It’s easy in the U.S. to take for granted the availability of products and the simplicity of shipping. In many countries, people have to pay exorbitant shipping fees to get the latest iPhone or Air Max. Airposted, a locally bred peer-to-peer delivery service, is trying to fill that gap.
Airposted now operates from New York, Chicago and Dhaka, Bangladesh, but it came from humble beginnings as a student-run startup launched in 2017 at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. The idea came about when founder and CEO Rayan Rahman (then a senior management student at GMU) had to pay $150 to ship a pair of sneakers to a relative in Bangladesh. He figured there must be others like him who’d like to get around the prohibitive cost of overseas shipping.
"I wanted to simplify international shipping, making it, easy, fast, affordable and hassle-free while providing travelers with a source to earn money when they travel overseas," Rahman said.
Airposted works by connecting buyers in Bangladesh to people traveling there from the U.S. Any merchandise that isn't available in Bangladesh, Airposted can get it in the U.S. and send it with a traveler from New York or Chicago looking to make some extra money off their empty luggage space. The company typically charges a 15 to 25 percent commission, which it splits with the traveler. Some common items like shoes and smartphones go for a flat fee ranging from about $25 to $75.
“[The travelers] come to our office and pick up whatever they want. Each item has a separate carrying fee, and most of the time they want to carry a whole suitcase – one or two,” Rahman said. A traveller making use of that much luggage space can make up to $400, he added.
Rahman says Airposed facilitated about 3,000 peer-to-peer transactions last year between the U.S. and Bangladesh. The company is looking into expanding to other countries as it grows its resources and capital.
After a $400,000 pre-seed round in November, Rahman says his startup's funding is up to about $600,000 at this point. The funds have mostly come from investors in Bangladesh. Airposted was able to drum up support there by engaging and partnering with universities, brand influencers, cricketers and other figures.
Airposted wants to use its new funding to expand into other countries. Rahman says he sees a lot of potential in India and is heavily researching that market. The company also wants to add insurance as part of its service in order to deal with the inevitable damaged or lost product. Rahman said insurance providers would like to see Airposted boost its transaction numbers before doing business.
The loss-prevention strategy now involves having someone from Airposted’s logistics team in Dhaka meet the traveler when they arrive at the airport. That is where the transaction takes place. The buyer can then pick up the item from Airposted’s Dhaka office. Despite it being a peer-to-peer service, the customer and traveler don’t have to come in contact. Rahman said this makes the process more secure and efficient for both sides.
International peer-to-peer shipping is still relatively unexplored territory. Counterparts like PiggyBee and Grabr serve more parts of the world, but rely on a bidding system and having the traveler deliver to the buyer directly. Airposted started similarly, but eventually ditched both of those practices. And by focusing on a specific region with a logistics team onsite, Airposted is able to fill up entire suitcases.
Rahman says Airposted has come a long way since its GMU days.
When it launched in 2017, Airposted was relying on a stipend from the university’s entrepreneurship club and a prize from a business school competition. The team consisted of five people at the time. Airposted now employs about 35 people between the U.S. and Bangladesh. The company is exploring adding D.C. to its U.S. operation to serve the Bangladeshi community here, Rahman said.
