![Cover of «Luis Fernando Ortiz, DeltaX | Building the 'Uber for Trucks' of the Andes and Digitising Traditional Industries [Ep. 80]»](/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Luis-Fernando-Ortiz-DeltaX.png)
The audio and video are in Spanish. These notes are a translation.
Today we spoke with Luis Fernando Ortiz, CEO and founder of DeltaX, a digital platform that connects companies with freight carriers, in the style of an Uber for trucks.
To date, DeltaX is used by more than 2,200 carriers and close to 100 companies that need to move logistics cargo in countries of the Andean region such as Bolivia, Peru, and Chile.
DeltaX has raised more than 1 million dollars from investors such as Magma Partners, Cibersons, and Santa Cruz Angels.
We talked about how to digitize an industry with so little technology penetration as truck transportation. And about how to acquire users, generate adoption, and raise capital in traditional industries. Luis Fernando also told us what challenges he faced in order to raise capital from a country like Bolivia and how he handled them.
Spotify Timestamps*
[3:02] - The Truck Transportation Industry
- How did Luis Fernando arrive at the fascinating world of startups?
- How does the truck transportation industry work, who are the players, and what are the biggest problems?
- What processes did Luis Fernando find in the truck industry that can be digitized?
- Luis Fernando often comments that DeltaX took inspiration from similar platforms that exist in the United States, China, Brazil, etc. How did he study these foreign models, and what criteria did he evaluate in order to decide which ones are viable in the Andean countries?
- One of Luis Fernando’s superpowers is his ability to translate the problems of a technical area for those who are not in the industry. Where does this skill come from, and how does he practice it?
[15:40] - How to Digitize Traditional Industries
- With the challenges of digitization in mind, how did Luis Fernando decide which side of the marketplace (carriers or cargo generators) to focus on?
- What have been DeltaX’s key strategies for getting so many carriers onto its platform?
- How does user acquisition work at DeltaX, taking into account the particularities of carrier users? Is it offline fieldwork, or is digital marketing also effective?
- With what metrics does DeltaX evaluate the adoption of its product? Do they expect the carrier to do 100% of their work through its platform, or how do they measure Product Market Fit?
- How did Luis Fernando see the evolution of the adoption of his product within this industry?
- DeltaX has been evolving from an “Uber for trucks” to a platform with fintech that must orchestrate all the players in the ecosystem. How did the evolution of the product come about, and why was a more horizontal strategy necessary?
- Why did Luis Fernando decide to add a fintech platform to Delta X, and how does it work currently?
[34:35] - Raising Capital from Small Countries
- What was Luis Fernando’s strategy for connecting with and attracting investors outside Bolivia?
- What is investors’ perception of the risk of building a startup in these markets, and how did Luis Fernando handle those objections?
- What does Luis Fernando recommend that other entrepreneurs in small countries do when they face the lack of startup investors in their local ecosystems?
- Luis Fernando had a stint in politics as a candidate for the senate of Bolivia. What motivated him to enter politics, and what lessons did he take from this experience that have shaped him as an entrepreneur?
- What did Luis Fernando learn from the process of running a political campaign?
[45:37] - Tweet Round
- Book recommended by Luis Fernando
- Changes Luis Fernando would like to see in the startup ecosystem of Latin America
- Founder that Luis Fernando recommends interviewing
Episode Mentions
You can find Luis Fernando on LinkedIn
Recommended book: by Viajes al Corazón de Sudamérica by Alcide d’Orbigny
Founders to interview: Federico Vega of CargoX and Ivan Cardenas of BeGo
Discover More from the Startupeable Podcast
Listen to every episode at startupeable.com/podcast.
Subscribe to the newsletter to hear when a new one comes out.
Follow Enzo Cavalie on X: @enzocavalie.