In this episode, Andrew talks to Brad Perling, CEO and co-founder of Bitfreighter. Brad was an aerospace major waiting to get into air traffic control school when he became an early employee at Calvary Logistics. He says that’s where he got his freight MBA, working up from carrier rep to general manager. Frustrated by the lack of options when it came to EDI technology, this former broker is now building another cost-saving option for integration technology in Bitfreighter, named to FreightWav...
In this episode, Andrew is joined by Jesse Buckingham, CEO and cofounder of Vooma. Jesse studied law and economics at the University of Sydney and got his MBA from Stanford. Before Vooma, he was CEO at ASG LogisTech, whose businesses included Trucker Tools, Record360, e-Courier, and PackageRoute. He was also a consultant at Bain & Company.Now, Jesse’s leading the Vooma team in building AI tools that will automate the shipment lifecycle and help brokerage teams enhance productivity and red...
For the last episode of 2024, we welcome our first driver to the show: Chad Boblett. He created the longstanding Rate Per Mile Masters Facebook group, which, in its 11 years, has grown to be a vibrant community of close to 37,000 owner-ops, carriers, brokers, and agents. In this episode, we go back even further — 13 years — to how Chad got started in trucking, when a severe injury caused him to lose just about everything in his life — including his job and his house. He was living in a m...
In a special episode to announce the acquisition of Trucker Tools by DAT, we are joined by Trucker Tools CEO Kary Jablonski to break down the deal. She walks us through why now was the time for Trucker Tools to go to market, why DAT makes the most sense as the long term home for the TT platform, and what the future looks like for Kary and her team. This move helps further DAT's position as the premiere freight marketplace and rate analytics platform, enhancing their product pipeline and ...
Andrew is joined by Jonathan Salama, the CEO and co-founder of Transfix, a logistics technology company. He discusses Transfix's origins, starting as a freight brokerage business that he and his co-founder Drew built from the ground up. They focused on automating key functions like pricing, scheduling, and carrier management using machine learning models. When the pandemic hit, Transfix's technology proved invaluable in navigating the volatility. However, Transfix later had to pivot away...
In this captivating episode, Andrew sits down with Ryan Petersen, CEO of Flexport, for an insightful and candid conversation about leadership, personal growth, and business. Ryan shares his journey of self-discovery, discussing how he reevaluated his values after a challenging period in China and the profound impact of mentors like Tony Robbins on his life and leadership style.The discussion delves into Flexport's operational processes challenges, including the impact of COVID-19 on their Net...
FreightVana has acquired the brokerage operations of Loadsmith. We are joined this week for a special episode breaking down the making of the merger between these two organizations. FreightVana CEO Shannon Breen and Loadsmith CEO Brett Suma join the show to break down the deal, explaining why Loadsmith is divesting it's brokerage operations and why FreightVana is the perfect complementary partner. With mutual backgrounds at Knight, it was easy for Shannon and Brett to see eye to eye on h...
The episode features an in-depth conversation with Ryan Joyce, the CEO of freight intelligence startup GenLogs. Ryan shares his unique background, having previously worked as an undercover CIA officer, a path he unknowingly would find himself on after a frightening situation with his father working in the Pentagon during 9/11. He discusses how that experience shaped his empathetic approach to problem-solving and his desire to make a positive impact. Ryan explains GenLogs' mission to brin...
Chadd Olesen, CEO of automation technology company AVRL, joined us this week to discuss his company's journey. AVRL started in 2017 focused on natural language processing, but pivoted in 2020 to automate spot freight pricing for brokers. Chadd shared how AVRL had to rethink their approach and technology to better fit the needs of freight brokers, rather than trying to force brokers to adapt to their original product. He emphasized the importance of being consultative and collaborative wi...
Uber Freight announced it's newest capacity-as-a-service offering, Broker Access. The tool is designed to provide capacity for other brokers through the Uber platform. Uber has tens of thousands of carriers within it's network through the development of it's own brokerage and the acquisition of Transplace. My concern with this program is, in my opinion, this is a case of double or co-brokering. Whichever terminology you choose to use, it represents a problem as most shippers would be very opp...
Kara Smith-Brown joins us on this week's episode to discuss her career in marketing, how her company, LeadCoverage supports the freight industry, and her new book, The Revenue Engine, that comes out November 19th. Together, we explore how aligning sales with marketing can lead to a harmonious and successful business environment. By sharing her journey from the early days at Echo Global Logistics, Kara illustrates the potential of modern marketing tools to create a distinct edge for businesses...
We are joined this week by entrepreneur and multiple-time founder, Prasad Gollapalli. Prasad got his start in the industry at the old school load board, GetLoaded, which was later acquired by DAT. From there, he began his entrepreneurial journey as he started TruckerTools. After a successful exit, he is now focusing his time and attention on the world of scheduling appointments, and bringing automation and AI to reduce the human touch on this mundane, but important task. His startup, Qued, is...
After 6 months of mental back-and-forth, I finally pulled the trigger and recorded a solo episode. No more self-doubt, no more negative self-talk, no more procrastinating. Today's theme is Just Do It. Hope you enjoy. ***Episode brought to you by Rapido Solutions Group. I had the pleasure of working with Danny Frisco and Roberto Icaza at Coyote, as well as being a client of theirs more recently at MoLo. Their team does a great job supplying nearshore talent to brokers, carriers,...
On this week's episode, Andrew welcomes his older brother Matt Silver to discuss the official launch of his new startup, Cargado - a load board and technology platform focused on simplifying cross-border freight operations between the United States and Mexico. Matt shares his background, starting in the logistics industry at Coyote Logistics, where he helped build out the Mexico division. He left Coyote to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams, founding Forager. Matt's business would eventua...
What happens when you record a podcast from the moment your guest walks in, capturing every spontaneous and candid moment? That’s exactly what we did in this episode, and it led to a fascinating discussion about the power of authenticity and the often-overlooked value of raw, unfiltered conversation. We also dive into the challenges of maintaining mental health and motivation without the structure of a traditional job, sharing our own experiences and the importance of personal routines. The c...
Alyssa Correale's journey in the logistics and supply chain industry is nothing short of inspiring. Ever wondered how a career can evolve from a small family business to leading roles in major companies like Niagara Bottling and Uber Freight? Alyssa shares her path, from her humble beginnings at Giovanni Foods, where she learned the ropes of logistics on a personal level hand-writing BOLs for drivers, to tackling the immense challenges of supply chain efficiency and innovation in larger corpo...
Discover the secrets to mastering recruitment in the logistics and transportation industry with insights from two of the industry's leading professionals, Charlie Saffro and Brent Orsuga. Charlie shares her serendipitous transition from marketing to establishing her own firm, CS Recruiting, while Brent reflects on his journey from construction recruitment to becoming a renowned figure in logistics with Pinnacle Growth Advisors. Together, they reveal the strategies that set them apart, includi...
We are joined this week by Shannon Breen, CEO of FreightVana. We begin the episode walking through Shannon's story, as he explains his early entrepreneurial spirit, from aspiring franchise owner to real estate, before finding his way into logistics with industry giant, Knight Transportation. We talk through lessons he gleaned from his first freight years, including the experience of navigating the Knight-Swift merger.Shannon would eventually scratch his entrepreneurial itch with the founding ...
The episode features an interview with Rebecca Brewster, the President and COO of the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI). She discusses her background and how she came to work in the trucking industry. She explains ATRI's role as a non-profit research organization that identifies and addresses the industry's top research priorities through a diverse Research Advisory Committee, made up of relevant industry players from carriers, to shippers, to brokers, and vendors who support ...
This week's episode provides a captivating look into the rise and fall of Surge Transportation, a freight brokerage founded by Omar Singh. In July 2023, Surge filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. One year later, the US Bankruptcy court of Jacksonville confirmed their plan of reorganization, making them the first brokerage to successfully reorganize post-bankruptcy. We dive into all the details of the ups and downs of this story, as told by it's CEO and owner himself.The episode begins with Omar's...