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Re: undefined

#171

Post by freeplay »

TZubiri wrote: post #139
freeplay wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was my first thought when I saw "travelers going between countries." You're going to have a problem getting carriers to sign up because they are assuming all of the risk. Unfortunately, "oh you don't understand - I got paid $27 by CarrierPigeon™ to bring this unmarked, brick shaped package into the country" just isn't going to fly with customs/feds.

Sounds more like an opportunity, the fact that there's unique problems to be solved in a space mean precisely that there is a need for a specialized company instead of being gobbled up by features in rideshare apps.

Some spaces just can't be "disrupted."

Re: undefined

#173

Post by preetigagarwal »

Cold start is the hardest problem in any marketplace. What worked for us was focusing on one side first — get the supply side locked in before worrying about demand. Also doing things manually at the start that don't scale. Personal outreach to every single early user, not mass emails. The product can be rough but people forgive that if you give them personal attention early on.

Re: undefined

#175

Post by alegd »

jwitchel wrote: post #160

Oh this is one I can answer. I was the co-founder of Prosper an early p2p lending company. Your problem is a relatively easy one. Go find one or two companies with a lot of packages. Focus on delivering packages whose delivery time is not critical (say 7 days) and whose registered value is low (say $500 or less). Focus on deliveries that are just outside of ubers practical range (say LA to SFO). Find a bunch of uber…

[flagged]

Re: undefined

#176

Post by alegd »

tquinn wrote: post #125

I founded logotournament.com in 2007 when I didn't even know what a two-sided marketplace was. I only learned many years later that this was considered hard[1]. Luckily, as a self-funded, solo-founder I had no idea it was hard, so I launched my side project anyways. It's done roughly $25,000,000+ USD in sales since. At the time I was a partner in an ecom firm (few guys and a small warehouse), and I needed a new logo…

[flagged]

Re: undefined

#178

Post by clusmore »

What is the value prop to the package owner? Is it just that you expect this to be cheaper than existing options because random people who are already going somewhere anyway can make a few extra bucks by taking a parcel with them?

You could always just take people's parcels and use an existing solution at first and eat the price difference, then once you have enough volume on the parcel supply side you can onboard some carriers.

Re: undefined

#180

Post by TZubiri »

georgefrowny wrote: post #169
dpark wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A. Maybe. Are you going to ship with someone who is going to open your package and rifle through it, though? I would personally also not feel confident in my ability to check fully for hidden illicit material if I were the courier. B. No. Absent laws indemnifying the courier, a company saying “I’ll take the heat for those drugs you’re carrying” is not a meaningful act. C. No. This seems like more of B. This is all su…

Also if you can get away with it, all drug traffickers would soon have an online order for their package so if stopped they can just say they're an innocent courier.

From a security engineering risk I don't think that would be an issue, because the same mechanism that catches malicious senders would be at play, the sender would have to identify through the app, with a payment provider and to the courier to send a package. The fake courier would have to sign up as a fake sender and be risk-exposed through the sender role.

Courier immunity does not confer much advantage compared to just signing up and having someone else send it. Except, it's true, that a trafficker could play both roles and self serve to avoid courier inspection/risk, there's some implications there for sure, but same as any job right? Pizza delivery guy could be selling drugs. It's not like transport is a niche job that might warrant specialized training and certification, it's like half the economy, tell me a commodity more central to business than oil, it can happen yes, but it isn't the end of the world if it happens on your business it's part of the trade, as long as you can deal with it, comply with the investigation, put preventive measures, and design the system with that in mind, I think it'd be ok.

Obligatory disclaimer. I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice, just my personsal opinion on the matter

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