Insight
Petersen: Investors want founders who will succeed without them
“Also investors want to invest in things where they're like, this guy's going to do it with or without me. Like she's got this. I better invest now before she runs off and makes it, you know, and like leaves me behind.”
Assertion Supported
Petersen: U.S. customs brokers charge $100-$300 across 30M annual shipments
“Usually it's not dependent on the value of the goods, but it's like between a 103 hundred dollars per shipment, and there's thirty million shipments that enter the U.S. Every year and are filed with a customs customs entry.”
Disclosure
Petersen: Prior startup aggregated 300M U.S. shipping manifests for subscription sales
“Every time you import a product into the U.S., it's public record, that product, and my last company actually sells that data. We aggregate every time you import something. We've collected three hundred million of those shipping manifests and sell subscription…”
Disclosure
Petersen: Flexport serves about 2,000 merchants selling on Amazon
“So we have about 2000 merchants that sell on Amazon that use us.”
Disclosure
Petersen: About 10% of Flexport shipments go to Amazon warehouses
“Yeah, so probably about 10% of Flexport shipments get delivered to an Amazon warehouse.”
Assertion Supported
Petersen: Flexport waited three years for US Customs license approval
“March 31st of twenty-thirteen is when we were granted the license by U.S. Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection, and so I started working on the idea in like twenty-ten. Flexport for the, there was three years there waiting for the gove…”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Flexport acquired its first customers via Google AdWords and SEO
“The earliest customers for Flexport we got via Google AdWords and SEO and just signups and people just finding us on the internet, signing up for the service.”
Assertion Supported
Flexport operates its own dedicated Boeing 747 cargo plane
“We have a seven 47. We have our own plane.”
Assertion Supported
Global logistics accounts for roughly 12% of the world's GDP
“It's literally logistics is 12% of global GDP. 12% of every dollar made by every person on planet earth. This goes into logistics”
Disclosure
Flexport took five years to generate its first dollar of revenue
“Now it took five years from the first time I had the idea to the first dollar of revenue was five years, four years of which it was just me and no other employees.”
Disclosure
Petersen: Only 2% of Flexport Shipments Were Hit by First China Tariffs
“It was only about two percent of our shipments were affected by the first round of tariffs.”
Assertion Contradicted
Petersen: Air Freight Is on Average 5x More Expensive Than Ocean Freight
“Air freight on average, about five times more expensive than ocean freight.”
Disclosure
Petersen: Flexport Has Roughly 3,000 Paying Customers (August 2018)
“We have like about 3000 paying customers now.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Petersen: Flexport is 95% to 98% outbound sales
“Flexport is a 98% outbound sales. Maybe it's 95% outbound sales model.”
Assertion Contradicted
Petersen: The largest global freight forwarder has only 2% market share
“Now, the largest in the world only has two percent market share.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Petersen: Obtaining customs brokerage license took Flexport years
“It took us years to get the license.”
Assertion Supported
Petersen: Importing goods can require filing up to 120 different forms
“Based on what the product is, there could be, like, a 120 different forms you have to file, so we have to take the, what the product is, determine which forms are needed, fill those out for the, ah, customer, file them electronically with the government.”
Disclosure
Petersen: Flexport employs licensed customs brokers rather than removing humans
“We're not removing the human elements, so we're pairing you with a licensed customs worker. We have customs workers on staff, and it's more of a communications tool to, like, enable it.”
Disclosure
Petersen: Flexport has three active importing customers
“Yeah, we have three customers right now .”
Disclosure
Petersen: Flexport has a waiting list of about 300 companies
“Yeah, we're trying, we actually have a waiting list of like, 300.”
Assertion Supported
Petersen: US customs rules blocked centralized software clearance before 2007
“And actually until recently it wasn't possible to clear shipment except at your local port. So if you built a software startup to do this, you could only help people importing into the port of Oakland, unless you had an office in every port. In 2007.”
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Petersen: Flexport expects roughly 75% gross margins per clearance
“The gross margin should be about 75%.”
Assertion Supported
Petersen: Imported Electric Scooters 15 Years Before the Modern Craze
“The scooter mania that's happening now is so fascinating for me because 15 years ago, my brother and I and our other business partner, Michael Kenko, we were importing electric scooters, almost the same form factor, similar price point.”
Disclosure
Petersen sold his Amazon stock right before it 4x'd to buy a house
“I sold my Amazon stock two years ago when I bought a house, and I literally, I was crying out. Maybe not literally, but I was like, this is the dumbest thing I've ever done. Why am I selling this stock? My house is up 10%, and my Amazon, Amazon's up like four …”
Ryan Petersen