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Jul 15, 2020 · 22m · top-founders

Freightos: Can they win the Shipping wars?

Zvi Schreiber · 11m spoken Nathan Latka · 7m spoken Eric Yuan · 4s spoken Vivek Bhaskaran · 2s spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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In this interview with Nathan Latka, Freightos founder and CEO Zvi Schreiber breaks down how his company built a SaaS-enabled marketplace to digitize global air and ocean freight shipping. He details the platform's revenue split, unit economics, fundraising trajectory, and strategic roadmap to capture market share in a multi-hundred-billion-dollar logistics industry.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Nathan holds 39.3% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.6 Guest teaching 4.1 Guest disagreement 2.4 Nathan pushing back 4.3
05100:0010:0020:003:07–5:58 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 The Core Problem Freightos Solves in Freight Shipping Nathan asks basic clarifying questions about the business model and tests whether Freightos disintermediates freight forwarders. Zvi clarifies and educates Nathan on industry mechanics, carriers versus forwarders, and logistics layers.5:58–8:40 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Building the Data Infrastructure and SaaS Foundations Nathan accurately anticipates the metrics between air tonnage and ocean container volume. Zvi explains why the initial four years were spent building underlying infrastructure like Sabre/Amadeus before launching a marketplace.8:40–11:44 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Market Share and Air Freight Dominance Nathan presses Zvi for specific market metrics, and Zvi provides world market figures for air freight forwarders. Nathan performs on-the-fly math to calculate Freightos's implied ten million ton air volume.11:45–14:09 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 The SaaS-Enabled Marketplace Model Dynamics Nathan digs into the SaaS vs. marketplace revenue split and firmly redirects Zvi to report net revenue instead of GMV. Zvi corrects Nathan on whether Freightos engaged the buy side or the sell side first.14:09–17:33 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Industry Scale, GMV Economics, and Take Rates Nathan pushes hard for total GMV figures despite Zvi saying he is twisting his arm. Zvi reveals their exact take rates (2% ocean, 4% air, 3% buyer fee) and Nathan walks through a live container unit-economics example.17:33–20:07 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Fundraising, Team Growth, and Customer Monetization Nathan challenges Zvi on raising $95M and incurring heavy dilution. Zvi defends the funding round as necessary to capture a massive market, and clarifies how average revenue per customer shifted with freemium tiers.20:07–22:35 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Standard Famous Five rapid-fire segment where Nathan catches that Zvi changed his answer from a prior episode. Nathan concludes with an accurate, structured summary of Freightos's entire unit economics and business model.3:07–5:58 · Guest teaching 6/10 The Core Problem Freightos Solves in Freight Shipping Nathan asks basic clarifying questions about the business model and tests whether Freightos disintermediates freight forwarders. Zvi clarifies and educates Nathan on industry mechanics, carriers versus forwarders, and logistics layers.5:58–8:40 · Guest teaching 5/10 Building the Data Infrastructure and SaaS Foundations Nathan accurately anticipates the metrics between air tonnage and ocean container volume. Zvi explains why the initial four years were spent building underlying infrastructure like Sabre/Amadeus before launching a marketplace.8:40–11:44 · Guest teaching 4/10 Market Share and Air Freight Dominance Nathan presses Zvi for specific market metrics, and Zvi provides world market figures for air freight forwarders. Nathan performs on-the-fly math to calculate Freightos's implied ten million ton air volume.11:45–14:09 · Guest teaching 4/10 The SaaS-Enabled Marketplace Model Dynamics Nathan digs into the SaaS vs. marketplace revenue split and firmly redirects Zvi to report net revenue instead of GMV. Zvi corrects Nathan on whether Freightos engaged the buy side or the sell side first.14:09–17:33 · Guest teaching 4/10 Industry Scale, GMV Economics, and Take Rates Nathan pushes hard for total GMV figures despite Zvi saying he is twisting his arm. Zvi reveals their exact take rates (2% ocean, 4% air, 3% buyer fee) and Nathan walks through a live container unit-economics example.17:33–20:07 · Guest teaching 4/10 Fundraising, Team Growth, and Customer Monetization Nathan challenges Zvi on raising $95M and incurring heavy dilution. Zvi defends the funding round as necessary to capture a massive market, and clarifies how average revenue per customer shifted with freemium tiers.20:07–22:35 · Guest teaching 2/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Standard Famous Five rapid-fire segment where Nathan catches that Zvi changed his answer from a prior episode. Nathan concludes with an accurate, structured summary of Freightos's entire unit economics and business model.3:07–5:58 · Guest disagreement 2/10 The Core Problem Freightos Solves in Freight Shipping Nathan asks basic clarifying questions about the business model and tests whether Freightos disintermediates freight forwarders. Zvi clarifies and educates Nathan on industry mechanics, carriers versus forwarders, and logistics layers.5:58–8:40 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Building the Data Infrastructure and SaaS Foundations Nathan accurately anticipates the metrics between air tonnage and ocean container volume. Zvi explains why the initial four years were spent building underlying infrastructure like Sabre/Amadeus before launching a marketplace.8:40–11:44 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Market Share and Air Freight Dominance Nathan presses Zvi for specific market metrics, and Zvi provides world market figures for air freight forwarders. Nathan performs on-the-fly math to calculate Freightos's implied ten million ton air volume.11:45–14:09 · Guest disagreement 3/10 The SaaS-Enabled Marketplace Model Dynamics Nathan digs into the SaaS vs. marketplace revenue split and firmly redirects Zvi to report net revenue instead of GMV. Zvi corrects Nathan on whether Freightos engaged the buy side or the sell side first.14:09–17:33 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Industry Scale, GMV Economics, and Take Rates Nathan pushes hard for total GMV figures despite Zvi saying he is twisting his arm. Zvi reveals their exact take rates (2% ocean, 4% air, 3% buyer fee) and Nathan walks through a live container unit-economics example.17:33–20:07 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Fundraising, Team Growth, and Customer Monetization Nathan challenges Zvi on raising $95M and incurring heavy dilution. Zvi defends the funding round as necessary to capture a massive market, and clarifies how average revenue per customer shifted with freemium tiers.20:07–22:35 · Guest disagreement 2/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Standard Famous Five rapid-fire segment where Nathan catches that Zvi changed his answer from a prior episode. Nathan concludes with an accurate, structured summary of Freightos's entire unit economics and business model.3:07–5:58 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 The Core Problem Freightos Solves in Freight Shipping Nathan asks basic clarifying questions about the business model and tests whether Freightos disintermediates freight forwarders. Zvi clarifies and educates Nathan on industry mechanics, carriers versus forwarders, and logistics layers.5:58–8:40 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Building the Data Infrastructure and SaaS Foundations Nathan accurately anticipates the metrics between air tonnage and ocean container volume. Zvi explains why the initial four years were spent building underlying infrastructure like Sabre/Amadeus before launching a marketplace.8:40–11:44 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Market Share and Air Freight Dominance Nathan presses Zvi for specific market metrics, and Zvi provides world market figures for air freight forwarders. Nathan performs on-the-fly math to calculate Freightos's implied ten million ton air volume.11:45–14:09 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 The SaaS-Enabled Marketplace Model Dynamics Nathan digs into the SaaS vs. marketplace revenue split and firmly redirects Zvi to report net revenue instead of GMV. Zvi corrects Nathan on whether Freightos engaged the buy side or the sell side first.14:09–17:33 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Industry Scale, GMV Economics, and Take Rates Nathan pushes hard for total GMV figures despite Zvi saying he is twisting his arm. Zvi reveals their exact take rates (2% ocean, 4% air, 3% buyer fee) and Nathan walks through a live container unit-economics example.17:33–20:07 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Fundraising, Team Growth, and Customer Monetization Nathan challenges Zvi on raising $95M and incurring heavy dilution. Zvi defends the funding round as necessary to capture a massive market, and clarifies how average revenue per customer shifted with freemium tiers.20:07–22:35 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Standard Famous Five rapid-fire segment where Nathan catches that Zvi changed his answer from a prior episode. Nathan concludes with an accurate, structured summary of Freightos's entire unit economics and business model.

speaking balance: gold is Nathan, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Nathan 70% · guest 30%0:00 · Nathan 70% · guest 30%3:00 · Nathan 10% · guest 90%3:00 · Nathan 10% · guest 90%6:00 · Nathan 24.8% · guest 75.2%6:00 · Nathan 24.8% · guest 75.2%9:00 · Nathan 44.4% · guest 55.6%9:00 · Nathan 44.4% · guest 55.6%12:00 · Nathan 29.7% · guest 70.3%12:00 · Nathan 29.7% · guest 70.3%15:00 · Nathan 41.2% · guest 58.8%15:00 · Nathan 41.2% · guest 58.8%18:00 · Nathan 38% · guest 62%18:00 · Nathan 38% · guest 62%21:00 · Nathan 74% · guest 26%21:00 · Nathan 74% · guest 26%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 14:06 Refusing to reveal GMV volume

Zvi pushes back against Nathan's line of questioning, stating Nathan is twisting his arm and refusing to give further internal GMV specifics.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 13:13 Insisting on net revenue figures

Nathan cuts off Zvi's attempt to use gross marketplace booking figures, repeatedly demanding strictly net revenue.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 4:22 Disintermediation and logistics supply chain

Zvi corrects Nathan's assumption about putting forwarders out of business, explaining how multi-tier forwarding and customs brokerage actually work.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 17:03 Real-time unit economic calculation

Nathan rapidly synthesizes the take rate percentages and container shipping costs to calculate Freightos's exact $100 per container revenue model.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
The Core Problem Freightos Solves in Freight Shipping 4624 Nathan asks basic clarifying questions about the business model and tests whether Freightos disintermediates freight forwarders. Zvi clarifies and educates Nathan on industry mechanics, carriers versus forwarders, and logistics layers.
Building the Data Infrastructure and SaaS Foundations 5513 Nathan accurately anticipates the metrics between air tonnage and ocean container volume. Zvi explains why the initial four years were spent building underlying infrastructure like Sabre/Amadeus before launching a marketplace.
Market Share and Air Freight Dominance 6424 Nathan presses Zvi for specific market metrics, and Zvi provides world market figures for air freight forwarders. Nathan performs on-the-fly math to calculate Freightos's implied ten million ton air volume.
The SaaS-Enabled Marketplace Model Dynamics 6435 Nathan digs into the SaaS vs. marketplace revenue split and firmly redirects Zvi to report net revenue instead of GMV. Zvi corrects Nathan on whether Freightos engaged the buy side or the sell side first.
Industry Scale, GMV Economics, and Take Rates 7446 Nathan pushes hard for total GMV figures despite Zvi saying he is twisting his arm. Zvi reveals their exact take rates (2% ocean, 4% air, 3% buyer fee) and Nathan walks through a live container unit-economics example.
Fundraising, Team Growth, and Customer Monetization 6435 Nathan challenges Zvi on raising $95M and incurring heavy dilution. Zvi defends the funding round as necessary to capture a massive market, and clarifies how average revenue per customer shifted with freemium tiers.
The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions 5223 Standard Famous Five rapid-fire segment where Nathan catches that Zvi changed his answer from a prior episode. Nathan concludes with an accurate, structured summary of Freightos's entire unit economics and business model.

Statements from this episode (13)

Disclosure
Freightos digitizes rather than disintermediates freight forwarders
“No, we're giving them a digital platform so we're not disintermediating them but we're making sure sometimes there's two or three freight forwarders involved. We make sure that there's you know, no more than you need and in certain cases, you could work with t…”
Zvi Schreiber Jul 15, 2020 ▶ 5:27
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Traditional freight forwarder quotes take two to three days
“Because if you call up a freight forwarder, you do not get a price instantly. You get it after two or three days.”
Zvi Schreiber Jul 15, 2020 ▶ 7:52
Assertion Supported
Freightos powers internal quoting for Hellmann, Panalpina, and C.H. Robinson
“So these big companies like Hellman and Palapina, C.H. Robinson, they're using our technology in-house, so you call them up to get a price quote, it actually comes back powered by Freitas, so they're using our technology in-house to make their price quoting mu…”
Zvi Schreiber Jul 15, 2020 ▶ 8:17
Disclosure
Freightos marketplace volume grows at least 100% year-over-year
“It's growing, you know, at least a hundred percent a year, if not more.”
Zvi Schreiber Jul 15, 2020 ▶ 9:01
Assertion Not checkable as stated
99% of global freight transactions remain offline
“Oh yeah, I can tell you that we're less than one percent of the market. And, but that's not because someone else is bigger, that's because 99% is still done offline.”
Zvi Schreiber Jul 15, 2020 ▶ 10:14
Assertion Supported
Freightos commands 30% of global air freight volume
“We have about a 1500, but we have most of the big ones, so. Although it may sound like we have 15% of the market, by volume we have 30%.”
Zvi Schreiber Jul 15, 2020 ▶ 11:12
Assertion Supported
Freightos generates more net revenue from SaaS than marketplace commissions
“Net SaaS is still bigger than marketplace in terms of our net revenue.”
Zvi Schreiber Jul 15, 2020 ▶ 13:17
Assertion Supported
Direct freight carriers represent $200 billion; forwarder resales add $300 billion
“Direct carriers air and ocean together would be about two hundred billion. And then the freight forwarders who resell that at about three hundred billion.”
Zvi Schreiber Jul 15, 2020 ▶ 15:37
Disclosure
Freightos charges sellers 2% on ocean freight and 4% on air
“It basically comes to, from the sellers, we take two percent in ocean and four percent in air.”
Zvi Schreiber Jul 15, 2020 ▶ 16:29
Disclosure
Freightos charges buyers a 3% fee for payment and credit processing
“And from the buyers, we take three percent, mainly to cover the financial fees, so the credit or the credit card.”
Zvi Schreiber Jul 15, 2020 ▶ 16:35
Disclosure
Freightos marketplace averages $2,000 per order
“2000 dollars is an average order on our marketplace.”
Zvi Schreiber Jul 15, 2020 ▶ 17:10
Disclosure
Freightos serves 1,500 freight forwarders and thousands of marketplace buyers
“Well, we serve a 1500 freight forwarders, like I mentioned earlier. We serve, and then we, the buyers on our marketplace is thousands.”
Zvi Schreiber Jul 15, 2020 ▶ 18:53
Disclosure
Top Freightos enterprise customers pay $200,000 to $400,000 annually
“At the top end, yes, we have more guys who pay us, you know, six digits. We have guys who pay us two, three, 400,000 a year, and we have more of those, but then we also have more at the lower end.”
Zvi Schreiber Jul 15, 2020 ▶ 19:41
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