Liftit is a last-mile truck delivery platform targeting the Latin American market. Their Series B deck, dated 2019, highlights a period of hyper-growth, claiming 700% expansion over the preceding 12 months. The business model functions as a two-sided marketplace, connecting independent truck drivers with corporate shipping needs while providing tools for route optimization and real-time traceability. A significant portion of the deck is dedicated to cohort analysis and 'land and expand' metrics, demonstrating that existing customers increase their service volume over time. With $22 million al…
Key takeaways
- The company claims 700% growth in the 12 months leading up to December 2019 (Slide 2).
- Liftit closed a $14 million Series A round in December 2018, contributing to a total of $22 million raised to date (Slides 2 and 7).
- The platform claims to reduce logistics costs and time for companies by up to 25% (Slide 4).
- Operational performance is high, with on-time delivery rates reaching 97% by September 2019 (Slide 4).
- A 'land and expand' chart shows customers steadily increasing their number of monthly services over an 18-month period (Slide 5).
- The team includes three co-founders with prior experience in VC-backed startups in Colombia and San Francisco (Slide 7).
- Liftit has established a physical presence in five countries: Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Ecuador, and Brazil (Slide 7).
- Future plans involve expanding into financial services, including same-day payments and truck leasing for drivers (Slide 8).
Liftit Series B Deck Analysis
The Liftit Series B deck from 2019 is a study in how to present a high-growth marketplace in an emerging market. By focusing on the dual needs of a fragmented driver supply and a corporate demand for efficiency, the deck builds a case for a platform that is not just a delivery service, but a foundational layer for Latin American logistics.
Slide 1: Title Slide
The deck opens with a minimalist title slide featuring the Liftit logo against a dark blue map background. The subtitle is direct: "LAST MILE TRUCK DELIVERY" and "SERIES B DECK 2019." This immediately establishes the sector, the stage of the company, and the vintage of the data. The map background subtly hints at the geographic and network-based nature of the business.
Slide 2: Traction and Growth
Slide 2 is the "hook." It features a bar chart showing monthly revenue and truck deliveries from November 2018 to December 2019. The headline states, "We've grown 700% in the past 12 months." A callout box notes that the company closed a $14M Series A in December 2018. The chart shows a clear inflection point following the Series A, with revenue and deliveries scaling rapidly. Interestingly, the final three months (October to December 2019) are marked as "Estimate Revenue," with a footer explaining that these estimates are based on current agreements being negotiated for annual cargo capacity. This suggests the deck was likely used in late Q3 2019.
Slide 3: The Driver Network
This slide focuses on the supply side of the marketplace. The headline claims Liftit is "creating the largest network of independent truck drivers in Latin America." The text emphasizes "formalizing the industry" by providing drivers with instant cargo offers, discounts, and, crucially, "immediate payments." The visual includes mockups of the "Aplicación de Lifters," showing a registration screen and a route tracking interface. This slide addresses a major pain point in Latin American logistics: the informality and lack of technology available to individual owner-operators.
Slide 4: Corporate Logistics Solution
Switching to the demand side, slide 4 explains how Liftit makes "logistics easy for companies." It describes a platform that guarantees traceability and resource optimization, claiming to reduce costs and time by up to 25%. A dashboard mockup shows a map of Bogotá with active delivery tracking. The bottom of the slide features a bar chart for "ONTIME" delivery percentages, showing a steady improvement from 89% in September 2018 to 97% in September 2019. There is a placeholder for "Industry average XX," which was left unpopulated in this version of the deck.
Slide 5: Land and Expand
Slide 5 provides evidence of customer stickiness. The headline "Land and expand" is supported by a bar chart showing the number of services per customer relative to their months operating with Liftit. The chart shows a consistent upward trend over 18 months. A footer notes that this analysis includes small companies that use the service on-demand when they are short on trucks, which reinforces the platform's utility as both a primary and a backup logistics provider.
Slide 6: Operational Efficiency
This slide is the most data-dense, featuring a cohort-style table titled "Becoming more efficient over time." It tracks "Converted Deals" and "Avg. Converted Deals per Month" from October 2018 to September 2019. The table shows the percentage of deals converted at various months away from the start date. While the specific definitions of these "deals" aren't provided on the slide, the intent is to show that the sales and onboarding process is becoming more predictable and efficient as the company scales.
Slide 7: Team and Footprint
The team slide highlights the three co-founders: Angel Botto, Brian York (CEO), and Felipe Celis. Their bios emphasize experience with VC-backed startups in both Colombia and San Francisco. Below the founders, the deck lists country managers for Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Ecuador, and Brazil, demonstrating a wide regional footprint. The slide also notes that the company has 200+ total employees, with 60 on the tech/product team. The left side of the slide prominently displays the "US $22m" raised to date alongside logos of investors like Mercado Libre, IFC, and Monashees.
Slide 8: Future Vision
The final slide in this set outlines the long-term vision: "We will redefine the trucking industry in Latin America." It breaks this down into three categories: End to End logistics (covering the entire chain from manufacturing to customer), Multicarrier (pooling deliveries so trucks never run empty), and Bank all truck drivers . The banking component is particularly ambitious, proposing same-day full payments, truck leasing, and partnerships for maintenance and fuel. This suggests Liftit views itself as a fintech and infrastructure play as much as a logistics marketplace.
What Works in the Liftit Deck
1. Aggressive Traction: Leading with a 700% growth claim (Slide 2) is a powerful way to capture investor interest. The correlation between the Series A funding and the subsequent growth spike validates the management's ability to deploy capital effectively.
2. Regional Dominance: By showing country managers for five major Latin American markets (Slide 7), Liftit demonstrates that its model is not localized to a single city or country, but is replicable across the continent.
3. Supply-Side Focus: In marketplace businesses, supply is often the harder side to solve. Liftit’s emphasis on "formalizing" the driver experience and providing financial services (Slides 3 and 8) shows a deep understanding of the structural challenges in their market.
4. Retention Metrics: The "Land and Expand" chart (Slide 5) is a classic SaaS/Marketplace metric that proves the service becomes more valuable to customers the longer they use it, which is a key indicator of long-term viability.
What is Missing from the Liftit Deck
1. Unit Economics: While the deck shows revenue growth and on-time percentages, it lacks data on Gross Margin, Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), or Lifetime Value (LTV). For a Series B, investors typically look for proof that the growth is sustainable and profitable at the unit level.
2. Competitive Landscape: There is no mention of other logistics players or traditional trucking companies. A slide addressing how Liftit wins against local incumbents or other tech-enabled competitors would be standard for this stage.
3. The Ask: The specific amount being raised for the Series B and the intended use of funds are not included in these slides. While this information is often shared in a separate document or a later stage of the pitch, its absence here leaves the narrative somewhat unfinished.
4. Market Size (TAM): There is no explicit calculation of the Total Addressable Market. While the vision slide (Slide 8) hints at the scale, a dedicated slide quantifying the logistics spend in Latin America would strengthen the investment case.
What Other Founders Should Copy
1. Use Cohort Data: Slide 6's attempt to show efficiency over time through cohort-style tracking is excellent. Founders should always try to show that they are getting better at their core business as they grow, rather than just getting bigger.
2. Highlight Strategic Investors: Including the logos of Mercado Libre and IFC (Slide 7) provides massive social proof. If you have a strategic investor who is also a potential customer or a major market player, make sure their logo is prominent.
3. Connect Vision to Social Impact: The "Bank all truck drivers" vision (Slide 8) is not just a business goal; it's a social impact goal that aligns with ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) trends. Founders in emerging markets should look for ways to show how their technology improves the lives of their supply-side partners.
4. Clear Visual Hierarchy: The deck uses a consistent dark theme with high-contrast charts. The headlines are short and state the "so what" of the slide immediately (e.g., "We've grown 700%" instead of just "Traction"). This makes the deck easy to skim and understand in a single pass.
Frequently asked questions
- What is Liftit's core value proposition for truck drivers?
- According to slide 3, Liftit provides independent truck drivers in Latin America with instant access to cargo offers, discounts on professional services, and immediate payments. The company aims to 'formalize' the industry by offering a dedicated support team focused on driver well-being, which is a significant shift from traditional, often informal, regional logistics practices.
- How does Liftit demonstrate customer retention and growth?
- Slide 5 uses a 'Land and Expand' bar chart to show that as customers spend more months operating with Liftit, the number of services they request increases. The chart tracks this growth up to 18 months, suggesting that once a company integrates Liftit into its supply chain, it relies more heavily on the platform over time.
- Who are the key investors mentioned in the deck?
- Slide 7 lists several prominent institutional and corporate investors, including Jaguar Ventures, Nxtp.Labs, Mercado Libre, Arca Continental, IFC (International Finance Corporation), and Monashees. This diverse group includes both traditional venture capital firms and strategic partners like Mercado Libre, which is a major e-commerce player in the region.
- What geographical markets does Liftit operate in?
- The deck identifies five specific country managers on slide 7, confirming operations in Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Ecuador, and Brazil. This indicates a broad regional strategy rather than a single-country focus, which is common for logistics platforms seeking to capture cross-border or pan-regional corporate clients.
- What are the long-term strategic goals outlined in the deck?
- Slide 8 outlines three pillars for redefining the industry: achieving end-to-end logistics from manufacturing to the end customer, acting as a multicarrier pool to ensure trucks never run empty, and 'banking' all truck drivers. The latter involves partnering with banks to provide accounts, leasing, and maintenance benefits to the driver network.
