Ex-ButcherBox logistics chief launched Grip, a shipping engine for perishables, on $2M

Software that sits on top of a merchant's order system and sets shipping choices from weather, temperature, carrier on-time rates and box performance.

That perishable shippers will pay a SaaS fee for dynamic shipping rules instead of the same packaging, refrigerant and carrier every time.

$2M pre-seed from Soma Capital, Western Technology Investment and individual investors

Juan Meisel, ButcherBox's former head of logistics, advised companies that found him on LinkedIn and realized e-commerce shippers needed software to improve delivery and customer experience. He launched Grip a few months earlier with ButcherBox's former head of data, Jimmy Cooper.

Grip onboards customers in hours and charges monthly SaaS fees by company size and integration complexity. Its software holds orders, warns customers of delays and flags improvements. ButcherBox was bootstrapped, but Meisel chose venture funding because developing the technology is expensive.

Out of stealth in November 2022 with six employees, Grip said it had processed hundreds of thousands of orders, with customers seeing 25% lower failure rates and 30% lower shipping costs.

Meisel could not find software to reduce damage rates and improve margins on perishable shipments while conditions change minute by minute.

Outside companies shipping perishables approached him for advice, which showed demand beyond ButcherBox.

He chose venture capital over ButcherBox's bootstrapping because developing the technology and data processing was expensive.

An operator's own unsolved problem, repeated by outside companies that ask for advice, can be a startup: sell the software you wished you could buy.

As of 3 November 2022, Grip had six employees and a $2M pre-seed, with outcomes of 25% fewer failures and 30% lower shipping costs reported by Meisel himself. TechCrunch noted a growing market and other startups tackling food logistics, including Alima and Full Harvest.