Lonely, gritty and messy: Deliverect boss Zhong Xu talks challenging and fulfilling founder journey

Entrepreneurship isn’t glamorous. It’s lonely, gritty, and often messy. And building a company is often more about endurance than genius. So says Zhong Xu, CEO and Co-founder at Deliverect.

In a LinkedIn post, he said: "I found this picture (see below) the other day. Raising our Series C in February 2021. Me, sitting in the basement. Alone, in the dark. Laptop balanced on an ironing plank. Literally ironing out the kinks in the round."

"Covid lockdowns everywhere. No offices. No meetings. No certainty. And yet, that night on the ironing board, I had just convinced investors I had never met in person: Tom Stafford, Paul Bonnet, Yuri Milner (DST Global), Jacob Effron and Elliot Geidt (Redpoint) to back Deliverect’s Series C."

"We only had around 7,000 customer locations. About 100 employees. And the future felt fragile. Looking back, I realise it was never about the perfect pitch deck or the perfect office setup. It was about grit, resourcefulness, and refusing to quit even when everything looked fragile. You don’t need a fancy boardroom to close a round sometimes the most important deals of your life get signed on an ironing plank in a basement."

He added: "That’s the part nobody likes to talk about. Behind every “unicorn story” are endless sacrifices, doubts, and sleepless nights. The truth is, building a company is often more about endurance than genius. And yes, some of the best entrepreneurs I know had to get very comfortable with chaos before they ever found stability."

"Stumbling on this picture put things in perspective. It reminds me where I come from, and it motivates me to go further. Fast forward to today: +68,000 customer locations, billion orders processed. Almost 500 employees.”

“And investors and teammates I couldn’t be prouder to be on this journey with. Entrepreneurship is glorified, but the reality is lonely, gritty, and often messy. And that’s exactly why I’m proud of the people who’ve believed in our mission because none of this has ever been easy. But so fulfilling. Cheers to the journey."

2025 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

Startups will be a key focus area at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards. which are now open for entries, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”

He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”

“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”

Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended November's gathering. 

For further information on the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards, please fill in the below form and we will get back to you asap.