Shannon Breen and John Gamero grew up together in the East Valley and after going out into the working world, the two childhood friends reunited at Knight Transportation, the giant shipping carrier based in Phoenix, which has since merged to become Knight-Swift Transportation.
Breen and Gamero worked up to the executive level at Knight-Swift (NYSE: KNX) but left the company earlier this year and have since founded FreightVana, a third-party logistics startup dedicated to bringing greater transparency to the world of freight. The company currently employs 25, most of whom also have previous experience at Knight-Swift.
After years in the industry, Breen and Gamero saw an opportunity to build a company that prioritizes consistency in the ever-changing world of logistics.
“We saw low-tech adoption, highly imperfect markets in complex supply chains that are begging for trust and collaboration that just doesn't exist,” Gamero said. “We felt like there was this opportunity to show up in the market through technology and through our structure as a real partner to the shippers and the carriers.”
Third-party logistics companies (or 3PLs) like FreightVana work to connect the shippers sending goods on trucks and carriers that operate the trucks. The company is developing its software platform that will facilitate this connection.
Breen and Gamero, co-founders and co-CEOs, said experience at Knight-Swift was invaluable, but they set out on their own to be more nimble in addressing the opportunities they saw in the market.
“We're seeing shippers and carriers identify with the platform, with kind of that new mentality,” Breen said of the company's focus on being a good partner. “We're growing week over week and having, really, a lot of success in our early innings here in Phoenix.”
Bigger payroll
Earlier in the summer, prior to hiring the current staff, the company raised a round of private capital. Breen declined to disclose the funding amount, but said the funding has set the company up for a multiyear growth runway.
As with most tech companies building software, growing headcounts is central to growing the business. Breen said they anticipate tripling their headcount in the next 18 months, which would put them at around 75 employees in the first two years of business.
The international supply chain has been in the limelight during the Covid-19 pandemic. From the run on toilet paper in the early days to the ongoing computer chip shortage, the previously-ignored supply chain has become more visible in the past year.
“Covid was just an unbelievable stress test on the transportation portion of so many companies,” Gamero said. “I think what we're seeing is an openness and a receptivity to working with partners like us to elevate even further what they're trying to accomplish for their company.”
Supply chains will continue to be taxed as the pandemic drags on, but the FreightVana team thinks that may play to its strengths. The startup seeks to stand out, as Gamero put it, as a partner in “radical alignment” with its customers, a trait that he says has been lacking in the industry.
