#02: International Expansion with Blake Larson MD Lalamove

International Expansion with Blake Larson MD Lalamove Featured Image

Founded in 2013 as EasyVan in Hong Kong, Lalamove is the leading same-day delivery platform present in 129 cities in 9 countries across Asia. Through its mobile & desktop platform, Lalamove connects customers with professional van, motorcycle, lorry and truck drivers. Some of their corporate clients include IKEALine or Google. Lalamove raised a total of $161 mil in funding over 6 rounds. The latest funding came from a Series C of $100M on Oct 11, 2017 which means the company is now valued at more than 1 billion dollars.

Also short intro about Blake: he has worked across 4 continents in the retail and technology sector

  • Helped lead the growth of Lalamove from 1 city in SEA to 8
  • Raised Series A funding of USD $10m
  • Launched Easy Taxi app funded by Rocket Internet, in Hong Kong, Singapore, Mumbai, and Jakarta.
  • Co-Founded and managed Air Crew Club, which was like Groupon for airline employees, and expanded it to 13 cities across 6 continents

Listen to the full discussion here:


Some of the highlights from the podcast:

  • Spending eight weeks in Hong Kong standing outside petrol stations handing out flyers to taxi drivers
  • How does Lalamove work and bring value to the customers
  • Last-mile logistics centers differ across the region
  • The fastest-growing country in SE Asia for Lalamove
  • Did Lalamove fail in any city?
  • Innovation and greener environment by using fewer vehicles
  • Hiring city directors four launching new markets
  • The four values of the company – passion, grit, humility, and execution
  • New employees need to build their chairs – the story behind

Show notes:

  • [01:44] How did you spend your first eight weeks for Rocket Internet in Hong Kong standing outside petrol stations handing out flyers to taxi drivers?
  • [03:46] Tell us more about Lalamove, what it is and how exactly it works and adds value to people?
  • [05:05] And what is your role as MD International?
  • [05:35] How different is it operating across different cities and countries?
  • [07:43] How do last-mile logistics centers differ across the countries/regions in which Lalamove operates? I know Hong  Kong has a 55 minutes delivery guarantee.
  • [10:14] How do you pay the drivers? Is there a revenue sharing model?
  • [10:43] Which was the fastest growing country in SE Asia for you and maybe share some of the key lessons in expanding there?
  • [13:30] Do you have strong competition in the region?
  • [14:16] With the latest round of funding, what are your plans for expansion and where? Do you plan to target more corporate or SME clients?
  • [15:20] Has Lalamove failed in any city?
  • [17:05] What do Singaporeans care about when talking about your service?
  • [17:50] Does the same-day delivery have the potential to become a standard delivery option for the masses, or will it remain an option just for the limited number of impatient consumers with deep pockets?
  • [21:25] Thoughts on last mile logistics problems? Will it be the biggest challenge for e-commerce growth?
  • [24:54] Do you plan to attract more corporate clients? The likes of IKEA, Line.
  • [26:13] How do you hire your city directors? And maybe tell us about the process of doing the launch of a new city.
  • [29:00] What are your main challenges when it comes to finding the right talent? How do you keep up with hiring matters as you grow?
  • [30:02] The four values of the company – passion, grit, humility, and execution – How do you tell the story of the company culture and build an interesting brand as an employer?
  • [32:12] It is interesting to see HUMILITY as one of your values.  How did you decide to focus on this?
  • [33:56] I understand that you make your new employees build their chairs. What is the story behind that?
  • [37:26] What would be some advice to share to somebody graduating?
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