Logistics Startup byrd Scored 370.000€ To Invest In International Expansion

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If you're on the hunt for new trends in logistics, this startup will interest you. byrd just launched two weeks ago & already got a 6-figure investment. CMO Petra Dobrocka shares the idea behind this young company:

Describe byrd in 50 words or less.

The byrd app enables customers to ship items with one click. byrd sends a courier to pick up the items, then brings them to the warehouse for packaging and ships them at the best available rate. This way customers can ship packages directly from their couch without any hassle.

How did you discover the need for byrd? When did you know you had to go with the idea?

The idea behind byrd was born when our co-founder and CEO Alexander was trying to send a chandelier from Vienna to Hamburg. He had no idea how to package it and ship it. He did some research online but couldn’t find a solution for the ‘first mile’ – the process of how an unpackaged item gets into the logistics cycle. So he decided to build it himself. He first reached out to his rowing colleague Christoph, our COO and told him about the idea. Christoph met up with Sebastian who was his developer colleague at the time and is now CTO. A short while later, the guys got me on board as CMO. That’s how it all started.

byrd already handels four-figure shipments for business partners & two weeks ago launched the app for private customers. How do you measure the success for the app?

We measure the success of the app based on quantitative data such as downloads, daily active users and requested pickups. But we also try to gather as much quantitative user feedback as possible in order to constantly improve the app and its features. So far the metrics look great, considering that we just launched the app.

Also two weeks ago byrd got 370.000€ investment by Pioneers Ventures, KK Incube and Hermann Hauser. What’s your plan with the money?

First of all we are very happy about the investment! In our business personell costs make up a large part of our expenditures since we need a large and reliable pool of couriers and packaging experts in order to provide our service. Besides that a portion of the funding will also go into our international expansion – we’re currently working on expanding to Germany and the funding will help us with that.

With ferocious competition and a booming trend to build new companies: How do you make sure you don’t get lost in the shuffle?

We’re staying focused on our two main products: the private customer app and the business customer app. Whenever there is an opportunity that would change our focus we sit down together as a team and discuss the upsides and downsides as well as our general strategy.

What were the biggest challenges you faced building your startup? What were learning points for you?

Probably the biggest challenge in a startup is to stay focused. There are thousands of new opportunities arising every day and sometimes you would like to follow up on all of them. The startup enthusiasm makes it hard to pick only the most interesting opportunities, however in a startup you never have the resources to do everything you would like to. Therefore focus and a clear vision are important factors.

Innovation in logistics is a big topic at the moment – not only for startups but also corporates. Where do you see the trend going?

We see a lot of change in the logistics sector. In our segment especially we see a strong trends towards C2C shipments – customers selling products to other customers through marketplaces like ebay or dawanda. Just recently Facebook announced the launch of its new marketplace. We think that this development will have a huge impact on parcel logistics.

Where do you see byrd in three years from now? How will it have changed logistics & shipment?

In three years from now our vision for byrd is to be the new standard for parcel shipments in Europe. Whenever you want to buy something, you use Amazon. Whenever you want to sell something, you use ebay. Whenever you want to ship something, you use byrd. We want to be active in several European cities and make shipping as simple as possible for our customers.

What was your most memorable moment so far?

The most memorable moment so far was probably the day when byrd was founded. It was quite a busy day and a handful of things went wrong – we were at the wrong address to sign the necessary documents and when we got to the right address and started with the signing process, the fire alarm in the building went off. We had to evacuate the building for approximately 30 minutes. In the end everything went well, we signed all the necessary documentation and were super happy that everything went well in the end.

What advice would you give fellow founders for their startup?

Probably the most important thing to consider when you’re building a startup is the team. Choose your co-founders and first employees carefully. How well your team is built up will basically decide about your success. Ideally you will be working with your core team for the next several years. You’ll be spending lots of time with them and therefore you should be able to work together well. At the same time you should also support each other and give constructive feedback but also be able to party together after a long day.

 

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