FLEXPORT

Ryan Petersen was working in the import/export business when he realized that global freight forwarding — a $2 trillion industry — was still running on fax machines, spreadsheets, and phone calls. Nobody could track a shipping container the way you track an Amazon package.

He founded Flexport in 2013 to build a software platform that would bring visibility and efficiency to international logistics. Y Combinator backed them early.

The product resonated immediately — companies loved being able to actually see where their stuff was.

Flexport is a technology-powered freight forwarder and customs broker. They handle the entire supply chain for businesses — booking cargo ships and planes, clearing customs, managing warehouses, tracking shipments in real-time, and providing data analytics on logistics operations.

They charge fees on each shipment plus platform subscriptions. Think of them as the operating system for global trade.

Flexport Platform (real-time shipment tracking), Flexport Capital (supply chain financing), Ocean freight forwarding, Air freight forwarding, Customs brokerage, Warehouse and fulfillment

Focus on small and medium-sized businesses that are underserved by traditional freight forwarders. Build the best software platform so that once a company starts using Flexport, switching back to a traditional broker is unthinkable.

Expand warehouse and fulfillment services to own more of the supply chain. International expansion, particularly in Asia where most goods originate.

Logistics is incredibly capital-intensive and low-margin. After raising $2.3 billion and growing aggressively during the COVID shipping boom, Flexport had to cut over 30% of its workforce when freight rates collapsed in 2023.

The CEO drama — Petersen was briefly replaced by former Amazon exec Dave Clark, who was then ousted with Petersen returning — shook confidence. Proving that a venture-backed tech company can compete with century-old freight giants on their turf remains the core challenge.

SoftBank Vision Fund, Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, DST Global, Shopify, MSD Partners