Steven Lam Hoi-yuen, co-founder of GoGoVan, was running a lunchbox business with his partners when they discovered the potential of van transport service.
Every day, Lam would ring the call centre for vans to transport lunchboxes to restaurants. It was never easy to get a van via the call centre, but Lam noticed that the street was full of parked vans waiting for jobs.
This led him to think that there had to be a more efficient way to call for vans. Everyone has smartphones nowadays, and it is intuitive for people to use the device in connection with their work. Creating an app to order van service was too good an opportunity for a young entrepreneur like Lam to miss.
I don’t think Hong Kong had a start-up culture until the beginning of this year
How has the app revolutionised the van service market?
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Before GoGoVan, drivers, especially those who were self-employed, paid call centres a monthly fee to get jobs.
The operating environment was hard for many drivers. Orders and income were not guaranteed and the fierce competition drove prices down.
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With GoGoVan, when a customer calls a van through the app, a driver will respond in an average of 10 to 15 seconds, compared to a 20-to-30 minute wait via a van calling centre.
