Any construction project has various moving parts that need to be carefully coordinated so that projects are completed on time and on budget. More often than not, there are delays resulting from one facet of the project that ripples into the entire timeline. Curri tackles the availability of building materials with its on-demand delivery service that empowers building materials suppliers to meet the demanding needs of their customers. The company’s platform lets suppliers and distributors select from Curri’s fleet of cars, trucks, flatbeds, or vans operated by gig workers, paying for the appropriate last-mile delivery vehicle based on actual usage similar to ride-sharing. This relieves the supplier of having to maintain an in-house fleet, leading to optimized shipping costs as the last-mile delivery portion is the single most expensive part of the supply chain in construction.
LA TechWatch caught up with Growth Marketing Manager Alice Warnier to learn more about bringing tech-powered logistics to the construction industry, the company strategic plans, and latest funding round, which brings the total funding raised to $6.2M
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
We closed a $6 million Series A funding round led by Brick & Mortar Ventures. The financing included participation from existing backer Initialized Capital, as well as a new investor Rainfall Ventures.
Tell us about your product or service.
Curri was founded in 2017 and has grown to be the leading on-demand construction material delivery service provider. Curri makes shipping faster, safer, and more transparent than ever through people, service, and technology. From real-time, data-driven notifications to tracking over tens of touchpoints within a shipment, Curri surfaces more information than any other provider, increasing the velocity and transparency of the supply chain.
What inspired the start of Curri?
Suppliers who don’t have the ability to make urgent, on-demand, or long-distance deliveries are leaving sales on the table and risk losing customers and business to suppliers who do. Fleet Augmentation is the secret weapon of suppliers who care about getting material in their customer’s hands, fast.
How is it different?
Last-mile delivery logistics is the last step of the process and key to customer satisfaction. It is also both the most expensive and time-consuming part of the shipping process. With the continuous rise of e-commerce in US retail sales, providers in every industry focus on delivering speedy fulfillment and distribution, at the lowest cost. The Covid-19 pandemic global crisis has disrupted construction wholesalers and distributor chains and has highlighted the need for flexible and reliable delivery of construction supplies and materials.
However, the complexity of such deliveries has driven high costs and frequent delays when handled by traditional and antiquated couriers.
That’s where Elastic Scale comes in. Elastic Scale is a concept where you only pay for what you need. Oftentimes, a traditional fleet leads to underutilized trucks or drivers who sit around waiting for orders to come in. Thanks to its nationwide and diversified fleet, Curri allows for elastic scale, and enables distributors to never have to say “no” to a sale.
Curri has revolutionized the industry, ensuring that these complex loads are delivered faster, with more precision and are more resilient to disruptions along the way, all thanks to a deep layer of tech-powered technology. Curri provides real-time data and transparency on every shipment, allowing companies to better track the shipments that matter the most.
What market you are targeting and how big is it?
USA for now.
Last-mile delivery logistics tends to be the most expensive and time-consuming part of the shipping process. According to one estimate, last-mile accounts for 53% of total shipping costs and 41% of total supply chain costs. With the rise of e-commerce in the U.S., retail providers are increasingly focusing on fulfillment and distribution at the lowest cost. Particularly in the construction industry, the pandemic continues to disrupt wholesalers, highlighting the need for flexible and reliable delivery.
How has COVID-19 impacted the business?
“Because of COVID, the construction industry has innovated in one year what would take ten. Curri solves the costly wait times for construction supplies, they now arrive ‘just in time’ to the job site. It’s a win-win – benefitting suppliers, construction professionals, and more importantly the American people as we build/rebuild post-COVID.” says Andrew Lee, VC Investor at Initialized Capital.
What was the funding process like?
YC has amazing material on the process. Our process followed their outline almost to a tee
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
The most challenging aspect of fundraising was the fact that the process causes the founders’ focus to be divided between their actual job and their new job – raising money.
For later-stage companies, you can get away with the founders’ focusing on fundraising for 6-8 weeks—but for a seed-stage company, the founders are also predominantly operators, and the business can really suffer when the founders get pulled away from their day-to-day responsibilities.
The most challenging aspect of fundraising was the fact that the process causes the founders’ focus to be divided between their actual job and their new job – raising money.
For later-stage companies, you can get away with the founders’ focusing on fundraising for 6-8 weeks—but for a seed-stage company, the founders are also predominantly operators, and the business can really suffer when the founders get pulled away from their day-to-day responsibilities.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
Our growth 🙂
Also, with nearly 90% of general contractors worried about labor shortages (and wanting to keep their skilled labor onsite) and material wholesalers unable to keep up with demand, Curri is an obvious need.
For our Series A leads, Brick & Mortar, they knew our problem space intimately. Founder Darren Bechtel’s family owns the largest GC firm in the world: Bechtel Construction.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
The next 6 months for Curri are all about execution. We’re going to double down on our core offerings—world-class delivery logistics solutions for construction wholesalers—and execute, execute, execute.
What advice can you offer companies in Los Angeles that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Accelerator programs exist that will invest in your company when you have nominal traction in an attractive market. My advice is to bootstrap your way to about a hundred paying users and a couple of thousands of dollars in monthly revenue. Nothing fancy.
We followed this playbook, which took us about 6 months, at which point we raised our first capital from YC.
What’s your favorite outdoor activity in LA?
My favorite outdoor activity in LA is surfing: either Topanga Canyon, Sunset, or Malibu.
