After a couple of failed startup attempts, Elius found product/market fit in Pathao. Based in Bangladesh, Pathao began as a courier service for mom-and-pop shops selling their products on Facebook. Today, powered by a digital app, it has grown to include ecommerce logistics as well as ridesharing and food delivery services.
From my conversation with Elius, you’ll hear about the demographics of Bangladesh and some statistics that should cause investors to take notice. We discuss the economic environment of Bangladesh and its capital city, Dhaka, and the logistical pain points that Pathaos addresses. Elius describes how Pathaos grew to what it is today and their plans for future expansions, including an ecommerce platform.
In today’s episode you’ll learn:
- About Elius’ background
- About Bangladesh’s economy and business environment
- About the transportation challenges in Dhaka
- Doing business in a cash-based society
- How Pathao overcame trust issues in building its e-commerce logistics business
- Why Pathao expanded to rideshare and food delivery services
- Pathao’s investors
- Elius’ advice for entrepreneurs in Bangladesh
Listen to this episode on iTunes
What was your biggest insight from this week’s episode? Let Jay know in the comments or on Twitter: @jaykimmer.
LINKS FROM TODAY’S EPISODE
- Read the full transcript from Elius’s interview
- Hmelius.com
- Find Elius on LinkedIn and Instagram
- Pathao.com
DETAILED SHOW NOTES
- (1:41) Elius’ self-introduction and background of Pathao
- (4:28) Background on Bangladesh
- (8:58) Detail about Dhaka and why it was ripe for Pathao to emerge
- (10:16) Elius explains the cash-handling side of Pathao
- (11:40) How Pathao evolved to address market pain points
- (13:40) Jay and Elius discuss Bangladesh’s cash-based economy and the challenges that posed for Pathao
- (16:15) The transportation culture
- (18:12) How Pathao branched into ridesharing
- (22:08) Other Pathao services and upcoming additions
- (25:55) The Pathao team
- (27:20) Elius gives an overview of Pathao’s fundraising
- (28:45) Pathao’s competition
- (30:25) Pathao’s expansion plans
- (35:07) Advice for entrepreneurs in Bangladesh
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