#173: Convoy’s Ripple Effect on Digital Freight Brokerage with Craig Fuller of FreightWaves
Hosted by Santosh Sankar on December 13, 2023
Summary
During this episode, Santosh welcomes back Craig Fuller, Founder and CEO of FreightWaves, a price reporting agency (PRA) focused on the global freight market and the leading provider of high-frequency data for the global supply chain. During the conversation, Santosh and Craig discuss the reasons behind Convoy's failure, including the difficulties of raising capital, the impact of the freight market recession, and the role of investors. The conversation also covers the challenges of building a technology-driven freight brokerage, the importance of focusing on data and customer acquisition, the potential for supply chain to become a robust investment class in the next decade, and more.
Show Notes
Highlights from their conversation include:
- The failure of Convoy and its impact on the industry (1:25)
- Were Convoy’s margins a factor in failure (5:18)
- The role of investors and understanding the industry (9:31)
- The failure of Convoy's board and understanding of the freight market (11:45)
- Challenges of venture capital in the freight brokerage industry (12:36)
- The impact of cash burn and lack of profitability on Convoy's failure (13:49)
- The rise of Convoy and its advantages (23:11)
- Investor sentiment and the future of the freight brokerage industry (26:15)
- Issues with raising capital (33:46)
- The challenges of building a competitive TMS (36:59)
- The rise of fintech during the financial crisis (44:40)
- Running a business without unlimited cash and resources (46:00)
- The impact of valuations on the industry (47:11)
Dynamo is a VC firm led by supply chain and mobility specialists that focus on seed-stage, enterprise startups.
Find out more at: https://www.dynamo.vc/.