Dhruvil Sanghvi of LogiNext

March 20, 2020 thetechtribune

An exclusive Tech Tribune Q&A with Dhruvil Sanghvi, the co-founder and CEO of LogiNext, which was honored in our:

Tell us the origin story of LogiNext- what problem were you trying to solve and why?

LogiNext is a transportation automation platform that helps logistics, retail, supermarket, and fast-casual companies make intelligent logistics decisions and optimize time, cost, and resources. My co-founder, Manisha Raisinghani, and I were at CMU pursuing our Masters in Industry 4.0. There, top engineers from companies like Google, Uber, and Microsoft taught us advanced courses in artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, etc when we first started thinking deeply about how the logistics industry was evolving at breakneck speed.

As I graduated to join one of the biggest consultancies with my office on Wall Street, my co-founder and I also observed a few revolutions: the smartphone revolution – most people owned smartphones; the delivery revolution – when rather than going to the service, you get the service at your home or convenience became the norm; and the on-demand revolution – where we saw customers wanting everything instantly and having very less patience for delayed deliveries of products and services.

We set up our research and development center in Fremont and built our platform, which turned out to be really easy for delivery associates to use and automated the operations manager task, a task that is normally quite error-ridden due to a high number of variables involved in the decision-making.

Now, LogiNext has a presence worldwide including Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, as well as over 150 Fortune 1000 companies. It’s exciting to see how everyday we are touching over a million lives by providing them seamless delivery experiences.

What was the biggest hurdle you encountered in your journey?

Since our space and use case is extremely riveting, it was easy for us to get funding or even convince stakeholders in the company to trust and buy our product. But the majority of our users are delivery associates and it was a challenge to convince them to change their habits and make the switch to LogiNext. But indeed with LogiNext, companies were able to reimburse drivers faster, remit higher incentives, and provide more delivery opportunities, so making that switch seemed like the way to go for the delivery associates.

What does the future hold for LogiNext?

The future is exciting for LogiNext. We are now backed by Tiger Global and Steadview Capital, which are also backing some other amazing companies in the valley. LogiNext has already created a niche for itself in this space and we are seeing many companies wanting to upgrade from simple management tools to automation platforms for providing a better customer experience.

In today’s times, there are too many options available in every product category for every price range, so an apple to apple comparison of features is not something that drives customer loyalty anymore. It’s really the customer experience that helps retain customer loyalty and our customers are counting on LogiNext for this.

We are also really thrilled to see the innovation wave that the industry is currently riding. We predict more automation in this space that will start with smart routing, intelligent vehicle selection, automated invoicing, and payment processing, but will continue with commercial drone deliveries and driverless deliveries.

What are your thoughts on the local tech startup scene in Fremont?

Fremont, a powerhouse of ideas and innovations, is inspiring and impacting worldwide. When we used to work in a co-working space, we would run into entrepreneurs all the time and enjoy a great exchange of information. There are so many investors and incubators powering up new startups daily. Fremont has great infrastructure for startups to thrive and test out their applications. My co-founder and I also mentor many startups in the area. Overall, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my stint at Fremont as a startup founder.

What’s your best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?

My best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs would be to go Big or go home. Quickly learn the knacks of running a start-up and fuel it by hiring motivated employees. Focus not only on rampant growth but also always think value. Keep trying – you fail, you learn. But if you succeed, do more of it to reach your end goal.