Ukrainian-founded startup recognized as one of the fastest growing in the US: Stach Wozniak's success story - ForumDaily
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A Ukrainian-based startup recognized as one of the fastest-growing in the US: the success story of Stach Wozniak

American Edition Inc. has published a list of 5 thousands of the fastest growing startups in the US. On 882, the Ukrainian-based application for Cargofy Partner carriers was in the ranking.

Photo: Facebook Stakh Vozniak

Редакция MC Today tells how company In four years, Stakha Wozniak has grown from truck Uber to one of the fastest growing startups in the United States.

Cargofy Partner is a carrier application for carriers. With it, truck owners will find out about freight orders, get fuel discounts and can plan future routes.

“It's like Siri, but only for truckers,” explains company founder Stach Wozniak.

The idea of ​​creating an application came from Stach while working at the transport company Wozward. There, for several years he gained experience and analyzed the problems faced by drivers. It turned out that the transportation market is very large and on average takes 6-12% of the country's GDP. And also very conservative.

“Over the past ten years, nothing has changed here, except emails instead of faxes,” says Stach.

The possibility of innovation and the prospect of global scaling inspired Stach to create the first prototype of their product. In 2014, he and his partners developed the Tona app, which worked like Uber, but for transportation. If a man needed to carry a sofa, he called the driver with a suitable truck.

Tona worked on the basis of a free script from a dog walking app. The Stakh team adapted it for their product: the one who walked the dogs turned into a driver, and the owner of the pet became the customer.

“We wanted to check whether the product would be working, but at the same time spend a minimum of time and money,” Wozniak recalls.

But experience has shown that Uber will not work for traffic. Firstly, ordinary people order such a taxi once or twice a year. Secondly, in Ukraine most of the drivers work “for the black” for cash, which is why it is difficult to insure the cargo. And thirdly, the average check for the transportation service does not make a profit.

Cargofy partner

Then Stach decided to radically change the approach. He scored another team, with which he developed a completely new application Cargofy Partner. Now his company was focused on transportation between companies, not people.

But in Ukraine, a startup was unable to attract investment, and Wozniak was not satisfied with the growth rates.

“Due to the weak Ukrainian economy, we lagged far behind similar global companies that started with us at the same time,” says the entrepreneur.

The team decided to try their hand at global markets. First, Cargofy was tested in India - the product has been installed and is still working there. And in 2017, Wozniak applied for three accelerators from the United States that specialize in logistics.

All three applications accepted, but Stach chose the Iowa Startup Accelerator in Iowa because it started the fastest.

Stach says Iowa has two major highways, many carriers and the world's largest Iowa 80 Truckstop truck stop. And to live and conduct business here is cheaper than in other regions of the United States.

After working for several months in America, Wozniak discovered the advantages of the local market. Because of the better quality of the roads, a car can drive almost twice as much in a month as in Ukraine, and the average bill is five times more expensive - $ 1,5 thousand per trip.

Moreover, in America, according to Stach, more elaborate legislation. Each driver is registered and has insurance, so ordering a carriage is not so risky.

“In Ukraine, a car can arrive with glued numbers, and then disappear along with the cargo,” says Stach.

Because of the automation of processes, using the Cargofy application is much cheaper for drivers than the services of specialized companies. In a typical transportation company, one dispatcher can handle only five trucks per day. He manually searches for orders, draws up the document and pays for the service. The company charges a commission in 10% of the trip.

In Cargofy, 95% of this work is done by the computer, so the dispatcher can handle up to 50 vehicles per day. Accordingly, the tariff for Cargofy services is half as much - 4,99%.

Wozniak says that it was technically the most difficult to calculate the price for a single shipment. In transport companies, people themselves are trying to figure out how much they can earn by accepting an order, and whether it will be profitable. In Cargofy, this task is performed by a neural network that analyzes the condition of the roads, the ratio of drivers and goods, season, weather, and more.

“As long as the rest think, we are already closing the most lucrative offers,” Wozniak boasts.

Photo: Facebook Stakh Vozniak

Life in the USA

Wozniak recalls that the year of life in the US state of Iowa was a huge challenge: a new environment, new rules, a new lifestyle.

He recalls that all the experience outside the States was reset, and everything had to start all over again.

“Getting a driver’s license, opening a company, a bank account, and so on. It’s déjà vu: it’s like you’re playing a computer game that you’ve played through before,” he says.

“Moving to the USA is like jumping into a cold hole. The biggest blow is the costs, they grow exponentially. The money for which you can live for a year in Ukraine is spent here in a month. And adaptation is a long process. You don’t have any connections, sometimes you don’t even understand the jokes of your interlocutors,” the entrepreneur recalls.

According to him, in this mode, you are trying to do something, but in 90% everything ends in failure.

“I even lost sleep at first due to the uncertainty and stress. The main thing in this process is not to give up. The first results leaked only six months after arriving in the States. After a year, I already feel quite comfortable,” says Wozniak.

He notes that the USA is a treadmill at maximum speed. If you stop running, at the same second you will make a flip and you will lie on the floor.

“In my opinion, this is due to competition and the high cost of living. Americans are extremely productive. It is difficult to meet people who walk aimlessly on the street. Already at six in the morning someone is working in the office. And if you add only 10 public holidays a year, you can conclude that Americans are a very hard-working nation,” he says.

In the technological sphere, wages exceed $ 100 thousand per year. Many work on external contracts, wages are paid by the hour. This subconsciously teaches how to translate time into money and make a decision based on this.

“The main factor why everyone wakes up and works in the USA is the cost of living, it is very high. If your income doesn’t cover your obligations, you might wake up under a bridge in a month or two,” he says.

Wozniak notes that the mechanisms of the United States work like a clock. And this is due to the transparent rules of the game. There is almost no corruption at the grassroots level. The rules fulfill everything, did not pay the tax - they can take the house.

“Work to live, or live to work? Everyone chooses for themselves. That’s why there are a huge number of homeless people in the States who couldn’t cope with this crazy rhythm,” he says.

Opening a business is very easy

Ukrainian says that it is very easy to open a business in the USA. This can be done in a few days and completely online, costs about $ 1,5 thousand.

  1. Registered company (C-Corp in Delaware), using the service Clerky.
  2. Received an EIN (tax number) by phone at the IRS (Internal Revenue Service).
  3. I went personally to Citibank to open an account. Ukrainian passport in the US does not have much weight, so you will be checked up and down. I sent utility bills to my parents to get a bank security check.
  4. For accounting use the tool QuickBooks.
  5. Reporting rent online.

There are many programs to support business: incubators, accelerators. They can be found on the website f6s.com, fill out the application there and hope for good luck.

In the US, there is a business etiquette. Here are the main rules:

  1. Do not be late for meetings, but rather come for 10-15 minutes;
  2. During the day to respond to letters, and keep abreast of all events;
  3. Value reputation;
  4. Give accurate information, do not decorate the numbers;
  5. Before you introduce people, check with both parties if they are interested in this.

Photo: Facebook Stakh Vozniak

American dream and reputation

Wozniak says that the society in the US is multinational, it is a country of immigrants who came for the sacred American dream. You don't feel like a stranger here, because many have a similar story. Even with an accent, I don't feel like the black sheep, Wozniak stresses.

“An equally important factor is trust. Many agreements are concluded with a simple handshake. If you have tarnished your reputation - you have missed a loan payment, you break traffic rules - this tightens the noose around your neck. It will be difficult to rent a place, insurance will be more expensive and so on.

Here are some observations why I think so:

  1. In the supermarket, I never heard from the guards: “Young man, where are you going? Backpack, please, in the storage room ";
  2. No one at the checkout counter outweighs the fruit to catch cheating;
  3. Return the goods can be as simple as possible. I returned the laptop, which my wife did not like, a week after the purchase. He was accepted and sent money to the card, and the box was not even opened. Sometimes you don't even need a check;
  4. In most houses, the plots are open, there are no two-meter fences, and the doors are half-glass;
  5. The courier can leave all the parcels in the lobby or on the doorstep, and the theft of the parcel is a federal crime;
  6. When renting a car, you do not need to leave a passport and cash deposit. Enough credit and driver's license;
  7. When I never paid for a credit card, I didn’t need to enter a PIN code or make an SMS confirmation;
  8. In the trains never demanded to show a passport.

There is almost no corruption at the grassroots level, but Americans say there is corruption at the high level. Americans themselves are very law-abiding. Denunciations against each other are widespread. If someone sees a violation, they may not tell you anything, but simply call the police. Cars in the oncoming lane do not signal the police ahead,” says the entrepreneur.

USA is a supermarket of life

In Ukraine, they say that in the USA everything is in abundance. Americans are maximalists in everything: big cars, big houses, big portions in restaurants. Most products are sold in sets: it is difficult to find a bottle of Coca-Cola in some supermarkets, but there is packaging for 12 bottles.

“The USA is a big supermarket where you can get all the attributes of a happy life at once: a house, a car. On credit. All purchases are considered monthly payments, not total costs. Loans are available - with interest rates up to 5%.

Where the States are still conservative is the banking system. In Ukraine it is one of the best in the world. I have never seen such fast and convenient transfers as in PrivatBank. In the States, checks are still common. These are pieces of paper that need to be sent to the bank, where they are manually processed and money is transferred to the account. Enrollment may take a week or more. How do you like this?” he notes.

In the US, Internet and mobile communications cost about $ 50 per month. But SMS and voice calls are not charged.

In the US, everything is standardized

According to Wozniak, in America there are clear standards for everything. Everywhere concrete sidewalks, improvement of streets, parks. All layouts are square. The plots are square. Quarters - square. State boundaries are square. A road - without turning for tens of kilometers.

“It’s not easy to rent an apartment; to do this you need to prove your solvency. Without a bank account and credit history, many offers of quality housing were closed to me. However, they helped us rent a wonderful apartment in downtown, as the city center is called in the USA. The apartment had no furniture, a standard story, but the kitchen was equipped: dishwasher, refrigerator, stove, etc.,” he recalls.

Healthy food is a luxury

States known for their fast food, many Americans are overweight.

“In the first few months of living there, I gained 5 kg in weight. Then I realized that I don’t like typical American food. I began to look towards vegetarianism and gradually gave up meat. But healthy eating is expensive. After we started buying quality products, our grocery bill increased significantly,” he says.

According to Wozniak, medicine is the biggest risk for immigrants.

“It’s high quality, but insanely expensive. Everyone has probably heard horror stories about how someone went to have a tooth treated and left several thousand dollars at the hospital.

As long as you do not have a stable income to pay a few hundred dollars a month for insurance, it is better not to engage in anything traumatic.

Medical bills are the most common factor in American bankruptcy. You will have to pay about a thousand dollars to call an ambulance, $300 to see a doctor. The cost of insurance for a family is about $800 a month,” he says.

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