Buyk

Buyk is an American product delivery service created by the founders of Samokat Vyacheslav Bocharov and Rodion Shishkov, as well as the general director of Arrival Solutions Sergey Sulgin.

Delivery in the service is always free, there is no minimum order amount, and prices are "like in a store at home," the company says.

History

2022: Bankruptcy Filing

On March 17, 2022, Buyk's fast food delivery application filed for bankruptcy. The service will permanently stop working after the business was affected by the consequences of the Russian special operation in Ukraine due to the restriction of startup access to financing.

In a bankruptcy filing filed in March 2022, Buyk, which was launched in New York only in 2021, indicated assets and liabilities up to $10 million. The company has ceased operations and plans to sell the remaining inventory, the statement said. Business had difficulty accessing financing after Russian President Vladimir Putin limited cash flows outside Russia, said Chief Executive Officer James Walker in early March 2022. The startup was considering selling part of its business in an attempt to get capital.

American grocery delivery service Buyk from the founders of Samokat filed for bankruptcy

Buyk indicated its co-founders, Slava Bocharov and Rodion Shishkov, as the largest shareholders. The company sought legal protection for the inability of investors to continue financing current activities, according to court documents. The startup issued a loan in the amount of $6.5 million to cover expenses during bankruptcy. According to court documents, the first $5 million is intended to pay employees and couriers.

We diligently studied all possible options and partnerships for restructuring Buyk and continuing business, however, the special Russian military operation in Ukraine, as well as subsequent financing restrictions, unfortunately made it impossible to continue the activities of our business. This is a rather complex solution, both for employees and for company management. The business considered the possibility of sale and the company turned to all types of potential strategic partners in the United States, including DoorDash, Gorillas and Gopuff, "said Rodiona Shishkova, co-founder of Buyk.

Buyk is one of a number of startups that offer consumers food delivery within 15 minutes. According to PitchBook, by mid-March 2022, the company received venture capital financing in the amount of $46 million, including from CM Ventures, Fort Ross Ventures and Citius. Most of its 38 warehouses were in New York, but in 2022 the startup also expanded to Chicago.^[1]

2021: Attracting $46 million of investments

At the end of June 2021, it became known about the investment of $46 million in the Buyk service. The most invested funds were Fort Ross Ventures ($15 million), Citius ($16 million), this amount also includes funds from unnamed international business angels) and CM Ventures ($15 million).

Buyk CEO Vyacheslav Bocharov, whose words are quoted in a press release, said that investments will allow Buyk to develop and grow faster.

American product delivery service from the founders of Samokat Buyk attracted $46 million

Buyk is expected to be launched in August 2021 in New York. Buyk already has warehouse opening agreements that will help the service quickly execute orders.

The American product delivery market is significantly larger than the Russian one, less consolidated, and customers there are more solvent, so there are prospects for development, says Infoline Analytics CEO Mikhail Burmistrov. Although a large number of such startups work there, the coverage of the territory with the possibility of ordering in 15 minutes is lower than in Moscow and St. Petersburg, he told Vedomosti.

CM Ventures is counting on a new round of investments by the end of this year. The fund also believes that the amount raised could be more than a seed round of four to five, said Forbes co-founder of CM Ventures Vagan Hranyan.

We are already seeing a hype interest in Buyk from American venture funds with more than $1 billion under management, he said.

Founder and general partner of Fort Ross Ventures Victor Orlovsky noted that the fund expects at least one product delivery company to appear in the United States within seven to eight years, the cost of which will exceed $50 billion.^{[2] [3]}

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