Donkey GTM brain

category

market profile

• text: Smaller buyers often rely on distributors and intermediaries because sourcing, financing and landing imports require coordination.
• text: Donkey acts as the contracting seller and manages inspection, freight, customs and delivery rather than only matching buyers with suppliers.

personas

• title: Owner of a restaurant supply wholesaler
  pains:

  • Distributor markups erode margin on recurring foodservice products.
  • Freight and tariffs make it hard to compare a factory quote with a delivered cost.
• title: Purchasing manager at a builder or renovator
  pains:

  • Projects require many product lines to arrive together and match specification.
  • Managing factories, freight and customs adds risk to a construction schedule.
• title: Owner of a small importing distributor
  pains:

  • Factory payment terms and pre-shipment quality checks are difficult to coordinate remotely.
  • Upfront landed costs can change when freight and duties move.

icp

• text: US foodservice wholesalers, restaurant suppliers and builders buying pallet or container quantities of imported goods.
• text: Buyers with repeat orders or multi-SKU projects who want a single counterparty and factory inspection; current examples include California businesses.

message pillars

• text: Give buyers one predictable delivered number.
• text: Make landed cost components visible.
• text: Provide direct physical quality checks before shipment.

objections

• objection: What if tariffs or shipping costs rise after I commit?
  response: Donkey says the delivered price is locked at signing; review the signed terms for exceptions and delivery scope.
• objection: How can I trust the product quality from an overseas factory?
  response: Agree specifications and request the factory inspection report and photos before shipment.
• objection: Can you handle our mix of products?
  response: Submit the buying list and quantities for a category and container feasibility quote.

competitors

• name: Alibaba
  why: Factory sourcing marketplace that buyers can use as an alternative route to suppliers.
• name: Guided Imports
  why: China sourcing service with freight coordination for importers.
• name: SourGlobal
  why: Provides integrated sourcing and shipping for smaller businesses.

influencers

• name: James Tan
  url: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-tanminghao
  why: Donkey co-founder who posts about importing and landed pricing.

keywords

• factory direct foodservice supplies
• China sourcing for wholesalers
• landed cost import quote
• container importing for small business
• factory inspection China
• construction materials import

voice

• Plainspoken and concrete
• Price transparent
• Trade focused

signals

• text: A foodservice distributor repeatedly purchasing imported packaging or restaurant supplies has an identifiable buying list to price.
• text: A builder procuring several imported finish categories for a project may benefit from a mixed container quote.

pricing

motion

channels

• LinkedIn
• YC directory

confidence

Founders

• name: Benjamin Martindale
  title: Founder/CEO
  role: CEO
  bio: Grew up in his family's importing business in Toronto. Advised Chinese heavy-machinery giants on selling into the West and ran a Wuhan office in Mandarin. Featured on Mango TV, one of China's largest broadcasters: factory-floor segments and a named 13-minute profile. Founded a Toronto marketing company: $4M of construction deals closed in six months. Finance at Rotman, UofT, one credit short.
• name: Minghao Tan
  title: Founder/CTO
  role: CTO
  bio: Co-founder & CTO. Donkey buys factory-direct in China and sells delivered to US importers. Customs records are public. We read them, flag the trading company markup, and quote the same parts straight from the factory that makes them. QC on the floor before the factory gets paid. I build the data side: parsing raw customs filings, separating real factories from shells and forwarders, and the software the whole trade runs on. donkey.trade