One Cincinnati startup is stepping up its game to help companies across the Midwest stay afloat through the coronavirus crisis. It’s also scaling up rapidly in the process.
Frayt is a local startup that provides instant delivery scheduling for businesses and consumers. Since 2018, the company has helped businesses large and small deliver products to customers throughout the Midwest.
The service uses an app to match people who want specific items shipped with professional drivers who pick up those shipments and deliver them — almost like an Uber Eats, but for a much wider range of deliveries. (Frayt ships everything from an envelope to up to three pallets reaching up to 3,000 pounds, according to the company website.)
Now, as Americans shelter-in-place, Frayt is meeting customers’ growing needs by offering same-hour delivery services. This speed is particularly important as competitors get bogged down by demand. “Instacart waits in some markets can be days,” says founder and CEO Lawrence McCord. “We can get a driver in an hour in most cases.”
“It would be such a shame if the one thing that sank a family’s shop was as simple as telling customers to use an app.”
McCord, an expedited shipping veteran, has built relationships with a variety of local companies, including Tire Discounters and Kroger. He launched the company, which was named a startup to watch by the National Retail Federation, after graduating from the gBETA startup accelerator. As an entrepreneur himself, McCord sees this crisis as his opportunity to help not just consumers, but fellow small businesses.
“This pandemic is shutting down whole industries, but there are some small businesses that sill have demand for their goods — they just need help transporting them,” he said. “It would be such a shame if the one thing that sank a family’s shop was as simple as telling customers to use an app.”
Frayt says that it has North America’s largest networked fleet of delivery drivers. Its 3,000 professional drivers serve 13 markets, including Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, Detroit, Toledo, Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Lexington, Louisville, Nashville, Chicago, Fort Wayne and Long Island. As demand grows — which it is given the current health crisis — Frayt is also hiring new drivers.
And, numbers aren’t the only thing that sets Frayt apart from competitors. For one, the company sets prices based on mileage, not weight. And, its variety of car sizes offer delivery versatility. McCord’s team has the gear and know-how to transfer items as large as furniture or hardware, as well as the certifications necessary to transport medical supplies.
As Frayt grows quickly, it’s continuing to make social-distancing and sanitation guidelines a priority. It offers contactless deliveries to keep customers and drivers safe, and maintains a highly sanitized work environment.
The company is also paying it forward by helping Cincinnati-area food banks. Frayt and city officials are teaming together to deliver meals to charities serving families in need — and this is something McCord plans to do much more of in the near future.
