Mile1 was born out frustration with todays ecommerce delivery options from both the perspective of a retailer and the perspective of an online shopper.

Two of our founding partners lived together at The University of Western Ontario in a high rise building with no doorman. After moving in, our co-founder Sacha placed an order online but when the order came, Sacha was in class and there was no doorman to leave the parcel with. The shipper left a missed delivery notice on the front door of the building and brought the package to their sorting center - a 25 minute drive away. By the time Sacha had time to go pick up the package, the package had already been shipped back to the retailer. From that point on, he stopped ordering online at school as the shipping options did not accommodate those that live in apartments without a doorman.

One of our founding partners worked in the head office of a large Canadian retailer. The firm had grown from a small family run store to a national chain by providing customers with a level of service unavailable elsewhere. Although the firm differentiates itself on customer service, online orders had to be handled by the same shipping companies that everyone else uses - since there were no other options in Canada. While an in-store customer is treated with a superior level of service, online customers are served by a delivery company that makes deliveries while no one is home and leaves packages outside to be stolen or rained on.

We decided it was time that someone provides a better option for shoppers and retailers alike. As such Mile1 was born.