Mat Runner Takes 2-in-1 Orders
Empire State-of-Mind Helped Founders Bounce Back from Failure
Business is defined by plans and analysis. Oftentimes however, the most successful entrepreneurs are not moved by logic alone. Failure, when animated by the fire of will, has the power to move individuals more than profit motive alone ever could.
While we often hear the hyperbolic phrase, something along the lines of “fall six times, get back up again seven times", in business however, not many could muster such courage to pick themselves up again after a catastrophic downfall.
Inspiringly, this was aptly the case with Mat Runner, a fast growing food delivery service that started operations in Bandar Seri Iskandar.
Particularly, according to its co-founder, Iskandar Danial Adam Adonis, 22, a petroleum engineering student at UTP, after a disastrous comedy event had him heavily mired in debt, it wasn't by any means time to give up.
Danial says, “After the comedy show, Moh! Gelak Sakan went bust as we failed to generate the turn up anticipated, me and my co-founder incurred losses of around RM60,000."
“We were at an all-time low after the event. Our backs were against the wall and it really affected our studies. We were dismissed for one semester in 2017 because we were too busy working part time among other things to cover up the losses."
However, Danial shares that things started to pick up around September 2017. “At the time, we were finally breathing again. But one day, me and my co-founder were only left with RM30 to eat. At that moment, we knew we had to something."
After some vague conversation exchange around what they could do with the money, the pair eventually conjured up the idea to come up with a food delivery website.
“So we thought to ourselves, I have my dad's car, and we have 30 ringgit in hand. Since we were already dismissed, why don't we do a food delivery website and try to do food delivery," explains Danial.
Fortunately, on the first day of operations, the pair received two orders. “That 30 Ringgit became 45 Ringgit. Luckily for us, the two orders were big orders which earned us huge commissions. And from that money too, we bought a pack of nasi bujang (a basic meal that comprises of rice, egg, soup, and sambal belacan, costing between RM2 and RM2.50) and shared it," recalls Danial.
According to Danial, during the early days, the deliveries were done by themselves, using a passed down car from his dad.
“In the first few days, we could only spend 5 ringgit a day after deducting our fuel costs," adds Danial. Following an upturn in fortune, from two orders, the number rose to five the following day, eight on the third and 22 on the fourth.
On the fourth day however, due to brisk demand, Danial had to borrow a friend's motorcycle to deliver the orders.
“At the time, we had to split the workload. I took the motorcycle and my co-founder took the car," explains Danial. Amazingly, in the space of just four months, Mat Runner had managed to capture a large segment of the market in Bandar Seri Iskandar.
When asked about how he initially marketed Mat Runner, Danials says, “To kick things off, apart from our friends, we went to almost all restaurants in Bandar Seri Iskandar to tell them about our service. From there, I found out that they really needed this kind of service. In a way, they helped me spread words about my website through referrals."
To date, Mat Runner is the only food delivery service that allows its customers to place multiple orders from different restaurants in one booking. From operating out of a humble e-commerce website, now, Mat Runner has a mobile app that can be downloaded via Google Play and Apple Store.
Fast forward August 2018, Danial and his co-founder forayed into the Selangor market, specifically targeting Shah Alam and Subang. However, after five months, Danial had to cease operations momentarily due to the overwhelming demand.
Danial says, “The two areas are too big for us to cover. For now, we are a bit light on resources. But we will definitely make a comeback."
Today, Mat Runner employs seven staff to handle its fast growing operations. In a bid to supercharge the services, in the future, Danial says the company will be looking to purchase its own fleet of delivery motorcycles to tap into strong demand in important market places such as Selangor and Klang Valley.
Indeed, Danial is another prime example of UTP's enterprising education. Ultimately, at UTP, we encourage our students to become job creators rather than job seekers.
As a leading university in engineering, science and technology, our graduates are driven to exceed their personal objectives and contribute towards overcoming capability deficit across all sectors and industries.
Published on 1 April 2020
