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Creating Income From Empty Spaces At Home: Laura Borland’s Vyllage Platform Is Growing The Gig Economy

Creating Income From Empty Spaces At Home: Laura Borland’s Vyllage Platform Is Growing The Gig Economy

Vyllage
Laura Borland is creating a new gig in the gig economy. Her company, Vyllage, lets customers get paid to receive their neighbors’ parcels and deliveries. Borland is CEO and founder of Vyllage. Photo provided by Vyllage.

Laura Borland is looking to create a new gig in the gig economy. Her company, Vyllage, allows customers to get paid to receive their neighbors’ parcels and deliveries.

In the language of Vyllage, consumers can arrange to have their packages delivered to a Vyllager — a trusted person who accepts packages at their personal residence for someone who may not be home when the delivery arrives.

Borland, CEO and founder, says she’s looking to create a simpler version of gig work for people — one that requires fewer resources than Uber or Airbnb. She wants people to have access to a gig that doesn’t require electricity or a vehicle. “It doesn’t take more than a small space in your home. If you want to expand and take on more packages, you could even use your garage. We’re helping to create income for people in a space you don’t normally monetize,” she said.

It’s been five years since the South Florida-based Vyllage launched and the platform is available in 15 states in the U.S. for consumers to have a safe way to receive their packages.

Borland has pitched her company at various events and organizations but none was as memorable as Entrepreneur Magazine’s Elevator Pitch show which airs on Cheddar. Borland gained enough interest to get to the boardroom in front of judges.

She shares her frustration of pitching, her lesson learned watching another company attempt to copy Vyllager and where she sees her company in five years.

Moguldom: Why did you start Vyllage?

Laura Borland: I started Vyllage five years ago. I was looking for a solution for what I was seeing every day. Almost every day, there was some video footage of someone’s package being stolen. My partner (Sean Hale) and I were watching the news one day and I said, “Wouldn’t it be great if one of our neighbors could keep our packages for us until we could get them?” He said with the volume that I order from Amazon, I would be abusing the situation. I said, “What if we found a way to compensate someone to do it?”

That is pretty much the genesis of the company. After three-and-a-half years of app development, obtaining trademarks, recruiting our Vyllagers – the people who hold the packages, as a provisional patent on the technology we created — we are proud to have created Vyllages across the U.S.

One of the things I love about Vyllage is we’re seeing a transition from brick-and-mortar retail spaces to online e-commerce. Vyllage is on the leading edge of creating another gig for people — a gig that doesn’t require electricity or a vehicle. It doesn’t take more than a small space in your home. If you want to expand and take on more packages, you could even use your garage. We’re helping to create income for people in a space you don’t normally monetize. Our Vyllagers are offering goodwill by helping their neighbor all while helping to alleviate the pressure on law enforcement from investigating petty crime incidents. 

Moguldom: How does the Vyllage platform work?

Laura Borland: Vyllage is a standalone app. For the person who wants to ensure their packages are in a secure location, because they know they’re not going to be home and they don’t want their package left outside, they access our app as they complete their online purchase. The person puts in basic information such as the type of package, estimated weight, and who they expect the carrier to be. They access a map that is like a filter for their area so they can see where they want to pick up their item in proximity to their home. Once they select a Vyllager, they pay the Vyllager a fee of $3.99 to $5.99. They can then use the Vyllager’s location for the shipment. Each Vyllager is a homeowner and pays a $14.95 fee for their background check in order to set up their location as a package hub.

Vyllage
Laura Borland is CEO and founder of Vyllage, a platform that allows you to get paid to receive your neighbors’ deliveries. Borland is pictured with partner Sean Hale. Photo provided by Vyllage.

Our platform keeps a nominal fee while the Vyllager keeps the majority fee from each delivery accepted. The Vyllager’s role in this is to be home to receive that package. The Vyllager is responsible for taking two photographs of the package, then a text is automatically generated and sent to the recipient saying their packages arrived with the photographs for viewing. It also informs the customer they have 48 hours to pick it up. Once the customer picks it up, the ticket is closed. The photographs are stored for the retailers’ use as well to help in their loss mitigation efforts.

Moguldom: How much has your Vyllage grown since starting?

Laura Borland: We have over 50 Vyllagers in 15 states.

Moguldom: What have been some of the lessons learned since starting your company?

Laura Borland: The biggest lesson I learned was that I needed to protect the business itself and keep certain things close to my chest. During the development process, I was so excited about Vyllage and the concept of it that I went to a number of events, including a major trade show in Austin. We set up a booth to test out the proof of concept. Within four months, we saw a version of our business on a major show where people pitch their products. They got a deal. That company is no longer in business. We recognize that during the research process, some were just trying to feel out the business and try to replicate it. When you’re bootstrapping there’s a bit of nervousness that sometimes takes place because you are so intimately involved in each of the processes to move your business forward that you want to share it with the world. But I would recommend being mindful of how much you’re sharing. That was definitely a big lesson.

Moguldom: Many Black tech founders are afraid to share their idea because they don’t have the capital to scale quickly. The other company is not in existence anymore. Do you think they failed because they were not passionate or they just didn’t have the in-depth knowledge you obtained growing and scaling your business?  

Laura Borland: When you operate with integrity, I just believe everything falls into place. This was our creation, every aspect of it, every word, every process, the naming convention, everything about this was our brainchild. When you are the pioneer of an industry, creating a niche in a space that works flawlessly, except for when the Vyllager is supposed to receive that package. There are going to be people who try to replicate what you’re doing. But again, when you pioneer something, when you are the creator, when it’s your brainchild from within you, and someone tries to make a name for themselves using someone else’s idea, I just don’t believe that they will ever fully be successful. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having competition, but you cannot verbatim steal someone else’s design. I believe it’s just a law of nature. It might work for a while, but I just don’t believe that it is sustainable.

Moguldom: What have been some of the wins along the way since launching your company?

Laura Borland: Getting our name Vyllage trademarked. It is a big word that evokes community. We’ve not only been featured on TV multiple times, but there have been numerous articles written about us. A lot of that came from really pushing through and trying to get our name out there. We’ve had the recent exposure to Entrepreneur Magazine’s Elevator Pitch show which was an extraordinary experience. I’ve come ever so close to getting on Shark Tank by making it to the final round. But in all things, a win has just been in persevering. Being a Black entrepreneur needing funding, things have moved a lot more slowly, but I’ve been fortunate to hit milestones and learn lessons along the way. I thought our company was going to be like an Uber and Airbnb and take right off. Although we have pushed, it hasn’t just yet. Even with winning pitch competitions and participating in major trade shows, we have been able to see people understand our concept and we have been able to make some tweaks along the way.  

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Moguldom: You were on “Entrepreneur’s Elevator Pitch” Season Five, Episode Five. What was it like preparing to deliver a pitch to get the judges to open the doors?

Laura Borland: I had applied to “Shark Tank” in March. In May, I received a call from their producers asking me to hold some particular dates open. They told me they would film in June and September. They later told me I didn’t make the June taping, but there were some spots open for September. In August, I received a call saying, “Laura, we have all the people we need for this season but thank you so much. Feel free to apply next year.”

I was really bummed about that because I felt like I had gotten so far and had been preparing for it. I later found myself flipping channels and watching a program on a channel I’ve never seen before. It was the “Elevator Pitch” on the Cheddar network. I started watching it and at the very end of it said, “now accepting applications.” I applied the same night and within two weeks I received a call, completed an online interview and later received an invitation to film on the day before my birthday.

I stood in front of my mirror, my cell phone on a tripod, and I practiced. I had to practice a lot because that pitch had to be airtight to fit in one minute. When the doors did open on the show for me after my pitch, it was a tremendous sense of overwhelming feelings. My segment was edited but there were some really strong questions thrown at me for about 20 minutes. But all in all, I was just incredibly grateful for my experience even though none of them decided to invest.

Moguldom: Whether from pitching on the show or in competitions, have you taken the feedback and applied it to your business model or pivoted?

Laura Borland: When you watch the entire pitch on the “Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch” show before the doors open, one of the female judges says, “It’s neighborhood watch for packages. I don’t get it.” And that’s my business. That’s what it is.

Some of the feedback I received there was annoying. One of the judges said their neighbors could just take the packages for them. But the bottom line is you don’t want it to be an abusive situation of constantly asking someone to do you a favor. From my perspective, I felt that we did not have that level of connection. Another judge asked me three times what I would do if this doesn’t work — if all else fails. The first two times I said I would keep going and I’m not prepared to give up. What aired was the third time when I shared, we had additional ideas. The bottom line is you have to be pragmatic. I mean are you prepared to continue to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars into something that is not turning a profit or getting the traction just because you’re passionate about an idea? However, our future ideas and expansion still revolve around the concept of community and the gig economy.

Moguldom: Have you raised any money or are you bootstrapping your business?

Laura Borland: We bootstrapped entirely. We tried to raise $100,000 on a crowdfunding platform two years ago. We didn’t make the goal, but some other cool things came out of it like being SEC-certified and other things. We have received grants from organizations and in-kind gifts like co-working space and other things from South Florida groups.

Moguldom:  What do the next five years look like for the Vyllage?

Laura Borland: Vyllage being on the map. The platform was designed to be as simple as possible so that it can be scalable. My hope is that Vyllage becomes a household name within the next three years. We’re looking at expanding the Vyllager footprint to about 4,000 this year with each of them doing about three-to-five packages a day. It might not seem like a lot, but that is revenue for someone who is at home, who doesn’t really have to do anything but receive a package, take a picture of it, and then be available within 48 hours afterward for it to be picked up.

I would love to see it overseas. When Sean and I were exhibiting at SXSW, there was a lot of interest from people in Australia, the Nordics, and also in Africa. They utilize a lot of cell phone technology there and the idea of creating micro-businesses within those communities, especially sub-Saharan Africa, is something I’d love to see. I think Vyllage has far-reaching potential in order to uplift the wealth of households globally.