Minneapolis startup creates Uber-like app for short deliveries

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.

"The Uber driver, that DoorDash driver, this is another thing to have in the background for those people to have extra income," he said.

Trunkdrop does not plan routes or set pay rates for drivers, Schoen said. Instead, the driver determines how much they are to be paid per hour. A fraction of the driver's time is calculated for the total paid.

Saawan Patel, the founder of Fountane, a Minneapolis software development company, met Schoen soon after he created the idea for Trunkdrop. Fountane eventually became the technology partner of Trunkdrop, a platform in which Patel sees immense potential.

"It's good for small businesses who want to add last mile to their portfolio, but also families who are separated from each other," he said. "It can scale across multiple cities."

Trunkdrop performs a background check on every driver implemented into the system, Schoen said. A driver must be 18 and older and have a valid driver's license to be on the network, and is required to attach their personal bank account list to receive payment.

Trunkdrop is not currently making money. It will eventually take 10% of each transaction, but for now, it's free as the company builds a network of drivers.

Schoen, previously a fitness instructor and musician, and his business partners have bootstrapped the launch of Trunkdrop, but plans to raise capital this year to expand the platform and availability in other metros.

"It's a true platform," Patel said. "You can set your own rate and your schedule, so you don't have to take jobs if you're not free. I don't think any other platform is doing it that way for last mile delivery."