IMAGINE trying to find a solution that could meet the needs of people who either don’t cook or rarely do so due to work constraints. In creating such a solution, or even building it, one would need to help people order food from a variety of restaurants in their locale after scanning the respective menus, and provide a means for the restaurants to deliver the food.

This was what Monique Powell was doing in 2016 when she founded QuickCart — at the time QuickPlate — after realising that “food delivery was pretty much limited to pizza” or large-volume catering companies. Upon recognising this gap in the local marketplace she embarked on research to find out if such a service model already existed in other countries, and she discovered that, indeed, it did.

Armed with years of experience in corporate Jamaica as a web developer, Powell engaged the services of a programmer to develop a similar platform. She was, however, not foolhardy to believe that the novel concept could be copied and pasted into the Jamaican reality.

“It wasn’t just a matter of, you know, seeing something abroad and doing it here. Of course you can look at what is done in other markets but in order for it to do well there are various aspects that have to be localised,” Powell told Jamaica Observer in an interview.

“So, you know, it’s not just lifting up a concept, as you see it in play in another market, and dropping it here and hoping will work exactly as it works there,” she added.

Within a month after Powell’s decision QuickPlate was ready, but her preference for a cash medium to secure payments from customers was proving to be a challenge. Specifically, as a small start-up operation back then it was difficult to secure a payment gateway.

As a workaround Powell disclosed that she worked with an overseas payment gateway provider in the first year of founding the company, before gradually transitioning to working with a local bank.

“So from the get-go people would be able to go to the website, plug in their address, they’d see all the restaurants and so on that were nearby their network…and basically put together their order online, pay for it same place, and then be able to follow the progress of the order all the way from that point to delivery. So they’d get e-mail notifications and various status updates and a link that I could use to track the exact position of the rider or driver,” the QuickPlate founder said, explaining how the new platform works.

Apart from the QuickPlate website, deliverymen had access to an app of the same name from which they could see the order information and accept orders. The app also allows customers to track the delivery.

In addition to investing her time and expertise into the business, Powell used her personal savings amassed over the years to capitalise QuickPlate, including purchasing a fleet of five motorcycles for delivery. She pointed out, though “that wasn’t a good business model”, and instead eventually opted for an “asset-light model” in which drivers and riders who were contracted to the company would use their own cars or motorcycles.

In 2019 the company welcomed fresh investment from an angel investor. This injection of capital would also allow Powell to begin taking a salary.

She noted that while the company was always making revenue from the start of operations, “it wouldn’t have been enough revenue for me to build a business and then also be paying myself”. With the new investment relieving Powell of some “financial burden”, the business began to stabilise.

“At that point we were also able to add probably two or so additional team members — you know, who would help us to do more than we had been able to do before — and then the growth continued. I wouldn’t say that it was rapid growth, but it was steady growth,” she admitted.

While the angel investors would eventually exit the company, 2019 was also the year in which the QuickPlate founder established a board of directors.

“So there are directors who we all get together and meet every couple of months and look at the challenges the business might be facing, how we may be able to solve those challenges,” Powell told Business Observer.

Success for QuickPlate continued into 2020 as the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated both digital adoption and e-commerce. In such an environment, as more people became receptive to and relied on the food delivery service, the company saw orders on its website as well as its customer base increase.

With the “logistical capabilities” of the QuickPlate platform the business accelerated plans to diversify its offerings into deliveries from pharmacies, convenience store, and an electronic store. This would signal the company’s name change to QuickCart, and by November 2021 the company’s revenue had grown by 85 per cent.

For Powell, while the average consumer may see QuickCart as a food delivery service, “at our core we’re an e-commerce and logistics business”. The pandemic, she noted, allowed “us to take a broader view of what we might be able” to do in the future.

In fact, the company is in the process of rolling out a ride-sharing component that is “building on top of that logistics platform” it has developed over the years.

Given the growth and transformation of QuickCart over the last six years, Powell pointed out that it would be hard to determine what another six years would have in store for the company. She however acknowledges that the company’s board of directors has trusted her vision and allowed her to make decisions without undue interference. She is also grateful for their help and guidance to “troubleshoot” various circumstances over the past three years.

One of Powell’s critical decisions was accepting an equity investment from Roots Financial Ltd that allowed the company to reconfigure its platform by updating customer and merchant interfaces, as well as adding new features. Head of Roots Financial Kevin Donaldson now sits on the QuickCart board.

In addition, QuickCart has also expanded its services to Montego Bay and in the north-western section of Trinidad. Notwithstanding, the founder shared that she is not keen on rushing the expansion process.

“So I think over at least the next nine to 12 months the focus will probably continue to be on Jamaica and Trinidad because there is where you want to grow and expand. You also have to be mindful of not doing it at too fast [a] pace where you lose your grasp on some of the operational aspects,” Powell explained. To clarify, she noted that the priority is balancing expansion in both markets with what makes financial sense.

At the same time, while the CEO does not rule out the local stock exchange as a means of raising additional capital for the business, she said the company is open to other options including debt and private equity.

Operating from brick and mortar establishments in both Jamaica and Trinidad, QuickCart has embraced a hybrid work culture that involves working both remotely and in office. At present, the company’s staff complement comprise 12 full-time staff and 80 independent contractors.