How We're Baking Scale Into Our Pricing

Taking a break from work this holiday gave us space to really think about process, about focus, and about what our core business actually is. The more conversations we've had with future users, and even casual chats with family and friends, the clearer our unique position has become.

Last Friday, I spent almost an entire day in a deep conversation with a close friend, someone who has walked with us since day one. The agenda was simple: talk about what we truly love doing, creating content, specifically for Roundi.

But a few minutes in, the conversation drifted. Not because we were distracted, but because we landed somewhere more important: the business itself.

He asked questions that sounded simple but carried weight, the kind of questions that take hours (or years) to fully answer.

One question stood out.

"What does Roundi actually exist to do?"

The answer came out easily:

We exist to help businesses scale efficiently.

Simple sentence. Heavy meaning.

Before that conversation, I don't think I had truly processed it. Because if we don't understand what that means deeply, then the confusion will spread. It will confuse our customers, our partners, and eventually even our own team.

That conversation forced me to sit with that answer.

So let me try to unpack it.

What Do We Mean by "Scale"?

I was recently speaking to a business owner we'll be onboarding soon. They run a small wings restaurant along Limuru Road.

As I explained what Roundi is building, I saw her eyes light up, not because of features, but because she could suddenly see beyond her physical location.

I love their wings. But I live in Lavington.

That means I only think of them as an option when I happen to be in that area. Ordering via Uber Eats or Bolt Food isn't even possible. They don't show up. The alternative is using "their rider guy," which usually costs a fortune.

So over time, they slowly disappear from my list of options, not because the food isn't good, but because access is broken.

That's the problem.

Roundi fixes this by making delivery predictable, structured, and affordable:

Create a route. Assign a rider. Allocate deliveries to that route.

That's it.

It doesn't matter where the customer lives anymore.

That's scale.

Why Pricing Is the Real Differentiator

For a long time, I thought our competition was Uber, Bolt, or Glovo.

They're not.

We're not in the same business.

Take Glovo as an example. Their pricing is public: 15 to 30% per order.

That's not "bad" pricing, but it's important to understand what it actually is.

That fee is a customer acquisition cost. It's marketing spend.

Businesses should use these platforms to acquire customers, not to scale operations. You cannot sustainably scale when someone is taking a percentage of every single order you fulfill.

That's why Roundi is built differently.

We charge a monthly subscription for the software. You manage your own riders. You own your delivery economics.

And the obvious question follows:

Isn't paying a subscription plus a rider more expensive?

Let's do the math.

Simple Unit Economics

Scenario 1: Glovo

• Average order value: KSh 2,300
• Platform fee (20%): KSh 460 per order

If you do 20 orders in a day:

• Fees paid: KSh 9,200

That's one day.

Scenario 2: Roundi

Let's assume:

• Roundi subscription: $75/month (~KSh 10,000)

You create one route:

Parklands → Westlands → Loresho → Kitisuru

You price deliveries as follows:

• Parklands (5 orders): KSh 180
• Westlands (5 orders): KSh 200
• Loresho (5 orders): KSh 250
• Kitisuru (5 orders): KSh 250

Total delivery revenue: KSh 4,400

You pay the rider: KSh 3,000

That leaves: KSh 1,400 toward your subscription

Now let's stretch this over a month:

• Half the month: 20 orders/day → KSh 1,400 saved/day
• Other half: 10 orders/day → KSh 700 saved/day
• Working days: 26 days

Savings:

• (13 × 1,400) + (13 × 700)
• = KSh 27,300

That's:

• Two months of Roundi subscriptions covered
• Plus KSh 7,300 left over

The Point

Let's break down the actual cost per delivery:

Glovo: KSh 460 per delivery

Roundi:

• Subscription: KSh 10,000/month
• At 20 orders/day for 26 days = 520 orders
• Cost per delivery: KSh 19

That's 24 times cheaper per delivery.

And here's the real advantage: you control how many deliveries you take and fulfill. With Glovo, every order costs 20% whether you're ready to scale or not. With Roundi, you decide when to add capacity, when to optimize routes, when to push for more volume.

Roundi is cheaper per delivery because you manage the economics.

We're not helping businesses make one delivery. We're helping them build a delivery system where the unit economics actually work in their favor.

And when you bake scale into your pricing model, growth stops being scary and starts becoming intentional.

That's who we are.