Starting and running a business is a test in resilience, and learning how to overcome the inevitable challenges that will emerge. Monique Powell, Founder and CEO of QuickCart, an e-commerce and logistics provider in Jamaica, shares, among other things: her entrepreneurial journey;  how she navigated the e-commerce-related challenges that most start-ups and MSMEs in the Caribbean region face; plus what’s next for both QuickCart and for Monique.

 

This episode is also available on SoundCloud, Apple iTunes, Google Play Music, Spotify, Amazon Music and on Stitcher!

We have all heard entrepreneurs mention that starting a business is hard, but those sentiments are easily overshadowed by the roaring success of a very select few, who experienced considerable growth and visibility after years of obscurity. As a result, we tend to have a romanticised view of what it is like to convert an idea into a viable, and hopefully profitable, business; and so we underestimate the effort and sacrifice involved, and perhaps even worse, we can be unsympathetic to those who are in the throes of their start-up journey.

To be fair, most individuals are intimidated by the start-up journey – the difficulties, the uncertainty, the fear of failure – and so keep their ventures as side hustles. They tend to have with little or no intention of having those ventures become fully developed, standalone businesses on which they depend for their financial survival.

However, many of us have dreams of being an entrepreneur, and an idea that we would like to turn into a business; but we do not have a clue where or how to start. Learning from the experiences of others, who are further ahead on the path, can be highly instructive, whilst in some small way, also allowing us to forge a community.

 

Introducing our guest

Monique Powell

Monique Powell is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of QuickCart, an e-commerce and logistics provider based in Jamaica. QuickCart (formerly QuickPlate) is an e-commerce and logistics company that is focused on helping merchants of all sizes to increase sales, while enabling convenience for anyone wanting to get just about anything delivered from restaurants and stores nearby. Prior to starting QuickCart (formerly QuickPlate), Monique spent 16 years holding increasingly senior tech and marketing related positions across various industries including media, telecoms and financial services.

Monique has always been passionate about web-based technology and the various ways businesses can use it to connect with customers and increase sales. She is now channelling that knowledge and energy into helping restaurants and retail merchants drive sales through QuickCart. Monique lives and works in Kingston, Jamaica.

 

Insights into our conversation

What surprised me the most when chatting with Monique is how calm she was, and how thoughtful her responses were. She would have experienced many trials and tribulations in breathing life into QuickCart, along with the added pressure of supporting herself independently of the business – until it was on sound enough footing.

An interesting point Monique made during our conversation was the fact that there are always challenges when running a business, and that is part-and-parcel of the experience. At each stage there will be difficulties that will need to be managed, and as you, the entrepreneur, overcome them, different ones will emerge.

Below are key questions posed to Monique.

  1. To start us off, tell us more about QuickCart, What drove to set up?
  2. How many vendors or shops do you have on the platform and how many customers has QuickCart served?
  3. As an e-commerce platform, how has QuickCart been able to navigate the challenges that many MSMEs in the region face with securing online payments facilities?
  4. I gather that QuickCart was not first foray into entrepreneurship. Tell us a bit of your story.
  5. How did you decide to leave full-time employment to run QuickCart full-time?
  6. Was there ever a time you thought the QuickCart might be failing? Can you share with us that situation, and how you turned it around?
  7. What is it like being an entrepreneur in Jamaica, and a female tech entrepreneur at that? What do you think about the country’s start-up environment/ start-up culture?
  8. What has been the biggest lesson you have had to learn in running QuickCart?
  9. How would you describe yourself as a manager, as the leader of your organisation? What do you consider your greatest strength?
  10. What is the best piece of advice you would give a young tech start-up?
  11. Where would you like to see QuickCart in the next 3 to 5 years?
  12. And what’s next for Monique Powell?

 

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Also, if you or a member of your network is interested in joining us for an episode, do get in touch.

Let’s make it happen!

 

Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode, or otherwise, might be useful:

 

 

Images credit:  M Powell;  QuickCart;  RoseBox (Unsplash); Kai Pilger (Unsplash); rupixen.com (Unsplash)

Music credit: The Last Word (Oui Ma Chérie), by Andy Narrell

Podcast editing support: Mayra Bonilla Lopez