The founder of a platform that brokers transactions between drivers and people who need goods picked up or delivered is betting apps like his are the next solution for convenient last mile transportation.
Entrepreneur Jon Schoen and his partners launched Trunkdrop in January, nearly three years after he conjured the idea for a contactless, on-demand courier technology. Similar to Uber, users are able to select the closest — or cheapest — driver to pick up or drop off items, Schoen said.
Schoen, the company's chief executive, said Trunkdrop has been used for a number of delivery situations — a small-business owner who wants to deliver a product to a nearby customer, an auto body shop in need of parts from a supplier late in the evening, or even parents who need a baseball bat dropped off at their son's baseball game.
Some users have requested their mail be picked up and dropped at a local post office or FedEx store, he added.
Schoen created the idea for the business during the pandemic, when health advisories stressed that businesses have contactless encounters with consumers. Initially, the idea was to have users place items for delivery in the driver's trunk. The recipient would remove the item from the trunk upon arrival, a system where the driver doesn't have to come into contact.
As COVID cases and advisories eased, Schoen decided to make contactless trunk drops an option.
"I knew what was happening during COVID," he said. "I don't think the convenience stuff from COVID was going to change. We're going to want more convenience and why wouldn't we want more delivery of anything, not just food?"
While a benefit for consumers, Schoen also wanted to add sustainable income for people who rely on their cars to make money.
