We learnt some harsh lessons from FedEX and Blue Dart: Navneet Singh

Navneet Singh, CEO, PepperTap

Claim to fame

After working with IFC and ExxonMobil, Singh started ecommerce reverse logistics firm NuvoEX before transforming it into PepperTap last year

The lesson

When we were running the previous version of this business (NuvoEx) we learnt some harsh lessons from some of our largest rivals such as FedEx and Blue Dart. The first lesson was to build a lean, as-set-light company, which allowed us to be nimble with our business model and pivot easily. This is something the large logistics companies, burdened with capital investments, can't do rapidly. Second, we also looked at how our rivals were trying to do too many things - jack of all trades and kings of none - and instead decided to be specialists in the market for hyperlocal grocery delivery. This is a complex market in itself and focusing as a specialist grocery deliverer has helped us build a highly scalable business, which is asset-light to boot. We've raised $47 million in funding and deliver 20,000 orders a day in 15 cities thanks to these learnings.

(As told to Rahul Sachitanand)