20VC: Why Remote Work is White Collar Fraud | Why Revenge and Patriotism are the Best Founder Traits | Two Questions Every Founder Needs to Ask | The Wild Story of Raising $1BN from Masa Son in an Hour Long Meeting with Ryan Peterson, Founder @ Flexport
Ryan Peterson is the Founder & CEO @ Flexport, the logistics darling of the venture capital world that has raised $900M+ with the last round valuing the company at $8BN. Today, the company does $450M in revenue growing 30% YoY.
AGENDA:
00:00 — Why Does Ryan Petersen Call Remote Work "White Collar Fraud"?
08:30 — Does Having More Money Actually Make You a Better Founder?
11:40 — When Will Flexport IPO? What Price Would It Go Out At?
19:00 — Can AI Actually Automate Entire Companies or Is the Productivity Boom Overhyped?
22:00 — Which Jobs Will Exist in 5 Years That Don't Exist Today?
26:00 — OpenAI vs Anthropic: If Ryan Could Only Own One, Which Would He Buy?
27:45 — Are Chinese Open-Source Models a National Security Threat—or Is Silicon Valley Overreacting?
30:15 — The $500M Fundraising Mistake Ryan Wishes He Never Made
35:00 — Why Flexport Abandoned San Francisco & Remote Work Damaged Flexport's Culture
41:00 — Why Marketing Is the Hardest Executive Hire in Startups
43:00 — Do Great CEOs Hate HR?
46:00 — Why Most Startup Founders Hire Executives Too Early
48:00 — What Ryan Learned Investing Alongside the Greatest YC Founders
55:00 — The Single Biggest Mistake Founders Make When Fundraising
1:09:00 — Does Founder Brand Actually Drive Enterprise Value?
1:11:00 — What Makes a Great Board Member—and Why Most Boards Add Negative Value
1:13:00 — The Sports Team Ryan Dreams of Buying Just to Troll His Biggest Competitor
Crisis at Hormuz, and your $160b tariff refund clock, with Flexport’s Ryan Petersen
When global trade buckles, Ryan Petersen is the person executives call. The founder and CEO of Flexport returns to Rapid Response to offer a real-time account of the Strait of Hormuz crisis — what he's seeing on the ground, on the water, and across the supply chains straining under the pressure. Petersen also digs into the prospect of tariff refunds in the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling against the Trump Administration, and why businesses risk leaving $160 billion on the table by not acting. Plus, how AI is reshaping both logistics and software-based firms, and whether all the trade turbulence might actually be a tailwind for Flexport itself.
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The Scramble Is On for Businesses to Get Their Tariff Refund Checks
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs were illegal. And now basically every importer who paid those tariffs will be rushing to get their refunds. But will businesses actually get paid? And how do they file a claim? And should consumers get refunded if a business passed the cost of the tariffs on to them? On this episode, we're rejoined by regular Odd Lots guest Ryan Petersen, the CEO of Flexport, a major freight forwarding company. We discuss how the entire refund process works, and the estimated timeline for payoff. We also talk about the booming secondary market in refund claims, where traders are buying up other people's claims for, in some cases, 50 cents on the dollar. Ryan also walks us through how world trade has changed since the tariffs began and the various way companies tried to game the system.
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AI Is Eating Logistics
Logistics is a multi-trillion-dollar industry that quietly powers the entire global economy — and it's shockingly manual.Ryan Petersen, founder & CEO of Flexport, joins the Lightcone to break down how AI is finally touching the physical world: making shipping cheaper, speeding up global trade, and automating work that used to live inside emails, spreadsheets, and phone calls.
Branding truths and tariff myths, with Autodesk’s Dara Treseder & Flexport’s Ryan Petersen
In a special episode of Rapid Response, we feature two fast-paced, lively conversations from Masters of Scale Summit in San Francisco. Autodesk CMO Dara Treseder breaks down branding and marketing lessons from the most high-profile campaigns of 2025. Treseder shares her unvarnished read on Sydney Sweeney, Cracker Barrel, Taylor Swift, and more. In the second half of the episode, Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen assesses the five biggest myths around trade and tariffs today, advises about avoiding jail, and what he calls "dumb competition."
Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Trade War Scorecard: What's Changing, Who's Winning, What's Next — With Ryan Petersen
Ryan Petersen is the CEO of Flexport. Petersen joins Big Technology to discuss how the latest round of tariffs and trade-war maneuvers are rewiring supply chains worldwide. Tune in to hear him unpack everything from 145 % “Liberation Day” duties and $5 K containers to the death of the de minimis loophole and what it means for Amazon, Temu, and Shein. We also cover the Panama Canal drought, AI that robocalls 400 K truckers, warehouse-robot reality checks, and why customs fraud just became the DOJ’s No. 2 white-collar priority. Hit play for a rapid-fire scorecard on what’s changing, who’s winning, and what’s next in global trade.
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Trump's First 100 Days, Tariffs Impact Trade, AI Agents, Amazon Backs Down
(0:00) The Besties welcome Box's Aaron Levie and Flexport's Ryan Petersen!
(4:05) Is Sacks back?
(8:19) Reflecting on Trump's first 100 days
(28:16) Global trade disruption, how businesses are dealing with tariffs
(49:14) Amazon flip-flops on its tariff pricing feature, national security issues
(1:04:13) AI agents, 1,000,000X'ing AI, and more
Follow Aaron Levie:
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Intro Music Credit:
https://rb.gy/tppkzl
https://x.com/yung_spielburg
Intro Video Credit:
https://x.com/TheZachEffect
Referenced in the show:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OODA_loop
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/biden-warns-risk-nuclear-armageddon-highest-cuban-missile-crisis-rcna51146
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/30/world/europe/us-ukraine-military-war-takeaways.html
https://x.com/Molson_Hart/status/1915248938753392642
https://x.com/SecScottBessent/status/1917697018551754802
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/29/us/politics/trump-amazon-tariffs-prices.html
https://x.com/chamath/status/1908239828283777393
https://www.theinformation.com/articles/openai-plots-charging-20-000-a-month-for-phd-level-agents?rc=pxkrxo
https://manus.im
https://www.theinformation.com/briefings/benchmark-invests-chinese-startup-behind-manus-ai-agent?rc=pxkrxo
https://polymarket.com/event/which-company-has-best-ai-model-end-of-2025?tid=1746130417369
How Trump’s tariffs actually work on the ground
One of the ways I’ve been trying to sort out the chaos of tariffs and trade wars is by talking to the people behind the software that makes the global trade system go. So today I wanted to bring back one of my favorite Decoder guests: Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen, whose software manages the logistics of moving things around the world, from factory to doorstep.
We didn’t get too much into the numbers — those tariff percentages keep changing — so instead Ryan and I really focused on how this system works, how it’s supposed to work, and how it’s working now, if it’s working at all.
Links:
Flexport Tariff Live Blog | Flexport
US tariffs: how Trump’s tax is hitting Big Tech and beyond | Verge
How much will Trump’s tariffs cost U.S. importers? | NYT
How much are tariffs on Chinese goods? It’s tricky | NYT
How Trump’s tariff chaos is already changing global trade | Decoder
Can software simplify the supply chain? Ryan Petersen thinks so | Decoder
Why Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen took his company back | Decoder
The U.S.-China decoupling arrives | Axios
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
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Flexport’s Third Act: Winning in a Broken Global Trade System
Flexport was a breakout success—reimagining global trade with tech at its core. But when the freight market cooled and efficiency overtook service, things started to unravel. Founder Ryan Petersen stepped aside, handing the CEO role to former Amazon exec Dave Clark. Months later, he was back at the helm.
In this episode, Ryan explains what went wrong, how he’s rebuilding Flexport—cutting $300M in costs, restoring customer focus—and why promoting from within beats chasing outside stars. He also weighs in on Trump’s proposed tariffs and what they could mean for the future of global trade.
Chapters:
00:00 Trailer
00:31 Introduction
02:07 Meeting smart people, seeing the world
03:40 Eroded margins
09:52 Charismatic and overconfident
15:32 Not an overnight decision
20:08 The founder has returned
23:10 Redoing the hiring
26:38 No substitute for passion
31:00 Working for and with my brother
37:28 Working with forwarders
42:14 Being a founder can be lonely
47:49 Life’s work
54:06 The right person for the job
1:00:55 19 countries
1:04:57 Blowing people up
1:07:24 Work and being a good dad
1:08:34 Not doing it for money and loving money
1:17:52 Import and export tariffs
1:22:57 De minimis
1:25:54 Panama and the Suez Canal
1:36:50 Going public
1:42:24 Who Flexport is Hiring
1:42:42 What "grit" means to Ryan
1:43:06 Outro
Mentioned in this episode: Founders Fund, Amazon, Toyota Motor Corporation, Slack, Brex, Pedro Franceschi, Henrique Dubugras, United States Customs and Border Protection, ImportGenius, Michael Kanko, Y Combinator, Paul Graham, Intel Corporation, Shopify, Geely Holding (Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd.), The Volvo Group, Intuit TurboTax, David Petersen, BuildZoom, TechCrunch, Google, Figma, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Jimmy Carter, Panama Canal Authority, United States Navy, Coinbase, Uber, Airbnb
Links:
Connect with Ryan
X
LinkedIn
Connect with Joubin
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com
Learn more about Kleiner Perkins
Special Report: Tariffs and Turmoil — With Ryan Petersen and Adam Parker
Ryan Petersen is the CEO of Flexport. Adam Parker is the CEO of Trivariate Research. Today we host an 'emergency' special report on the impact of tariffs on tech and the economy. Join us for the first half where Petersen breaks down what the administration is hoping to do with its tariff policy, whether it's advisable, what the near and long term impacts will be, and whether Trump will blink. In the second half, Parker, a star equity analyst, highlights how Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Tesla will react to the tariffs. Tune in for a comprehensive deep dive on what's driving the biggest economic disruption in years and what happens from here.
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Here's Ryan Petersen's tariff briefing: https://youtu.be/Z1rBu2-lEY8?si=8ptEQdrU9yiCHWLO
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What Trump's Tariffs Are Already Doing to World Trade
It was just last Wednesday that President Trump announced his new tariff schedule with the rest of the world. And it's already having an effect. Companies are scrambling to get goods on planes or boats to beat the first deadline. Companies are already trying to get out of existing contracts. And some previously planned factory endeavors have even been put on hold. On this episode, we speak with Ryan Petersen, the founder and CEO of Flexport, to talk about what he's already seeing from the perspective of his business. We also talk about how tariffs are operationally implemented, and how things might change if the existing tariffs remain in place.
Read More:
Tariffs Are Dragging Down Even Companies Without US Exports
Jeep Maker Stellantis Offers to Help Suppliers Pay Tariff Costs
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Ep 133: Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen Breaks Down the Global Impact of Trump’s New Tariffs
As tariff drama continues to heat up, Ryan Petersen, CEO of Flexport (one of the hottest freight forwarders in the world) came on the show to unpack the impact. Ryan also dives deep into the hidden world of US shipping, opportunities for AI automation in logistics, reflections on building Flexport, and some supply chain conspiracy theories.
(00:00) Intro
(01:16) Flexport's Mission and Operations
(02:28) Impact of Tariffs on Businesses
(05:15) Navigating New Duties and Regulations
(09:19) Flexport's Strategic Response
(14:39) Challenges in U.S. Shipping Policies
(28:21) Union Influence on Port Automation
(40:35) National Security and Trade Negotiations
(41:06) Tariffs and Business Planning Challenges
(42:16) Investment Opportunities in Ports
(44:02) Port Automation and AI Integration
(45:09) Flexport's Big Tech Launch
(47:02) AI's Role in Supply Chain Management
(53:14) Digitizing Freight Contracts
(58:18) Lessons from Flexport's Growth
(01:09:13) Conspiracy Theories in Shipping
Executive Producer: Rashad Assir
Producer: Leah Clapper
Mixing and editing: Justin Hrabovsky
Check out Unsupervised Learning, Redpoint's AI Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@UCUl-s_Vp-Kkk_XVyDylNwLA
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About the Show
Logan Bartlett is a Software Investor at Redpoint Ventures - a Silicon Valley-based VC with $6B AUM and investments in Snowflake, DraftKings, Twilio, and Netflix. In each episode of The Logan Bartlett Show, we sit down with the people behind today’s most important startups and extract the tactics, lessons, and frameworks they’ve learned the hard way. Conversations span hiring to GTM, product, growth, fundraising and everything in between - collectively forming the ultimate playbook to make you a better CEO, investor or board member.
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Unicorn Founder on Unseen Arbitrages, the Paradox of Wealth + Charlie Munger Wisdom ft. Ryan Petersen
Episode 648: Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) talks to Flexport founder Ryan Petersen ( https://x.com/typesfast ) about playing both games: bootstrapping a startup to millions and raising venture capital to build a multi-billion dollar company.
—
Show Notes:
(0:00) Import Genius
(5:36) Paul Graham's superpower
(9:34) Data-as-a-service framework
(13:51) Charlie Munger's worldly wisdom
(19:45) Prioritizing adventure
(24:09) The paradox of wealth
(28:51) Charlie Munger's student experiment
(31:00) Negotiation masterclass
(37:23) Inside Founders Fund
(43:16) Being in a crowd v following a crowd
(46:29) Highs and lows
(48:52) "You can just do things"
(50:16) Unseen arbitrages
(53:00) $50M Phone booths
—
Links:
• Flexport - https://www.flexport.com/
• Flexport on X - https://x.com/flexport
• ImportGenius - https://www.importgenius.com/
• Schlep Blindness - https://paulgraham.com/schlep.html
• Poor Charlie’s Almanack - https://www.stripe.press/poor-charlies-almanack
• Founders Fund - https://foundersfund.com/
—
Check Out Shaan's Stuff:
Need to hire? You should use the same service Shaan uses to hire developers, designers, & Virtual Assistants → it’s called Shepherd (tell ‘em Shaan sent you): https://bit.ly/SupportShepherd
—
Check Out Sam's Stuff:
• Hampton - https://www.joinhampton.com/
• Ideation Bootcamp - https://www.ideationbootcamp.co/
• Copy That - https://copythat.com
• Hampton Wealth Survey - https://joinhampton.com/wealth
• Sam’s List - http://samslist.co/
My First Million is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by The HubSpot Podcast Network // Production by Arie Desormeaux // Editing by Ezra Bakker Trupiano
Max Altman & Ben Braverman chart Saga VC's maiden voyage with Mark Suster | E1948
This Week in Startups is brought to you by…
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Today's show:
Max Altman and Ben Braverman of Saga VC join guest host Mark Suster to discuss building up Saga VC’s maiden voyage fund (2:23), the advantage of witnessing “great” at the top of the industry (21:14), praise for Saga VC’s Thomson Nguyen (52:59), and more!
*
Timestamps:
(0:00) Max Altman and Ben Braverman of Saga VC join guest host Mark Suster.
(2:23) Building up Saga VC’s maiden voyage fund.
(7:48) Saga VC’s reason to live and uniqueness.
(9:48) Mercury - Join 200K startups who use Mercury to operate at their best at https://mercury.com
(11:22) What Ben Braverman brings to Saga VC.
(13:17) Ben speaks about what he learned working with Ryan Peterson at Flexport.
(15:12) Max’s background that brought him to Saga and lessons he learned from Parker Conrad
(19:58) NetSuite. By popular demand, NetSuite has extended its one-of-a-kind flexible financing program for a few more weeks! Head to http://www.NetSuite.com/twist
(21:14) The advantage of witnessing “great” at the top of the industry.
(25:54) The X-Factor in strong leaders and founders.
(29:16) Curotec - Check out http://www.curotec.com/twist
(30:27) Unique advantages Max and Ben on the foray into venture.
(44:01) What Saga VC looks for in AI companies to fund.
(52:59) Praise for Saga VC’s Thomson Nguyen in his absence.
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Flexport's CEO on Amazon & Shopify, Red Sea Shipping Problems, and Inflation — With Ryan Petersen
Ryan Petersen is the Founder and Co-CEO of Flexport, a supply chain technology company. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss whether his company is competing with Amazon, his perspective on Amazon culture, and why ex-Amazon leader Dave Clark didn't work out as CEO. We also discuss the Houthis attacks in the Red Sea's impact on global shipping, de-globalization, cargo theft, and inflation. Tune in for a wide ranging, deep conversation about the state of logistics and the world economy.
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Flexport's Ryan Petersen on returning as CEO, global logistics in a time of conflict & more | E1881
This Week in Startups is brought to you by…
Curotec. Are you one of those companies that knows you need to be using AI, but you're not even sure where to start? Well then you need Curotec. They are AI experts, and they're offering TWiST listeners an AI Strategy Roadmap tailored to your business for $5000. That's 50% off the normal cost just for telling them we sent you. Check out curotec.com/twist and get $5000 off!
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*
Today’s show:
Flexport's Ryan Petersen joins Jason to discuss the economics of "pick and pack" (5:42), factory-to-consumer effects (16:00), the impact of the Red Sea crisis (24:14), Flexport's leadership changes (35:11), and much more!
*
Timestamps:
(0:00) Flexport’s Ryan Petersen joins Jason
(1:19) Ryan explains Flexport and the companies focus
(5:42) The Economics of Pick and Pack - Shipping Directly from China to Customer
(11:15) Miro - Sign up for a free account at https://miro.com/startups
(12:31) The Origin of Pick and Pack in Global Logistics
(16:00) Factory-to-Consumer Effects on Fulfillment Centers and Product Quality
(22:50) Curotec - Check out http://curotec.com/twist and get $5000 off
(24:14) Analyzing the Impact of the Red Sea Crisis on Shipping
(29:35) The Trend of Companies Sourcing from Factories Outside China
(33:58) Ketone-IQ - Get 30% off your first subscription order of Ketone-IQ at http://hvmn.com/TWIST
(35:11) Inside the Flexport CEO Drama and Leadership Challenges
(42:28) How the Market Collapse Influenced Flexport's CEO Transition
(47:51) Deciding When a Company Should Go Public
(52:07) The State of the Global Workforce and Remote Work in Today's World
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LINKS:
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/flexport-acquires-shopifys-fulfillment-business
https://customscity.com/from-past-to-present-a-historical-overview-of-section-321-and-its-influence-on-customs-compliance/#:~:text=Section
https://news.usni.org/2024/01/07/indian-navy-retakes-merchant-ship-from-armed-hijackers-in-the-arabian-sea
https://www.oberlo.com/blog/what-is-epacket-delivery
https://www.neom.com/en-us/about/business?gclid=CjwKCAiA-vOsBhAAEiwAIWR0TWI18Hs6lr63ifzYvlOoQMChQJQ9Dqmt4XNzza3SoFSC-_16kQtvCxoCikAQAvD_BwE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BubAF7KSs64
*
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Great 2023 interviews: Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland
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E158: Global trade disrupted, Adobe/Figma canceled, realtors sued, Trump blocked
(0:00) Bestie intros: Jason comes in hot, All-In's new Chairman Dictator, Holiday party recap, and more
(7:54) Understanding the trade disruption in the Red Sea: Houthis, global impact on trade, the dicey geopolitical situation, and how this compares to COVID freight prices with Flexport's Ryan Petersen
(35:55) Major M&A deals called off, downstream impacts of a hawkish regulatory environment
(54:15) The new era of startup building: less capital raised, less overhead costs, more profitable, smaller exits with higher founder/employee ownership percentages
(1:17:01) Bombshell class action lawsuits against the NAR and other real estate brokerages, how this could change residential real estate in the US
(1:31:58) Colorado bans Trump from primary ballots
Follow the besties:
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https://twitter.com/Jason
https://twitter.com/DavidSacks
https://twitter.com/friedberg
Follow Ryan:
https://twitter.com/typesfast
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https://twitter.com/theallinpod
https://linktr.ee/allinpodcast
Intro Music Credit:
https://rb.gy/tppkzl
https://twitter.com/yung_spielburg
Intro Video Credit:
https://twitter.com/TheZachEffect
Referenced in the show:
https://www.flexport.com
https://www.wionews.com/world/wont-stop-fighting-netanyahu-rules-out-ceasefire-until-hamas-elimination-671867
https://www.figma.com/blog/figma-adobe-abandon-proposed-merger
https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/illumina-divest-cancer-test-maker-grail-2023-12-17
https://www.google.com/finance/quote/ADBE:NASDAQ
https://www.saasgrid.com
https://www.housingwire.com/articles/missouri-jury-finds-nar-brokerages-guilty-of-conspiring-to-inflate-commissions
https://www.wsj.com/personal-finance/real-estate-buying-home-charts-6dc40caa
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/real-estate-commissions-could-be-the-next-fee-on-the-chopping-block/ar-AA1irqIV
https://www.redfin.com/guides/how-to-sell-your-home-without-an-agent-fsbo
https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-2024-colorado-d16dd8f354eeaf450558378c65fd79a2
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/02/us/politics/merrick-garland-biden-trump.html
https://cafe.com/cafe-insider-feed
https://www.lawfaremedia.org/podcasts-multimedia/podcast/the-lawfare-podcast
Why Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen took his company back
Ryan Petersen is the founder and CEO of Flexport, which makes software to optimize shipping everything from huge containers to ecommerce deliveries. It’s a fascinating company; we had Ryan on to explain it last year.
Right around the first time we spoke, Ryan handed off the CEO role to 20-year Amazon veteran Dave Clark. Then, barely a year later, Dave got fired, and Ryan returned after CEO. I always joke that Decoder is a show about org charts… so why did Ryan make and then unmake the biggest org chart decision there is?
Links:
Can software simplify the supply chain? Ryan Petersen thinks so - The Verge
Amazon consumer chief Dave Clark to join Flexport as its new CEO
Flexport CEO Dave Clark resigns from logistics startup after one year in the role
Flexport founder publicly slams his handpicked successor for hiring spree, rescinds offers
Ousted Flexport CEO Dave Clark strikes back
The real story behind a tech founder's 'tweetstorm that saves Christmas'
Panama Canal has gotten so dry and backed up after brutal drought that shippers are paying up to $4m to jump the queue
When Shipping Containers Sink in the Drink | The New Yorker
Transcript:
https://www.theverge.com/e/23770977
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge, and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Today’s episode was produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt and was edited by Callie Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Our Executive Producer is Eleanor Donovan.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
First Time Founders with Ed Elson – ft. Ryan Petersen of Flexport
Ed speaks with Ryan Petersen, the founder and CEO of Flexport, a supply chain management company. They discuss logistics, the company’s $8 billion valuation, finding fame as an entrepreneur, and how Ryan thinks about money.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
20VC: Flexport's Ryan Petersen: Reflections on Leadership from 13 Years Leading Flexport, Why Velocity not Speed is Most Important in Company Building, How Money Creates Inefficiencies in Scaling, The Future of Trade with China & Why Remote Work is so Cha
Ryan Petersen is Founder & CEO @ Flexport, a leader in global supply chain technology. In 2022, Flexport moved more than $26 billion of merchandise. Over the last 10 years, Ryan has raised close to $2.5BN for the business with the latest valuation pegging the business at $8BN. Prior to starting Flexport, Ryan was the founder and CEO of ImportGenius, a premier provider of transaction data for the global trade industry.
In Today's Episode with Ryan Petersen We Discuss:
1. The Origins of a Generational Defining Leader:
What did Ryan want to be when he was growing up?
How did scooters and motorbikes in China lead to the idea for Flexport?
What does Ryan know now that he wishes he had known when he started Flexport?
2. Speed and Money: The Secrets To Execution:
Does Ryan believe speed is key to execution? What is the difference between speed and velocity?
What advice does Ryan have to founders who raise a lot of money? How should it impact hiring?
What are the most common ways founders become inefficient post-fundraising?
Why does Ryan look to invest in founders with jaded pasts and a chip on their shoulder?
3. The Art of Resource Allocation:
Are the best CEOs the best resource allocators?
What is the single best resource allocation Ryan has made? What did he learn?
What is the worst? What did he learn?
What have been Ryan's biggest hiring mistakes? How did that change his approach?
4. The Wider World:
Is Ryan long or short on China? Why?
Will we see global trade become nationalized? Why?
Will we see interest rates raised further? What impact does that have on trade?
What has been the impact of war on trade and the shipping industry?
5. Ryan Petersen: The Father and Husband:
How has having kids changed how Ryan approaches leadership and management?
How does Ryan juggle 2 young kids and leading a 2,500 person company?
How does Ryan retain romance with his wife while also being a full-on CEO of a large co?
Does money make you happy? What does it help with? What does it not help with?
20VC: Top Three Lessons from Working with Jeff Bezos for 23 Years at Amazon, How the Best Leader Hire, Fire, Prioritise and Make Decisions & How to Be Responsible for 1M Employees and Be a Rockstar Husband and Father with Dave Clark @ Flexport
Dave Clark is the CEO of Flexport, the global freight forwarder and logistics platform that has now raised over $2.5BN to build the category leader. Prior to Flexport, Dave began his career at Amazon in 1999 as an Operations Manager, working his way up to become the CEO of Amazon's worldwide consumer business in 2021. By the time Dave left, he was responsible for over 1 million employees. Dave spearheaded the launch of Amazon Robotics and grew the company's logistics divisions to include Amazon's own planes, trailers, and last-mile delivery vehicles through Amazon's own delivery network (which today ships more packages than FedEx and UPS). Huge thanks to Ryan Peterson for some amazing question suggestions today.
In Today's Episode with Dave Clark We Discuss:
1. From Operations Manager to CEO @ Amazon:
How did Dave Clark make his way into the world of startups with Amazon in 1999?
What are 1-2 of his biggest lessons from spending 23 years at Amazon?
What are 1-2 of his biggest takeaways from working alongside Jeff Bezos for 23 years?
2. How Big Leaders Make Big Decisions:
What is Dave's decision-making framework when it comes to big decisions?
What is the biggest decision Dave made that went wrong? How did it impact his mindset?
How does Dave think through prioritisation as a leader today?
What are the biggest mistakes founders make when it comes to focus?
3. How Big Leaders Hire Big Talent:
What are 1-2 of Dave's biggest lessons on what it takes to acquire the best talent?
Does Dave believe that people can scale with the scaling of the company?
How does Dave think through the challenge of promoting internally vs bringing in external talent?
Why does Dave like to hire people straight out of college? What are the benefits?
4. How Big People Deal with Big Problems: Kids, Money and Ego
What are 1-2 of Dave's biggest lessons when it comes to parenting?
How does Dave think about giving his kids the same hunger and ambition, when they are brought up in such affluent environments?
How does Dave assess his own relationship to money? How has it changed over time?
What does a truly great marriage mean to Dave? Where do so many go wrong in trying to find work-life balance?
SaaStr 629: CRO Confidential: Sales Recruitment in 2023 For Candidates and Hiring Managers With Flexport's Ben Braverman
As the past few years have demonstrated, it's wise to expect the unexpected, especially when it comes to hiring. In particular, hiring for your sales team is critical in an uncertain economic outlook. Additionally, sales professionals looking for a new role should choose their next company wisely.
In this edition of CRO Confidential, Sam Blond, Partner at Founders Fund and former CRO at Brex, discusses the current SaaS sales landscape and tips for hiring in 2023 with guest Ben Braverman, Head of Flexport Fund and former Flexport CRO and CCO.
Video: https://youtu.be/oONsrUYsQtw
Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the 🌎largest community for B2B software.
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Flexport CEO Says a ‘Great Recession’ Is Here for Global Shipping
Back in early 2021, Ryan Petersen was one of the first people we spoke to on the Odd Lots podcast about supply chain snarls and high shipping costs. The founder and co-CEO of Flexport has since gone on to become a go-to name in the world of logistics, making headlines after he tweeted about what could be done to fix congestion at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. (A Bloomberg Opinion columnist called it the "tweetstorm that saved Christmas.") But fast forward two years and it seems like we're on the verge of a sharp reversal for the shipping industry, with freight rates now plunging and container traffic to the US down almost 20% last month. On this episode, we talk catch up with Petersen to talk about what he's seeing in the industry right now.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ryan Petersen on Rearchitecting the Supply Chain
In today’s episode, we have a special treat. Flexport’s co-CEO and Founder, Ryan Petersen, chats with a16z Growth Editor Das Rush. They start with the question of why Ryan has chosen – of all the problem spaces to work on – improving the resiliency of the supply chain. They cover just how complex the supply chain is in the era of ecommerce, evolving customer expectations, and ultimately how we can rearchitect our supply chain to meet them. Given the holiday shopping coming up, you won’t want to miss this.
Timestamps:
0:00 - Introduction
1:24 - Why the supply chain?
3:31 - Land and expand
6:38 - The most interesting company?
9:24 - The impact of ecommerce
14:05 - Building resiliency
Resources:
Ryan’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/typesfast
Flexport’s website: https://www.flexport.com/
Stay Updated:
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
Stay Updated:
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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Is A Healing Supply Chain Fixing Our Economy? — With Ryan Petersen
Ryan Petersen is the Founder and Co-CEO of Flexport, a supply chain technology company. He joins Big Technology Podcast to talk about how the supply chain is rounding into shape and whether that will help cure our inflation problem. Stay tuned for a discussion that starts in the weeds of shipping and moves into broader areas including consumerism, climate, and Amazon Culture.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
#107 Founding CRO at Flexport, Ben Braverman: The Power of Genuine Curiosity
“Everyone excellent at their craft starts from a place of deep insecurity,” says Flexport’s founding CRO Ben Braverman. People are “slow-burning fireworks,” he explains, and we need time to learn how to do anything well. If you lie to yourself, you won’t ever improve; but if you admit the truth and approach people who know more with genuine curiosity and enthusiasm, Ben says, you’ll be able to level up faster and do things you never could before.
In this episode, Ben and Joubin discuss giving speeches without prep, soliciting negative feedback, genuine curiosity, dropping out of college, valuing your experience, embracing Buddhism, outside dogs vs. inside dogs, hiring with enthusiasm, “Goldilocks companies,” the secondary sales paradox, the value of exercise, building an outbound sales machine, “natural” sellers vs. fast learners, and the warning signs that 2021 venture funding was “off.”
In this episode, we cover:
Being yourself and the pressure to be someone else in business (08:23)
What Flexport does and how it cracked a low-tech industry (15:36)
The advice Ben would give to his younger self: Enjoy the ride (21:09)
How he became the founding CRO of Flexport (26:43)
Turning on sales and hiring Justin Schafer (31:25)
Growing from thousands in revenue to $3.3 billion (36:59)
The trade-offs of always being on the road (40:41)
Personal growth in the face of exponential product growth (45:30)
Product-led growth and the magic of list construction (50:36)
The unique way Flexport sales managers earn equity (53:29)
How to spot the next Ben Braverman (57:26)
The connection between excellence and insecurity (01:03:00)
Going from operating to investing and the long window of venture (01:05:43)
How and why both Ben and Flexport’s founding CEO Ryan Petersen stepped aside and passed the baton (01:12:08)
Links:
Connect with BenTwitter
LinkedIn
Connect with JoubinTwitter
LinkedIn
Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com
Learn more about Kleiner Perkins
This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm
Can software simplify the supply chain? Ryan Petersen thinks so
Ryan Petersen, is the CEO of Flexport, ac ompany that builds software that integrates all the different shipping vendor systems you might run into as you try to get a product from a factory in China to a consumer in Idaho: rail, sea, truck. We’ve talked about the supply chain and inventory management on Decoder with a lot of our guests — the chip shortage seems to affect every company, and sorting out how to get products made and delivered on time is a pretty universal problem. But we haven’t really talked about how products get from one place to another around the world.
So I wanted to talk to Ryan, figure out what Flexport’s role in all this is, what his bigger supply chain solutions would be, and why he’s leaving his job as CEO to be executive chairman and handing the reins to Dave Clark, who used to work at Amazon.
Links:
Dave Clark to Join Flexport As Our New CEO
Flexport Wants to Be Uber of the Oceans
At Google, Eric Schmidt Wrote the Book on Adult Supervision
The real story behind a tech founder’s ‘tweetstorm that saves Christmas’
Ryan's twitter thread
Transcript:
https://www.theverge.com/e/23126062
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge, and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Today’s episode was produced by Creighton DeSimone and Jackie McDermott and it was edited by Callie Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Our Sr Audio Director is Andrew Marino. Our Editorial Director is Brooke Minters. And our Executive Producer is Eleanor Donovan.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
SaaStr 563: Classic Episode: Why NPS From Your Whole Ecosystem Is Critical with Flexport Founder & CEO Ryan Petersen
To celebrate 10 years of SaaStr, we're revisiting some classic podcast episodes. Up today: a 2016 interview with Harry Stebbings and Flexport Founder and CEO, Ryan Petersen. In October 2016, Flexport was a single-product company with a valuation of 300 million. Today, it's a multi-product platform valued at 8 billion.
Ryan discusses why NPS isn't just a customer measurement, and how empowering your employees makes for happier employees and customers.
Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the 🌎largest community for B2B software.
Subscribe for weekly updates: https://www.saastr.com/subscribeform
Twitter: https://twitter.com/saastr
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/2724976
Quora Group: https://www.quora.com/q/cloud
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SaaStr/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saastr/
Our North American Event: https://bit.ly/2OXeAYh
Our European Event: https://bit.ly/2OZTad8
E82: All-In Summit: Claire Cormier Thielke on China + Q&A with Flexport's Ryan Petersen
This talk was recorded LIVE at the All-In Summit in Miami and included slides. To watch on YouTube, check out our All-In Summit playlist: https://bit.ly/aisytplaylist
0:00 Claire Cormier Thielke's AIS talk: "Tomorrowland: China Placemaking and the Future of Innovation"
17:40 Claire takes Q&A with the Besties + Ryan Petersen: Understanding the China/US rivalry
24:08 How the Evergrande debt situation impacts the greater Chinese real estate industry, China's still-nascent middle class, How China is subsidizing its negative birth rate
34:30 Ryan Petersen breaks down Flexport's business, the tumultuous past few years, and how DTC might be in major trouble
46:34 Asset-heavy play as a hedge against the popular trend of asset-light, velocity vs. speed, Flexport.org's humanitarian relief shipping, China's influence
Follow the guests:
https://twitter.com/clairethielke
https://twitter.com/typesfast
Follow the besties:
https://twitter.com/chamath
https://linktr.ee/calacanis
https://twitter.com/DavidSacks
https://twitter.com/friedberg
Follow the pod:
https://twitter.com/theallinpod
https://linktr.ee/allinpodcast
Intro Music Credit:
https://rb.gy/tppkzl
https://twitter.com/yung_spielburg
Intro Video Credit:
https://twitter.com/TheZachEffect
E66: $FB's major pullback, Rogan/Spotify mess, Xi/Putin meetup and understanding supply chain issues with Bestie Guestie Ryan Petersen (Flexport CEO)
0:00 Sacks' shining moment 2:34 Bestie Guestie Ryan Petersen joins to break down the supply chain situation: core issues, solutions, things to look out for
45:49 $FB's major pullback: causes, headwinds, and why going all-in on the Metaverse might have been a "frothy market mistake"
55:28 Breaking down the competition in the "XR Wars": Meta, Apple, Microsoft and Google; why a phone might have been a better $10B/year bet for Facebook, Google's strategic brilliance
1:09:14 Spotify's Joe Rogan situation: positions, speech rights, division amongst free speech
1:23:08 Reflection on Baby Boomers' transition from radically free speech and anti-government to authoritarian, misinformation changing over time, using science to discredit science
1:30:10 Xi Jinping and Putin are deepening their relationship: what does this mean for the world, and how should the US strategically respond?
Follow the besties:
https://twitter.com/chamath
https://linktr.ee/calacanis
https://twitter.com/DavidSacks
https://twitter.com/friedberg
Follow the pod:
https://twitter.com/theallinpod
https://linktr.ee/allinpodcast
Intro Music Credit:
https://rb.gy/tppkzl
https://twitter.com/yung_spielburg
Intro Video Credit:
https://twitter.com/TheZachEffect
Referenced in the show:
https://www.google.com/finance/quote/INGR:NYSE
https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevebanker/2021/04/23/walmarts-massive-investment-in-a-supply-chain-transformation/?sh=41a6b18340ed
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/20/peloton-to-pause-production-of-its-bikes-treadmills-as-demand-wanes.html
https://twitter.com/typesfast/status/1451543776992845834
https://www.google.com/finance/quote/FB:NASDAQ
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/02/meta-reality-labs-reports-10-billion-loss.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/02/facebook-says-apple-ios-privacy-change-will-cost-10-billion-this-year.html
https://www.google.com/finance/quote/PYPL:NASDAQ
https://www.google.com/finance/quote/SNAP:NYSE
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/03/facebook-and-google-stocks-have-diverged-and-the-reason-is-apple.html
https://twitter.com/GavinSBaker/status/1462831115572596744
https://www.google.com/finance/quote/NFLX:NASDAQ
https://www.google.com/finance/quote/AMZN:NASDAQ
https://twitter.com/DavidSacks/status/1489321225520238592
https://bariweiss.substack.com/p/get-ready-for-the-no-buy-list
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/26/arts/music/spotify-neil-young-joe-rogan.html
https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/3/22915456/spotify-ceo-joe-rogan-daniel-ek-town-hall-speech-platform-podcast
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10475473/Barack-Michelle-Obama-preparing-shop-new-podcast-partner-amid-outcry-Joe-Rogan.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/02/02/spotify-rogan-white-house-covid-misinformation
https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1488252747489202181
https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1489258034865971205
https://www.thewrap.com/tucker-carlson-liberal-viewership-fox-news
https://twitter.com/echeloninsights/status/1487118055582965762
https://twitter.com/MonmouthPoll/status/1488180589505167372
https://www.wsj.com/articles/russias-vladimir-putin-meets-with-chinese-leader-xi-jinping-in-beijing-11643966743
https://www.voltairenet.org/article215540.html
