When DC Inno first met up with ShipLync, the commercial shipping logistics company was wrapping up a pretty huge week.
The Columbia, Md.-based startup had won a $20,000 prize in a pitch competition sponsored by the Vinetta Project, which was a meaningful victory.
But it wasn't even that week's biggest one.
“It’s actually a funny story,” said Somil Desai, cofound of ShipLync. “The day before we won, I did a $100,000 pitch event for TEDco.”
It was a sequence of success that impacted the company's early growth.
“They are getting a real-time quote and a price that matches their needs.”
“Winning both prizes put us in great shape at the end of the year to hire graphic artists and marketing people, while also helped us to finalize our financing attorney for our proprietary technology patent," Desai added.
But perhaps we're getting ahead of ourselves.
Before ShipLync was a pitch event darling, it was an idea between Somil and Saureen Desai. The goal? Disrupting the logistics industry. Specifically, that meant providing a full-scale platform for clients in the U.S. and abroad to improve operational efficiency and cut costs.
Additionally, the founders wanted their startup to have a platform equipped to provide fast shipping quotes, so customers could get an idea of what they'd be paying in minutes as opposed to the typical days-long wait times.
All these concepts were cooking after their workday, as Saureen and Desai had full-time jobs of their own.
Their hard work paid off, if the pitch competitions were any indication. Fast forward to 2018, where the duo announced in March that the patent for ShipLync’s proprietary technology, a China Certification Inspection Company loading photo application, was finally approved.
Desai explained. “When an international exporter is sending shipments of scrap metal, rubber, electronic waste or other materials over to foreign countries, you have to have a standard set of pictures for the loading dock,” she said. “If those photos aren’t compliant, your items will be rejected.”
ShipLync’s tool teaches consumers how and what kind of photos to take in order to get clearance from the China clearinghouse in New York and Los Angeles. The app adds a required timestamp, and allows the shipper to take every picture correctly.
It also allows the company to pursue bigger harbors. The first customer that they are implementing the CCIC technology into is the Baltimore Harbor.
Getting the approval from CCIC was the culmination of a three-year process, and another way that the company can increase user confidence, Desai added.
Patent aside, Desai said the marketplace growth for ShipLync has been phenomenal. Over 2,000 shippers are using the program, with their competitors often using ShipLync to quote their own customers. In fact, this past April saw ShipLync produce its highest recurring revenue to date.
Users aren't just engaging with the company — they're pleased with it.
“The consumer feels good that their cargo is insured and working with a reputable company,” Desai said. “They are getting a real-time quote and a price that matches their needs.”
In addition to company growth, ShipLync has unveiled a host of new products within the company.
For example, it now offers a new platform for port drayage, a trucking service from seaport to another location. This new service puts ShipLync in a $60 billion-dollar industry, with Desai saying that the play could bring 10,000 to 12,000 more users in the U.S. alone.
What else could we see down the line from ShipLync? Desai thinks the company will develop some sort of blockchain technology to make the bidding process more transparent. There's also slow and steady expansion into Mexico and Canada.
