Podcast Episode Summary — Chris Basmajian (M19 Podcast) 🎧📦🏌️‍♂️

Episode Snapshot

• Guest: Chris Basmajian — founder/CEO of a last-mile logistics company (Dash Wave Delivery) and Gateway Technology Partners (consulting/M&A).
• Host: M19 Podcast — recorded at Big Cedar Lodge before playing Payne’s Valley.
• Core topic: Building an eight‑figure last‑mile delivery business servicing Amazon (and others) in NYC/tri‑state.

Key Highlights & Metrics 📊

• Business scale:
  • ~90,000 packages/week → ~400k/month → ~~5M packages/year.
  • Company approaching $10M revenue/year (three years from start).
• Pay model:
  • Baseline pay from Amazon: ~$0.12 per package.
  • Performance incentives: +$0.25–$0.30 per package possible.
  • Additional block/route payments to cover overhead.
• Team & operations:
  • ~200 employees total.
  • ~20–25 admin/dispatch/ops staff.
  • ~20–25 drivers (truck operators).
  • ~100–110 foot messengers (“walkers”) executing Manhattan routes.
  • Operates 7 days/week, typical service window ~8am–7/8pm.
• Assets & logistics:
  • Use of 26-ft box trucks, micro‑fulfillment anchor points (street parking hubs).
  • Close cooperation with NYC DOT for dedicated curb/parking “micro hubs”.
  • Heavy emphasis on safety and commercial insurance (hard to obtain in NYC).

Business Model & Unit Economics 💵

• Revenue = per-package fees + performance incentives + route/block payments.
• Profitability depends on:
  • Route efficiency (more deliveries per hour).
  • Minimizing drive/parking time (walkers increase efficiency in dense urban areas).
  • Staffing & systems to scale without operational breakdown.
• Scaling required hiring experienced people and delegating day-to-day operations.

How Chris Got In & Grew Fast 🛣️

• Background: Investment banking → corporate DoorDash (NYC market buildout) → translation of last‑mile logistics expertise.
• Entry to Amazon contracting: referral and a lengthy interview/qualification process (~3 years).
• Growth strategy:
  • Proven small pilot (2–3 trucks) → scaled when performance proved out.
  • Reinvested to hire strong operators, freed founder to focus on growth & systems.
  • Monthly hands‑on route rides to identify gaps and maintain credibility with drivers.

Unique Operational Details — NYC Specifics 🗽

• Manhattan complexity: doormen, large complexes, hospitals, universities.
• Walkers (foot couriers) meet trucks at anchor points to avoid parking/insurance issues.
• Micro fulfillment spots act as temporary curbside hubs to stage packages.
• Separate same‑day/bike programs exist but are operationally distinct.

Challenges & Lessons Learned ⚠️✅

• Biggest hurdles: scaling systems, maintaining safety and insurance compliance, hiring reliable people, avoiding founder burnout.
• Critical to scale: standardized processes, robust ops team, daily standups, route optimization.
• Founders should do fieldwork periodically to maintain insight and credibility.

Other Notes & Personal/Community Aspects ⛳

• Chris is a golfer; joined M19 for networking with like-minded, younger business owners.
• M19 value proposition: curated golf trips and a community of active entrepreneurs.
• Chris’s personal approach: stays engaged with staff, does routes monthly, balances family/time by hiring.

Contact & Companies 🔗

• Logistics company: dashwavedelivery.com
• Consulting / M&A & go‑to‑market: gatewaytechnologypartners.com

Takeaway Quotes

• “It doesn't sound like a lot, but on a baseline it's 12 cents per package, but we're talking millions and millions of packages.”
• “Once we showed them we could do it, it was like, let's pour the gas on the fire.”
• On M19: “If you're on the fence, do it — the connections and value are real.”

If you want, I can extract a short checklist for starting a last‑mile delivery operation (permits, insurance, staffing, pilot plan, KPIs).