For most B2B software products, the public launch comes early.
A landing page, a signup form, a demo video — and then the real learning starts.
We did the opposite.
RouteBot has been running inside real, large-scale transportation operations for over three years before we ever talked about it publicly.
This post is about why we waited, what breaks first in transportation operations, and why we’re only now opening guided walkthroughs.
Excel works — until it doesn’t
Almost every transportation operation starts with Excel.
Routes, vehicles, students, drivers, schedules — all manageable at first.
But as operations grow, Excel starts to show its limits:
- Files get duplicated
- Versions drift
- Manual coordination increases
- Small mistakes turn into daily operational issues
What breaks isn’t routing algorithms first.
What breaks is coordination.
RouteBot was built to sit exactly at that breaking point — where Excel still exists, but can no longer be the system of record.
Why we didn’t launch early
For a long time, RouteBot wasn’t something you could simply “sign up” for.
There was no free trial.
No public demo.
No onboarding flow.
Instead, it was used quietly inside real operations, with real data, real constraints, and real consequences.
That time mattered.
It allowed us to:
- Observe how operations actually run day to day
- Understand where manual workflows fail under pressure
- Design onboarding around existing Excel data instead of forcing migrations
- Build the product around operational reality, not assumptions
By the time we considered opening it up, the product was already battle-tested.
Why we still don’t offer self-serve demos
Transportation operations are not self-serve problems.
Data structures differ.
Constraints differ.
Operational priorities differ.
A generic “click around” demo rarely shows what actually matters.
That’s why we’ve chosen a guided, founder-led walkthrough model instead.
Not to limit access — but to make sure what you see actually reflects how RouteBot would run in your operation.
What’s available now
We’ve recently opened two things publicly:
- A fully populated live demo environment
- Structured, founder-led walkthrough sessions
The live environment shows how RouteBot looks when it’s already running:
vehicles, routes, students, and daily operations — all in place.
The walkthroughs are where we:
- Map your current Excel-based workflows
- Show how those translate into a live operational system
- Decide together whether RouteBot is a good fit
No pitching.
No generic demos.
Just a practical evaluation.
Going public — carefully
Opening something up doesn’t always mean scaling fast.
Sometimes it just means being more visible.
RouteBot is now ready to be seen more broadly — not because it’s new, but because it’s already proven.
If you’re running transportation operations and Excel is starting to feel fragile, you’ll probably recognize the problems we’ve been working on.
Founder-led walkthroughs are now open worldwide, starting January.
More details here:
👉 https://routebot.com
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