My Startup World speaks to Carry app’s Co-Founder, Borhene Ben Mena, who explains how the app makes urban deliveries a simple and transparent experience.
Please tell us about Carry app.
Carry is an App that helps make urban deliveries a simple and transparent experience. Leveraging an on demand model and some cool technology we are able to provide individuals and local businesses with a plug and play solution to pick up and deliver anything they want in their city.
It is meant to give customers full control over their preferences of time and locations and match them with a highly trained network of delivery assistants. You can also use the app to ask Carry to run your errands.
Who is involved in the company?
The team is an exciting mix of serial entrepreneurs and seasoned professionals that have a common drive to solve hard problems and use technology extensively in the process.
How did you come across the idea behind Carry app?
I spent years in the logistics industries and saw a growing divide between online/offline merchants’ expectations to achieve more efficiency in their first and last mile deliveries and the customers’ increasing demand for instant gratification. Carry solves this problem by offering same day deliveries to customers and a highly efficient and scalable network for merchants to tap into.
How is the company funded? Is it bootstrapped or is it through external funding?
The company is operating with seed funding from a Corporate Venture Capital and has already built a highly scalable platform to address its target market.
What is the USP of Carry app?
Your ubiquitous on-demand delivery assistant that brings your city to your front door.
What challenges did you face when building Carry app?
Many of the challenges we faced are common to any start-up that tries to achieve a lot in a short period of time and on a limited budget. Managing the unknown is a constant and you have to be able to iterate very fast and very frequently.
Some of the more specific themes that we had to solve for revolve around building a platform with three customers involved: The sender, the receiver and the delivery assistant. This requires being able to engage participants over all type of platforms depending on their preferences.
Which markets do you currently cater to?
This effort was started in the UAE but we are already engaged in launching in neighboring markets in the coming months.
What future plans do you have for Carry app?
As a platform, the plans is to make this product as simple and accessible as possible and give back precious time to our customers
What advice do you have for budding entrepreneurs?
Play the long game! I believe most of us have toyed with the idea of going the entrepreneurs’ route. That route is made of challenges and satisfactions (for one good day you might have two bad ones) but ultimately it is the drive and the belief in the long term vision that will keep you going.
