Minneapolis-based weekly delivery app startup Pikup has secured $1.8 million in funding from a range of venture capital firms including Starting Line, Unusual, and Matchstick Ventures. The company says the funding will be used to expand delivery options and merchant partners and grow to two new Midwestern markets.
“Our customers expect Pikup to be the one-stop shop for everything they need,” Bharat Pulgam, CEO of Pikup, said in a release. “This funding allows us to expand the diversity of the merchants we offer to our neighborhoods each week and the number of markets we can serve. Customers can now get their groceries for the week, liquor for the weekend, dinner, and more all through one place.”
Pikup was founded in 2018 by Bharat Pulgam, Josh Chang, and Sam Lerdahl. After receiving an investment from the Target + Techstars retail accelerator that same year, the trio quit college to pursue the business fulltime. Since then, the company has expanded beyond college campuses into the Twin Cities area while partnering with various retails outfits such as Target, Lunds, Costco, and more.
“We’ve been big fans of the Pikup team from day one. We are so impressed by their vision and execution towards the future of neighborhood delivery,“ Ryan Broshar, Founder and Partner of Matchstick Ventures, said in the release.
To learn more about Pikup and its raise, read the release below.
Minneapolis – Fast-growing, Minneapolis-based weekly delivery app, Pikup recently closed on $1.8M in funding from early employees of Nextdoor and Instacart. The $1.8M in funding comes from funds across the country, including Unusual, Starting Line, and Matchstick Ventures.
Pikup offers consistent, affordable weekly neighborhood deliveries from local favorites. Every Sunday, Pikup customers get a delivery schedule for the week. Neighbors can order throughout the week and invite others to save more together. By grouping orders together onto a single delivery, Pikup decreases the cost of each delivery, passing those cost savings on to their customers and retail partners.
Scott Holloway of Starting Line Ventures said his fund was attracted to the community-based business model of Pikup. “Pikup represents the logical next evolution in on-demand commerce. By aggregating demand in pre-scheduled drop windows, costs come way down and efficiencies go way up which enables families to be able to truly afford multiple deliveries per week. With an extremely merchant friendly cost structure, retailers have been quick to adopt Pikup as a seamless way to unlock pent up demand ”
Pikup CEO Bharat Pulgam says the funding comes at just the right time as they continue to expand delivery options and merchant partners. “Our customers expect Pikup to be the one-stop shop for everything they need. This funding allows us to expand the diversity of the merchants we offer to our neighborhoods each week and the number of markets we can serve. Customers can now get their groceries for the week, liquor for the weekend, dinner, and more all through one place,” says CEO Bharat Pulgam.
Founded in 2018 by Bharat Pulgam, Josh Chang, and Sam Lerdahl, Pikup set out to make delivery the most affordable and convenient way for customers to get what they need every week. “The current delivery model is broken, customers pay more than they need to, drivers are denied basic workplace protections, and merchants don’t make any money on delivery. With delivery companies posting record losses, the delivery space is ripe for disruption, and we are in a great position to do just that,” said co-founder Sam Lerdahl.
Pikup received investment from the Target + Techstars retail accelerator in 2018, which prompted the founders to drop out of school and pursue building Pikup full-time. The team pivoted away from college campuses in 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Pikup now offers weekly deliveries across the Twin Cities from local merchants like Lunds, Cub Foods, and national brands like Target, Costco, Trader Joe’s, and more.
We wanted to partner with Pikup because “the delivery space had heated up with companies focused on faster and faster delivery times. However, not everything is needed immediately. The core thesis here is that by having consolidated demand for predetermined time blocks, delivery can be much cheaper and more efficient for merchants and consumers,” said Rachel Starr of Unusual Ventures. “
“We’ve been big fans of the Pikup team from day one. We are so impressed by their vision and execution towards the future of neighborhood delivery, “ said Ryan Broshar of Matchstick Ventures.
In 2022 Pikup plans to expand to two additional markets in the Midwest while also bringing weekly deliveries to the rest of the Twin Cities market. “By grouping deliveries together every week, Pikup is a more affordable, convenient, and eco-friendly alternative to today’s delivery landscape; it’s better for the people and the planet,” says Co-Founder Josh Chang.
Learn More about Pikup and see what’s coming to your neighborhood (here)
