The Founder Files Building and Scaling Africa's Largest Last Mile Delivery Service - Simon Hartley, Wumdrop
In this episode, we get to chat with Simon Hartley, the founder of WumDrop, which is Africa's largest last-mile on-demand delivery service. Simon shares his incredible journey from launching a B2C retail business to pivoting into the B2B delivery space, unlocking product-market fit and scaling to success. We dive into the challenges of growing a logistics business, raising funds, investing in technology, and dealing with the pressures of scaling—while managing the constant threat of burnout. Simon also shares insights about WumDrop’s acquisition by MassMart in 2021 and what it’s been like navigating a three-year earnout period. He shares the lessons learned along the way, everything from leadership, hiring senior executives, and dealing with corporate politics and stakeholders. This episode is packed with practical lessons from all stages of the journey that you won’t want to miss!
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This episode is brought to you by Metavolve.
Metavolve turns highly capable African founders into confident business leaders by helping them develop clear and comprehensive business strategies that make building a great sustainable business less complex. Reach out to our team to learn more: https://metavolve.co/
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00:00 Introduction 03:30 What is WumDrop? 09:38 WumDrop’s Competitive Environment 17:38 How to Sell To Corporates 25:19 Simon’s First Business 37:40 Learning The Importance of Customer Experience 42:26 Pivoting to a Delivery Service 47:54 Scaling With Technology 52:43 Brought To You By Metavolve 54:06 Building Our Own Technology 57:06 Fundraising Struggles and Mistakes 01:01:14 Losing Your Co-Founder and Feeling Hopeless 01:04:44 Getting Acquired by Massmart 01:08:07 Struggles In The Scaling Journey 01:13:49 How To Overcome Burnout 01:23:33 Tips For Working With Corporates 01:38:13 Becoming Coachable 01:46:50 Getting Mentored by Sylvester John 01:58:04 The Difference Between Management and Leadership 02:04:42 How Metavolve Navigates Strategy, Leadership, and Scaling Challenges 02:10:52 What does the next 6 - 18 months look like for Simon? 02:13:26 Would Simon Change Anything About His Journey?