The courier industry has been around since the middle ages, but it has changed very little. Dropoff is looking to change that in a marketplace that is quickly heating up around express, same-day, reliable deliveries.
Dropoff offers a web and mobile dashboard that lets you book a courier anytime, review prices before you start, get reliable ETAs and then track the package as it’s moving.
Obviously, there is a ton of competition in the space, with services like Uber launching Rush, TaskRabbit and Postmates already established, and players like WunWun offering courier delivery as a branch of their on-demand anything service. And the courier-only startup has been tried before.
However, Dropoff thinks that its dedication to focusing on businesses only, not consumers, and specializing in industries outside of the usual grocery delivery, will pay off. Dropoff provides services to industries like legal, real estate, accounting, healthcare, food and grocery, of course, and hospitality and retail. However, the company is ready to take on new customers in various industries that are looking to get into same-day delivery.
Dropoff couriers on average make about $20/hour working for the service. Industry standard, according to Dropoff, is a 50/50 split between courier and the service, and Dropoff pays out couriers anywhere between 66 percent and 50 percent based on factors like the specific segment they are serving and the type of delivery; on-demand vs. scheduled vs. routes, etc.
Dropoff has raised a total of $1.85 million in seed from Austin Ventures, Silverton Partners and Mucker Capital, among others. The service is available now in Austin, with plans to expand to other metropolitan areas soon.
