WITH a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and a Master’s degree in Finance, it was not surprising that TheLorry co-founder and executive director Nadhir Ashafiq went into the investment banking line right upon graduation.
He later got headhunted for an aviation logistics firm handling finance projects.
After a couple of years of being a working stiff, he decided there was more he could do with his life.
“I wanted to do something more meaningful,” he recalls. “I’d like to leave this world knowing I had made a difference. That’s why I adopted ‘Making a difference, one step a time’ as my slogan for my blog (www.nadhir.me). I felt that entrepreneurship was the best way for me to make a positive impact on society.
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST ENTREPRENEURSHIP VENTURE?
How far do you want to go back? Technically, my first entrepreneurship stint was when I was 11 or 12 years old. I’d sell custom Pokemon Trading Card packs to friends in my neighbourhood. I’d select a handful of cards, wrap them up in A4 paper, label them with a marker pen and sell them.
As an adult, my first entrepreneurship venture was a niche social networking app which was designed to help students, travellers and expats connect with one another.
I had no experience in doing business and it was really a case of tembak and learning along the way. I didn’t validate or experiment with the idea. I just ran with it, hoping I’d get it right. The venture failed miserably but I learnt from it and that experience was useful later when I created TheLorry.
WHAT IS THELORRY?
It’s an online service that helps individual or business customers connect with owners of lorries, vans and 4x4 pickup trucks. You can get instant quotations, do the booking and get matched to a driver within minutes.
HOW DID THE IDEA FOR THELORRY COME ABOUT?
I was having lunch with an ex-colleague Goh Chee Hau, and one of the topics we talked about was how ancient and inefficient the logistics industry was in Malaysia, especially land logistics.
One thing led to another and we came up with the idea to build an online lori sewa website. We wanted it to be the Expedia for trucks, where people could compare quotes from different providers and do their booking online.
HAS YOUR BUSINESS MODEL CHANGED OVER THE YEARS?
Initially we focused 100 per cent on the house moving business and approached it with an Expedia model. We found some weaknesses with using this model for our business and pivoted towards an Uber model where we’d become the price-setter and also use a unique algorithm to get customers matched to suitable and credible drivers.
The rise of the sharing economy has made it possible for TheLorry to be in business. It has allowed us to bid for contractual logistics jobs for big multinational companies although we do not own any trucks ourselves. In the past, you would have needed to own a fleet of trucks to do something similar.
WHAT ROLES DO YOU AND YOUR CO-FOUNDER HAVE IN THE COMPANY?
We have very different and distinct roles, which is perfect because we are polar opposites when it comes to personality. I am quite an extrovert while he is an introvert.
I look at executing things on a micro level whereas he is a little more macro. I can be a little disorganised and he’s border-line OCD.
I suppose that’s why we complement each other so well. In terms of job functions, I look after product and marketing while Chee Hau looks at finance and investor relations.
DO YOU GUYS EVER ARGUE?
Many times. Almost daily in fact. However, without sounding too corny, this is what I like about the dynamic between us. We will argue but once something is resolved, we move on.
WHAT WAS THE FIRST MAJOR MILESTONE OR BREAKTHROUGH THAT MADE YOU FEEL THAT THIS IDEA REALLY COULD MAKE IT BIG?
The first real breakthrough was when TheLorry attracted the attention of a Japanese venture capitalist called KK Fund, which agreed to invest RM600,000 in our fledgling business back in 2015.
We had nothing much back then — just a simple website, two individuals and a strong desire to make it happen.
YOUR COMPANY SERVES BOTH THE B2C AND B2B SEGMENTS. HOW ARE THEY DIFFERENT?
B2C business includes house moving and furniture transportation. It’s a 100 per cent cash business but rather one-off because people usually don’t move house that often.
B2B business includes long-haul trucking and bulky item deliveries. It’s a credit terms business but it’s a recurring business unlike B2C.
HOW MANY COUNTRIES DO YOU OPERATE IN AND WHAT ARE THE MAJOR CHALLENGES OPERATING IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES?
Currently we operate in four countries — Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. I would say there are two main challenges. The first involves customer behaviour. Although Singaporean culture is similar to Malaysian culture, Thai and Indonesian culture are very different.
Understanding customer behaviour in those countries is not easy. Our approach is to have 100 per cent local people in each country to ensure we can execute flawlessly.
The second big challenge is navigating the legal environment in each country. It’s different in each country and we are still learning new things about it every day.
WHAT IS A TYPICAL WEEK LIKE FOR YOU?
I usually reserve Mondays for internal team meetings, Tuesdays to Thursdays to work on activities that would grow the business and Fridays for internal meetings and reflection. Saturday is my reading and family day. Sunday is my Netflix and catching-up-on-sleep day.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST AND LEAST ABOUT BEING AN ENTREPRENEUR?
The pros are complete freedom and the knowledge that you are making a difference.
The cons are lack of sleep, constant worrying, a roller-coaster emotional journey and comments from my wife on why I travel so much!