What made a Japanese VC bet big on this young Indian logistics start-up?

Tech in Asia explores how LetsTransport received $1.3 million in its first round of funding

LetsTransport is one of the many logistics start-ups that have sprouted in the past year. But there is a reason why this six-month-old tech start-up bagged $1.3 million in its first round of funding from Japanese VC firm Rebright Partners and seasoned entrepreneurs Ankush Nijhawan, Gaurav Bhatnagar, and Manish ?Dhingra.
 

A year ago, Pushkar Singh, an engineer with Indian conglomerate ITC was in charge of the manufacturing operations of Sunfeast, a biscuit label. Every time the company launches a new variety of Sunfeast in the market, a logistics nightmare begins for the managers. Each and every ingredient has to arrive at the factories at the right time. But they all hinge on one thing: “[that] the managers get down to the floor, pick up the phones, and start chasing trucks,” says Singh. 

It was a big problem waiting to be solved. He discussed it with Sudarshan Ravi and Ankit Parasher, friends from his college days at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur.
 

Singh, Ravi, and Parasher started testing the waters last November. They found no shortage of trucks in the market. At every local vehicle stand, there were a few trucks idling, their drivers lazing. But when you needed to hire a truck, it was hard to find one that fit the bill. And most times, you had to haggle with the driver.
 

“If we give these truckers assured access to demand, they will earn a more steady income, and the monetary benefits can be passed on to the customers as well. This, we realized, will make the market more efficient,” Singh explains.

Initially, LetsTransport started as a pure business-to-business logistics service. But soon it became apparent that a much larger play was on hand. Indian businesses are now increasingly adopting tech to improve operational efficiency. 

This is an excerpt from Tech in Asia. You can read the full article here.