When Jiego Tanchanco first joined Block Dojo Philippines, his startup was focused on driver safety. In the 12 weeks in the program, his startup FleetHive has evolved into a holistic logistics industry solutions provider offering other services such as load sharing and bulk cargo solutions.
FleetHive is one of the members of the inaugural cohort of the Block Dojo Philippines’ 12-week program.
“It was a very transformative experience for me. I’ve learned a lot from everyone at Block Dojo,” Tanchanco told CoinGeek Backstage reporter Claire Celdran.
One key lesson from the program was to take the product to the market and learn from the customers. Startups obsess over perfecting the product before they take it to the potential users. However, the Dojo has been pushing the three startups in the first cohort to learn on the job and pivot their products to respond to customers’ needs.
“You can’t create an idea without validating it with your users because that’s where you find the value of what you’re doing.”
Jaimee Ligan, the founder of fellow first cohort member RealFlip, shared the same lesson with CoinGeek Backstage, revealing she learned to base her product on the customers’ challenges.
FleetHive has benefitted from this approach. Tanchanco revealed that initially, the startup focused exclusively on driver safety. However, through interactions with potential customers, the startup expanded its products to solve other pressing challenges.
One such challenge is finding new leads.
“That’s why we pivoted to FleetHive, because what we wanted to do is allow these trucking SMEs to engage directly with the bigger players without going through the subcontracting process.”
The startup then evolved to offer load-sharing services, and as Tanchanco revealed, this has become the main feature of its product. Most trucks are paid for one way and have no cargo to transport the other way, eating up a lot of the profits. FleetHive offers these trucks a platform to source cargo for the return trip, which would have been a sunk cost.
Digital driver passports on the blockchain
The Block Dojo Philippines program has elevated Tanchanco’s understanding of blockchain technology, he revealed. Prior to the program, he thought blockchain was only good for ‘crypto’ and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
“Block Dojo taught me how you can use it at an enterprise level and how you can use the data that you generate to offer a sense of ownership. It can be used to improve certain operations of different kinds of businesses, and that’s what we wanted to capitalize on here.”
FleetHive uses the BSV blockchain to provide drivers with a digital passport that monitors their credentials and performance. It also uses the technology to introduce proof of trust “in every step of the logistics journey, from onboarding to dispatch to delivery.”
At the Investors’ Night, Tanchanco engaged with some leading investors in Southeast Asia who have invested in several successful startups. He revealed that he found potential partners and investors in his project at the event.
He also met seasoned tech investors who challenged his idea “with the hopes of making it a little bit better.”
“They say I’m on the right track, but there are still a lot of things to consider, like the regulatory and legal aspects. They gave me advice on how I can turn this around and make it a very profitable company.”
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