On-demand moving service movethisStuff has gone live in South Africa, utilising cloud logistics to eliminate the stress of moving by providing comparative quotes from verified movers nationwide.
The self-funded movethisStuff went live this month, and is now seeking funding in order to scale. It also plans to launch an app later this year.
Co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Michaela Hogan told Disrupt Africa the startup had been founded upon the realisation there was a big problem to be solved in the moving industry, with users facing too much hassle when it comes to finding legitimate movers.
“We knew there had to be a simpler way of comparing, booking and paying for your moving services, and at the same time we realised there had to be a better way for movers to quote than the manual process of having inventory volume, distance, and fuel calculators,” she said.
“We are on a continuous basis consulting with both our customers and movers nationwide. We want to make sure that we provide them with the best service, support and a “wow” experience. We believe you don’t find customers for your products or service, you find products or services for your customers.”
movethisStuff already has 300 registered movers on the platform, which allows users to compare movers and book their services online. It also enables electronic payments to movers.
To take advantage of the free service, a user details where they are moving from and to, and chooses their inventory using movethisStuff’s one-touch inventory builder. Quotes can be compared within minutes from multiple moving companies nationwide, after which a mover can be booked.
Hogan said one tof the startup’s main goals was to increase job creation within South Africa by enabling the “man with a van” access to customers.
“Our customers generally speaking would be anyone looking to move stuff, whether it be your entire home or just a few tables, chairs and a fridge, or moving stuff to storage facilities,” she said.
“Our on-demand online service is mostly targeted at people who want to reduce the stress and time it takes to find a reliable mover. We live in a instant gratification world where more and more services are becoming on-demand at a click of a button, we cater for those individuals wanting to save time and money, allowing them to also experience a stress free move.”
The startup has been bootstrapped to date, but is now looking to raise a round of capital which will enable us to scale and grow faster.
“We are very excited we will be launching our mobile app soon, and moving into Africa as well as extend our service offering globally,” Hogan said.
