Zoom2u
How it started
It was frustration that led to the idea behind delivery marketplace Zoom2U. Steve Orenstein missed the same delivery to his house three times, and couldn’t help but think there had to be a better technology solution for both himself and the driver.
“I was aware of the roaring success of Uber-style delivery models — the idea of ordinary people using their own vehicles to get people from A to B and knew that there must be a solution for products and packages, too,” Orenstein tells SmartCompany.
So in 2014, Orenstein used his tech skills to build it.
Growth
Rather than a driver platform, Zoom2u is a delivery marketplace that matches the closest drivers to each job. Customers are also able to liaise directly with the driver from pick-up, making the delivery virtually impossible to miss.
Since inception in 2014, Zoom2u has completed over 2 million deliveries, and grown a user base of 70,000 individuals, SMEs, and enterprise customers, connected to over 8600 drivers.
Orenstein has always prioritised cash flow along the way, and successfully raised $4.2 million in 2019 to fund the company’s growth.
Where to next?
After building Zoom2u, Orenstein and the team transferred that knowledge to build out Locate2u, a SaaS product for businesses with driving fleets. That allows them to manage bookings, optimise routes, track delivery teams, and share live locations with their customers.
The goal for both businesses is growth, and to get a bigger slice of the delivery sector, which Orenstein says is currently worth an estimated $5 billion in Australia.
The founder says Zoom2u ended 2021 with a gross marketplace value of $11 million, “which was a large increase on the year before, but we still have a way to go”.
