Convoy is a trucking marketplace that uses technology to improve logistics and build trust through transparency and visibility in pricing and truck location.

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  00:00

  Convoy's CEO combined his supply chain and technology background to create a trucking marketplace that focuses on the middle mile and improves logistics.

  • Dan Lewis, CEO and founder of Convoy, combined his background in supply chain and technology to create a trucking marketplace.
  • Online shopping with fast delivery, particularly through Amazon Prime, has caused a massive shift in consumer behavior and supply chains are winning over traditional retail.
  • The speaker saw a gap in the market for a logistics company focused on the middle mile, and before starting the company, he did extensive research to ensure it was a viable idea.
  • The speaker conducted online research and reached out to people in the trucking and transportation industry to gather information before deciding what to build.
  • The speaker conducted research by talking to people in the field, including truck drivers and warehouse workers, to gather information about their experiences.
  • The speaker conducted extensive research for their business plans, which included quotes, anecdotes, and real examples, and learned that people in the industry were open and interested in improving things.
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  07:10

  Building trust through transparency and visibility in pricing and truck location is key to solving trust issues between shippers and trucking companies, which is what Convoy aims to do.

  • Early on, the biggest insight in the trucking industry was the importance of trust.
  • There was a lack of trust between shippers, brokers, and trucking companies due to a lack of transparency and data, leading to constant negotiation and mistrust.
  • Building trust through transparency and visibility in pricing and truck location is key to solving trust issues between shippers and trucking companies.
  • Convoy offers real jobs with guaranteed upfront prices and pays drivers quickly, providing confidence and respect to both drivers and shippers.
  • Real-time visibility technology can solve problems like delayed truck shipments and automate detention payments for drivers.
  • Convoy struggled to find truck drivers to sign up for their marketplace, so they switched their focus to building trust with shippers and getting shipments from them.
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  13:42

  Convoy used every job as a marketing opportunity to find truck drivers and focused on expanding nationwide based on the needs of their existing customers.

  • They used every job as a marketing opportunity to find truck drivers by offering them work through the app, building buzz and referral programs.
  • Initially, the trucking marketplace focused on getting demand first and used it as a marketing opportunity to get truck drivers to sign up for the market, starting in the Pacific Northwest with local truck drivers.
  • Focusing on a specific region allowed for a higher density of truck drivers and quicker growth of the marketplace.
  • The company is expanding nationwide and operates in all major metros, thinking in terms of shipping lanes and scaling similarly to Airbnb by targeting high tourist cities.
  • The company focused on expanding to new geographies based on the needs of their existing customers rather than offering additional types of trucks.
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  18:24

  Convoy, a freight-matching platform, focused on building density in specific markets before expanding nationally, utilizing technology to automate transactions and matching.

  • The company initially expanded its services based on customer demand and focused on popular freight lanes and major highways in contiguous areas.
  • The company had to be disciplined in pushing back on customer requests to expand nationally and instead focused on building density in specific markets, eventually expanding to serve a national ecosystem while still moderating their growth.
  • Automating transactions and matching in the marketplace is more efficient than relying solely on human flexibility, especially when limiting the geography and utilizing technology.
  • Convoy had a team of 30-40 people by the end of year one, and they focused on customer data and building a great story to raise their seed round relatively quickly.
  • Investors look for founders who they believe in and ideas that seem reasonable, but the most critical factor is whether the founders have the engineering talent and specific skills to quickly deliver on their vision.
  • A group of engineers, including some from Google and Amazon, were invited to work on a project in Seattle and two of them were recruited to help with the project.
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  26:31

  The CEO of a fast-scaling company discusses her role shift from recruiter to strategic business development, with a focus on defining mission statement and core values.

  • In the early days of most marketplaces, the sales and operations teams tend to grow faster than the engineering team, and this was also the case for this company.
  • The CEO of a fast-scaling company discusses the changes in her role from being a visionary recruiter to focusing on product and business development.
  • The speaker shifted from designing and managing the product to fundraising after launching and announcing their product in 2015.
  • The speaker shifted from learning about the business and building relationships with customers to becoming a partner with Unilever and expanding sales down the west coast.
  • The speaker focused on strategic business development and deep partnerships to accelerate and disrupt the industry, with a shift towards strategy and business development in 2017.
  • Developing people, building culture, and executive leadership development are the next steps for the company, with a focus on defining a mission statement and core values.
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  32:33

  💰🌎 Company codifies vision to reduce waste and improve economics by utilizing trucks with endless capacity, while also creating values to maintain culture and consistency as it grows.

  • The company's vision is to reduce waste and improve economics and service by utilizing trucks with endless capacity and zero waste, which was recently codified.
  • When a company reaches around 150 people, it needs new mechanisms and values to maintain its culture and identity as it grows.
  • The speaker discusses how his company decided to codify their beliefs and values about a year into the company's formation.
  • The company created values to maintain consistency and remember the original problem they were trying to solve, rather than focusing solely on solutions.
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  36:12

  Trust your instincts and use written exercises during interviews to ensure potential hires align with company values and possess necessary skills.

  • The company has a set of core values that are a living document and they have a thorough interview process to ensure that potential hires align with those values.
  • As the company grows, it becomes important to have someone from outside the group to ensure consistency in values, and while the speaker no longer interviews every candidate, they stopped after about 150 employees.
  • The CEO of an early-stage startup believes it's important for potential employees to evaluate him and the company, and he personally meets with new hires to get to know them and listen to their thoughts.
  • Trust your instincts and have a written component to almost all interviews to avoid ignoring cultural or personal issues that may result in the wrong outcome.
  • Using written exercises during interviews helps to assess a candidate's writing skills, structure of information, thoroughness, and seriousness, which is important for most jobs.
  • Asking unexpected questions during a discussion can reveal someone's attitude and entitlement.
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  43:19

  Hire someone who can do your job as good or better than you to assess if you can scale to the next level or role.

  • To assess if someone can scale to the next level or role, the most important indicator is hiring someone who can do your job as good or better than you and if you can't recruit them, it may indicate that you're not at the next level yet.
  • When hiring for a senior executive role, it's important to focus on finding someone who raises the bar and is excited to work for you, regardless of their title.
  • When hiring for a senior role in a startup, it's important to sell the story of building something bigger and empower the hire to take over a big part of your job.
  • As a company grows and scales, it's important to empower early hires to feel involved and critical in decision-making by recognizing their responsibility to represent the company culture, history, and mission.
  • Early employees in a scaling company may feel less transparent, so it's important to create ways to share more information and involve them in the company's strategy to empower them as champions beyond their job.
  • Understanding the mission and culture of the company is important for the next 500 people at convoy to represent and push forward.