Shipwell has succeeded in securing three rounds of investment since its start in 2016. The millions of dollars have allowed the company to rapidly grow its business into an industry-recognized freight transportation management platform.
Greg Price, Shipwell co-founder and CEO, said success at attracting venture capitalists to invest in your business requires the presentation of a compelling product that is backed by sound metrics.
“You’re going to have to specialize and find that niche that you can own and then run with that niche,” Price told Ted Alling, partner with Dynamo Ventures, during FreightWaves’ FreightTech Venture Summit on Wednesday.
He said it is important for upstarts looking for funding to present those types of metrics to investors that show “how you’re going to grow that to a multibillion-dollar opportunity.”
“You’ve always got to think on the other side of that table they’re looking at you like you’re a zero or you’re a one,” he added. Sound metrics can tip investors in your favor.
Shipwell, which was co-founded by MIT graduates Price and company President Jason Traff, started on the premise that it would build a comprehensive supply chain management software. The company has also been resolute about developing a culturally diverse workforce by including women and minorities to design, build and market its platform to customers.
“We realized that data, the systems, visibility and processes were rather broken [in the supply chain],” Price said. “What Shipwell did and what our vision was was that we would be this automation execution visibility and intelligence layer for the supply chain, where we combine all of these parties together in a single pane of glass.”
The company started with a focus on less-than-truckload (LTL) and e-commerce freight, which it believed was “the most underserved sector of the market and expanded from there,” Price said.
Today, Shipwell covers all aspects of domestic freight transportation, including port drayage, LTL and full truckload and last mile, a growing area within the industry during the coronavirus pandemic with consumers seeking door deliveries for online purchases of household items like appliances and furniture.
Price said Shipwell has more than 400,000 carriers connected to its platform. “People come to us to find and source capacity,” he said.
Click for more FreightWaves/American Shipper articles by Chris Gillis.
Related News
Shipwell’s entire API for shippers to integrate features within existing workflows
Shipwell raises $35 million of series B venture capital
Shipwell introduces load board feature within its digital freight platform
