Why I Believe DelivrMe Is Going To Be One Of The Best Investments I Have Ever Made.
In a recent blog I mentioned that — as a rule — I invest in people first and foremost.
I have had plenty of occasions where an ‘opportunity’ has been pitched to me and the idea is great, but I don’t rate the people. Equally, I have invested in great people where the growth plans and tactics might not be fully formed.
And then, very occasionally, I get those moments where both things come together! Great people and a great idea. When that happens, I get really excited for what might be…
I have had this exact experience recently which is why the latest addition to my portfolio, DelivrMe, sees me not just being part of this organisation as a investor / shareholder but I will also be joining the business in the role of Chairman to help guide the brand and accelerate the growth plans that are in place.
When I met the seriously impressive founders Aaron and Zak I was instantly sold on them as people. They had a great energy, a great vision and — importantly — a great plan for DelivrMe. What also galvanised my interest in the business was the point of difference that they had created within the business model. The delivery sector is a very hot — and highly competitive — marketplace right now, so my initial line of questioning pressed this fact — but Aaron and Zak had an answer to every single one of my queries.
A solid growth plan, a distinguishable point of difference, brilliant rider on-boarding, competitive advantage, fantastic back-end tech, reliable payment systems, brand awareness building, community engagement all ready to go! Impressive stuff.
When you’ve been involved in the number of exits that I have (6 and counting) you learn to quickly spot what a business needs to make and impact and who you need around it to drive growth.
The other thing that I instantly appreciated about the founders was what they have been able to achieve already with such small scale capital; there’s been no major outside institutional investment and they have gained a big community of raving fans in the form of stakeholders who have got involved in the project through an initial crowd funded offering.
They also have proof of concept in the form of paying customers — over 1000 deliveries already as a test case.
You may well be able to create a fan with an idea, but when you can get people to part with their money to support your concept you know you have an investable idea!
As mentioned earlier in this post, not only am I getting involved as an Angel Investor in this business, but I have been in talks with the founders and leadership team of DelivrMe for the last few months and I am thrilled to be taking on a significant role in the venture too.
As Chairman I will be advising, assisting and guiding the management team of the business on their scale-up growth plans. The business is in the process of raising a seed round of £2m (90% already pledged in just a few weeks — well done again to the team for this one!) at which point we will be implementing a tactical rollout across the UK.
I can’t say much more about the rollout at this stage, but let’s just say some of the processes we used all those years ago to build the UK’s largest independent travel brand still work for quietly dominating a marketplace today!
The final thing that stuck out for me with the founders was their internal awareness i.e. they know what they don’t know! That might sound like a strange phrase, so let me explain; I often get pitched and the founders feel the need to give off the impression that they know everything about what will happen in the business. As a startup founder, in most cases, it is impossible to know everything that is going to happen within the business! In the vast majority of cases, founders are aspiring to achieve certain levels of results that they have never experienced before, so being aware that you will reach levels, challenges and hurdles that your current skills and experience make you unaware of how to navigate is vital.
When they came to see me, Aaron and Zak were abundantly clear on
the fact that they were after ‘smart money’ not just any money — they wanted an investment partner who could guide as well as just fund and, for me, that willingness and openness towards their own self-improvement (which will ultimately drive business improvement) was the final straw; I had seen enough, I was IN!
So, I am excited to start on this journey with the team and I look forward to sharing how we build this exciting brand to become a big player in this super-competitive marketplace; DelivMe is here to revolutionise the world of on-demand delivery utilising modern technology and — as mentioned right at the start — I genuinely believe that this brand ‘is going to be one of the best investments I have ever made”.
