India, June 6 -- What was the vision behind Uber? Its marquee founder, Travis Kalanick, once said the concept was a "cross between lifestyle and logistics". Little did he know that three IITians - Pranav Goel, Vikas Chaudhary and Uttam Digga - would actually 'uberise' logistics and set up Porter to serve the on-demand, hyperlocal supply chain.

The year was 2014, when quick commerce was unheard of, and ecommerce giants like Flipkart, Myntra or Snapdeal did not promise time-bound deliveries at scale (read: 24-48 hour windows). But the seeds of change were already there. The country's digital transformation was gaining momentum, with mobile internet becoming more affordable and accessible. Both end-users and service providers were becoming ...