India prior to that he was with Rediff.com.
Shikha Pandey
Shikha as a Co-Founder, overlooks the operations & marketing at BECK Technology Ventures Pvt.Ltd. She has over 10 years of experience that started with Public Relations from where she moved on being part of the marketing teams at HUL & Bharti Airtel. She focusses on keeping the operations optimised, lean and efficient and the marketing impactful, widespread and noisy.
Mayukh Basu
Mayukh recently graduated from BITS Pilani with a predisposition for risk taking. He is passionate about Computer Vision and building practical products. Currently Co-Founder at BECK Technology Ventures Pvt.Ltd and working on building a scalable backend.
Rahul Basu
Rahul is on board as the co-founder and looks after the technology development at BECK Technology Ventures Pvt.Ltd. He passed out of BITS Pilani last year & has previously worked with companies like SIEMENS, Bhilai Steel Plant & San Diego state university where he worked on a project funded by Pearson & NASA during his college y