A Year in Review: Dropoff 2016

For Dropoff, 2016 was one for the books. We launched our services in six new markets, bringing our total coverage to 10 cities in three different states. We grew our team, with many welcome additions to both our corporate employee group and our delivery driver crew. We announced new products, performed some really awesome deliveries, and had a blast in the process. Here’s a look back at our highlights of 2016.

January was business as usual. Between the sales and marketing departments, our development team, operations, and finance and human resources, everyone was heads down, planning for the year ahead and getting it off to a strong start.

February was spent prepping for and executing thousands of Valentine’s Day deliveries. If you’re a same-day courier service, you know that Valentine’s Day is one of the busiest days of the year. We had most of our team out on the road, delivering floral arrangements and other gifts to unsuspecting recipients.

In Austin, March is all about South by Southwest. For the second year in a row we supported Airbnb by surprising guests in town for the festival with gifts delivered to their rental.

First Lady, Michelle Obama was in Austin as a keynote speaker for SXSW Interactive and we had the pleasure to deliver Mickelthwait BBQ to her on her plane as she left Austin Bergstrom International Airport. It was an experience to remember and an honor to serve the First Lady.

In March we were also honored to be part of Austin Inno’s Tech Madness, a bracket-style competition where Austin-based companies vie to be named the one that will “have the most traction in the next 5 years.” We eventually made it to the Sweet Sixteen round, upsetting multiple companies along the way.

In May we conducted a national survey that proved delivery speed really matters to consumers when purchasing from a retailer. We got a lot of positive feedback and press pickup from our survey, so we eventually turned it into our first ebook.

In July we announced both the launch of our new, streamlined client site and our automated dispatch system. The AI-like technology enables delivery requests to be dispatched in real-time, 24/7/365, factoring in a variety of industry-specific needs. The launch was a huge step forward for Dropoff, enabling us to more quickly and efficiently open new markets.

That same month we launched our first market outside of Texas: Los Angeles, CA. We announced LA with a Twitter giveaway, where we rewarded lucky participants with a free same-day delivery of their choosing. Sprinkles Cupcakes? Yes, please!

In August we expanded into South Florida, specifically Miami and Fort Lauderdale, bringing our service to three of the most populous states in the country and allowing us to better serve our regional and national clients.

The start of September made way for the Texas Longhorns’ football season. For the season opener, we delivered 10,000 Voodoo Doughnuts to ticket holders. The next weekend was round two, with the delivery of 10,000 bundtinis from Nothing Bundt Cakes. We are so thankful for our clients who look to us to execute these large-scale deliveries.

Following the success of our Miami and Fort Lauderdale launch, in late September we expanded Florida to include Tampa and Orlando, bringing our total coverage to nine cities.

Somewhere between the Florida launches, Investopedia named us one of the top seven fastest growing startups in Austin. It was a proud moment for the entire team and reinforced that hard work really does pay off.

In October, Austin Inno again recognized Dropoff by nominating us for their inaugural 50 on Fire Awards. While we didn’t win, we were honored to be among such an impressive group of nominated companies.

With the holidays right around the corner, the team participated in the JDRF walk in Austin and Dropoff was a sponsor of the event. It’s a cause that means a lot to the Dropoff team and was a great way to kick off the season of giving.

In typical Dropoff fashion, December was our busiest month. Between launching our 10th market, Orange County, CA, delivering thousands of gifts for our biggest Los Angeles client (on top of our already very busy holiday delivery schedule!) and partnering with the Refugee Services of Texas to deliver diapers to families in need, the entire team got together for a holiday party at the beautiful South Congress Hotel in Austin. It was the perfect way to wind down the year and to see employees from all our different markets together in one place. And to top it all off, Austin Inno marked us as one of 17 Austin companies to watch in 2017.

We are so thankful for all of our clients, their continued support, and our team for making 2016 an amazing year for Dropoff. We can’t wait to see what 2017 has in store and look forward to an exciting new year.