Ryan Petersen is the founder and CEO of Flexport, a unicorn international freight forwarding business. He’s also a Venture Partner at Founders Fund.
In this episode of World of DaaS, Ryan breaks down the freight forwarding business and discusses the challenges and complexities involved with moving goods across the world. He highlights the need for software integration and the lack of data standards in the industry, and also discusses the inefficiencies in trucking, warehouse management systems, and port operations. Ryan explains how infrastructure issues union-management dynamics are affecting US ports, and why we're slower than other countries.
Ryan and I also dive into the geopolitics of global trade. Ryan explains the impact of the Houthi rebels in Yemen and how they’ve massively increased the price of container shipping. We also discuss the changing role of the US Navy in global trade, and Ryan explains how the market dynamics of freight forwarding have kept the industry from consolidating. To close out the conversation, we discuss recruiting executives and Ryan’s experiences working with Peter Thiel at Founders Fund.
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You can find me on X at @auren and Ryan on X at @typesfast.