Up for grabs: a new startup merges travel and shopping to deliver the goods

Stealing the show at the start up awards in San Francisco was Grabr, a travel-retail-delivery service with a difference

Startups that succeed are usually those that aim to fulfill an unmet need. While on her travels, road warrior Anastasia Ikonnikova, one of the founders of Grabr, and the winner of the recent start up awards in San Francisco, had often been asked to take things in her suitcase to friends and family in Moscow. And when she was away, and friends or family were coming to visit, she had no problem asking them to bring that must-have item from home.

Grabr team accept the award in San Francisco

“The two experiences came together into our startup that helps people to shop without borders while allowing travellers to make extra money, sometimes enough to pay for their entire plane ticket,” she says.

So a delivery company right?

No, says Inkonnikova, who explains that one of the biggest challenges was to create the right messaging so that people would not confuse the fledgling firm as a shipping or delivery service.

“We let travellers people shop around the world with the hands of our travellers who will then deliver it to them,” she says.

In essence, it takes the peer-to-peer model into another realm. And as the strapline on the landing page clearly states, it’s about “getting anything from anywhere in the world delivered to you by a trusted traveller going your way”.

To date Grabr 1,000 orders have been placed to the value of $250,000. Around 250 deliveries have been made to the value of $80,000 and there are 12,000 registered users.  For the moment the focus is the US, Latin America, Russia and South-East Asia. 

Before officially launching the team at Grabr:

  1. Developed a simple landing page

  2. Described the service clearly

  3. Created a subscription form

  4. Drove a few Facebook ads to it

  5. Established if the idea is worth pursuing by asking customers

Asking customers is important, says Inkonnikova, and “they will tell you!”

By taking this approach, Grabr had 5,000 people pre-subscribing to the beta in the first week. “So before we even had a product we already had users waiting for it,” she says.

Grabr users can either shop for ‘cool’ products from around the world on the website, or create their own ‘grab’. The shopper offers a reward and travellers are able to bid for it; the higher the reward the more likely the traveller is to snap it up. Recently completed grabs include the delivery of a $1299 Apple MacBook from New York to Mumbai for a reward of $100.

To add value to users, the website also features a blog with travel advice, as well as, of course, shopping inspiration. One on natural beauty products from around the world include links to is to get people to order the product

 

One of the products up for grabs on the site 

Over the next six to 12 months, Inkonnikova says their priority is the executive of a number of marketing and product ideas. “Our aim is to double the number of deliveries month-to-month,” she says.

Runner up in the competition was SeatWizer which helps travellers to find the most comfortable and affordable seat. Again, founder 6.6-inch Richard McCartney clearly recognised that there was a need for certain people to be able to compare legroom in aircrafts!

The competition ran as part of EyeforTravel’s one-day Startup Village last month and featured a panel of entrepreneurs and investors. Among the names Heddi Cundle, Founder, MyTab.co, Jim Pickell, President, HomeExchange.com, Kerri Ann Zeil, Director, Amadeus for Startups, Nancy Hayes, Managing Director, Golden Seeds, Saaed Amidi, CEO and Founder, Plug and Play Tech Center.

Are you a start up wanting to get your name in front of interested investors and innovators? Why not check out our line up of upcoming events

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