Move is currently raising with no valuation cap (but a 10% discount), increasing the risk for any would-be investors. The current growth trend of the company may be alluring, but the question of scalability looms. As a result, Move’s price score is very low and the company’s lowest across all five metrics.

The overall market that Move operates within is the U.S grocery market, estimated at $656 billion in 2020. From an ecommerce perspective, the pandemic has created a boom for that industry subset. Accounting for 3.4% of the grocery market in 2019, online grocery shopping has ballooned up to 10.2% in 2020 due to COVID-19 — and is projected to continue rising all the way up to 21.5% in 2025 (up from the pre-pandemic projection of 13.5%). This continuously growing market provides a good opportunity for Move. Older companies can be slow to adopt new trends — Move was created with this new trend (digital grocery shopping) in mind. However, a strongly growing market will naturally attract new competitors. Move’s market score is slightly above average as a reflection of the strong market growth balanced against the company’s likelihood of capturing a large market share.

Move was founded by Chai Mishra, who controls the vast majority of the business. He holds 79.3% of the voting power. He went to the University of California, Berkley before dropping out and starting Move. He has no prior business experience but is a self-described “supply chain guy.” Mishra grew up with an entrepreneurial father who he has said influenced him greatly.

Due to this small team and a lack of strong industry experience, Move’s team score is low.

Move stands out from any competitors by allowing for the community to take control. As a Move member, you have a say in what gets released. They also adopt a Supreme-like “drop” system, where new items are added every Sunday – leading to quick sales immediately upon releasing. The novelty of these drops regularly makes them sell out in minutes. The company also only provide one type of each item. This limited stock is meant to ensure quality products and reduce difficult decisions for customers.

Perhaps the largest differentiating factor for Move is its transparency. It provides information detailing what each person is paid along the way – from the producers to the delivery drivers. That practice is very different from existing competitors. However, none of these differentiators are particularly defensible. A savvy competitor could easily replicate Move’s practices while also offering some new innovation to draw customers. This lack of defensibility leads to Move’s differentiators score being middle-of-the-road.

Move’s performance in the past year has been solid. The company’s revenue grew to $383,188, up nearly 1000% from the previous year. With $300,000 cash on hand and an average monthly expense of $35,000 (not to mention the average monthly revenue of $133,000), Move looks primed to last for some time. Something to note, however, is that both the company’s short-term and long-term debt have risen in the previous year – but neither figure seems particularly nerve-wracking. 

The company has seen new memberships sell out in minutes the last three times adding them – and still has 130k people waiting to become members. The customers Move currently has do seem to love the service. The average Move member spends 2x what an Amazon customer does – but whether or not this enthusiasm will scale is a big concern for Move. Overall, Move has shown excellent early success in both revenue and customer acquisition, resulting in the performance score for the company being extremely high.

The market for ecommerce groceries is growing – but so is the competition. There are already large companies like InstaCart who possess more name recognition and have been around for longer than Move. Large companies like Amazon and Walmart are starting to venture into grocery delivery as well. Move may well remain a niche service for customers who seek authentic, well produced food from their grocer – but the chances they have at occupying a noticeable size of market share look slim. Additionally, the lack of a valuation cap creates unnecessary risk for potential investors.

Move has already found success, as evidenced by their 130k users waiting for access to their services. The revenue — while not astronomically high — shot up in the last year and has only continued to increase within the COVID-19 pandemic.

If Move can manage to scale the business to more customers (while maintaining the same allure that it has now with its total transparency pricing-wise and authentic feel), the market is there for them to take. The company has had little to no marketing expenses, so a successful marketing campaign could grow the business exponentially.  

Move already has a dedicated group of members with a large list of people awaiting entry into the digital retailer/grocer’s program. Revenue has already started trending in the right direction, a big success for any early stage startup. With the continued adoption of ecommerce (and growing prevalence for grocery delivery), Move’s business has much room to grow in the coming months and years.

However, competition in the area is growing too, and customers may opt to stick with groceries from name brand companies with customer loyalty. Move provides goods made from top-of-the-line producers, but this business model may not be alluring to people shopping on a budget or who already have loyalty to a certain brand. The founder and CEO — while he does seem passionate about the project — has no previous work experience and is no sure bet to lead a business successfully. Balancing these concerns against Move’s early traction, this grocery delivery startup is a Neutral Deal.

For questions regarding the KingsCrowd staff pick or ratings for this company, please reach out to support@kingscrowd.com.  

Analysis written by Ethan Thomas.