Building and Scaling Africa's Largest Last Mile Delivery Service - Simon Hartley, Wumdrop

Season 4 Episode 22

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!

Too Long; Didn't Listen? Here's what to look for:

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?