When Vision Meets Execution: project44’s Board on Why We’re Poised to Reshape the Logistics Industry

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We might be a little biased (ok we definitely are), but we believe project44 is onto something special. We don’t expect you to take our word for it though. That’s why we invited some of our board members—Jim Baum from OpenView Venture Partners, Joseph Floyd from Emergence Capital, and Kevin Diestel from Sapphire Ventures—to sit down and talk about why they invested in project44, why they’re so excited about the logistics space, and why they believe in our team’s ability to reshape the industry. Check out a recap below and watch a video of the interviews. 

We’re in the Early Innings of Something Special

The logistics market is undergoing digital transformation right now and we’re in the early innings. project44 is going to play a major role in that.” Joseph Floyd, Emergence Capital

Supply chains are experiencing a rapid tech transformation. There has been more change in the last two years than in the last 75 combined. Gartner continues to predict the industry trending towards capabilities that will rely on high-fidelity, timely data and end-to-end solutions, By 2023, at least 50% of large global companies will be using AI, advanced analytics and IoT in supply chain operations.” This number is only going to increase in the future. The market is booming for innovative supply chain technology—especially platforms that can provide organizations with a modern infrastructure to build upon like project44’s Advanced Visibility Platform™. That’s why there is so much investment in this space right now, and a huge part of why our investors were so excited to partner with us: 

I was so blown away by the story—the opportunity that’s here in the market, the company’s understanding and depth of the market, I literally walked out of the room and before the door even closed I said to the people that were with me, we have to invest in this company.’” -Jim Baum, OpenView Venture Partners

The industry is undeniably changing and we’re proud to be a catalyst behind that change. Industry experts and market analysts agree that the opportunity is massive. But even a great opportunity requires the right team to seize it. 

The project44 Team is the Best Positioned to Reshape Logistics

We definitely have a world-class team in every role and department, and that’s going to be a game-changer for us. It’s definitely a hard-charging team and a hard-charging culture. I think everyone here in the office, on the executive team, and certainly on the board realizes that the time is now and will do anything and everything in order to execute on that vision. ” - Kevin Diestel, Sapphire Ventures

There’s a reason that much of the change in logistics is coming from within the industry. Supply chains have always been powered by relationship building and domain expertise. It’s extremely hard for outsiders to break into the space. project44’s Founder and CEO, Jett McCandless, relied on his decades of industry experience to conceptualize the company, and he hired a team of industry experts to help him execute his vision. 

That isn’t to say everyone at project44 came from logistics, however. We’re a technology company building a platform unlike anything the industry has ever seen—for that, we brought in some of the best talent on the outside market. We have people with proven track records in sales, marketing, customer success, and operations. We also have tons of hungry, driven individuals starting their careers with us. But we all have one thing in common: we’re innovators with ambition who are dedicated to fixing the tech issues that plague the global supply chain.

Our Relentless Focus on Our Customers is a Game-Changer

When I think about project44, I think about a company that’s really relentlessly focused on the customer and the success of the customer.” Jim Baum, OpenView Venture Partners

One of our core values is Obsess Over the Customer.” That might sound like a corporate cliche, but it’s central to the success of our business. We are trying to usher in a new era of trust and predictability to the supply chain. That requires our customers to trust that our solution is giving them accurate and timely data so they can pass it along to their customers and partners. They have to trust that our services will be working for them every hour of every day because supply chains don’t sleep. 

project44 puts a lot of effort into making sure that the platform is capable and stable and production-ready rock-solid at all times,” says Baum. The company understands and knows that our customers are running their businesses on this and downtime is simply not acceptable, software faults are simply not acceptable.”

A big thanks to our board members for taking the time to sit down and talk about our company, our vision, our team, and the industry we’re collectively working to improve. Check out the full video featuring our board members here.