BGSA Announces 2024 Supply Chain ‘Shark Tank’ Competition Winners
BGSA announces 2024 Supply Chain “Shark Tank” competition winners. Award recognizes AutoScheduler.AI as Judge’s Choice and People’s Choice winners.
BGSA Announces 2023 Supply Chain ‘Shark Tank’ Competition Winners
Award recognizes Nereus as Judge’s Choice and Navix.io as People’s Choice Winners
West Palm Beach, Florida — BG Strategic Advisors, a leading advisor to the supply chain and technology sector, is pleased to announce that this year, for the first time ever, the BGSA Supply Chain “Shark Tank” had two winners. We want to congratulate Navix.io Co-Founder and CCO, Eric Krueger as the People’s Choice winner of the Book Your Cargo-sponsored BGSA 2023 Supply Chain “Shark Tank” competition and Ian Zaretzky, CEO of Nereus Supply Chain Technologies as the Judge’s Choice winner. The contest, held during the BG Strategic Advisors Supply Chain Conference January 18-20, 2023, featured presentations from high-growth, technology-enabled supply chain companies poised for transformative growth.
“When we heard we were selected as a finalist for the Shark Tank competition, we were understandably thrilled. Our fellow finalists gave excellent pitches, so to be selected as the People’s Choice winner was an incredible honor for us,” said Eric Krueger, Co-Founder of Navix. “Our team has worked so hard to build a platform to solve a long-standing need in the industry; it’s a good feeling to be recognized by our peers.”
“I was incredibly honored to be selected as a finalist at one of the most important conferences of the year. Our team took home the Judge’s Choice award of the BGSA Supply Chain Conference “Shark Tank” competition, which is an incredible honor and validates what we are doing,” said founder and CEO Ian Zaretzky. “Our Containers-as-a-Service platform Nereus.io came out on top against some amazing technology and tough competition – what an amazing experience.”
“It was a great pleasure for Book Your Cargo to sponsor the “Shark Tank” competition, a truly unique opportunity within our industry to connect with some of the brightest entrepreneurs as they showcased their innovative startups in front of the industry’s most respected, influential, and sharpest minds. We would like to thank and congratulate BGSA, judges, winners, and finalists on an excellent event and job well done!” said Book Your Cargo CEO, Nimesh Modi. “We look forward to following these innovators on their journey to transform the supply chain industry as we see it. At Book Your Cargo, innovation remains the core of our mission to revolutionize and prioritize the container drayage sector, thus to be the diamond sponsor at the BGSA conference was an honor.”
The BGSA Supply Chain “Shark Tank” finalists were judged by “Sharks” Ed Ryan, CEO, The Descartes Systems Inc., Jack Holmes, Executive Chairman, Emerge (former President of UPS Freight) and Herb Shear, Chairman, Shear Family Office (Founder and former CEO of GENCO).
The winners each received $5,000 of legal services from AmLaw200 firm Benesch.
BG Strategic Advisors would also like to thank the other Supply Chain “Shark Tank” participants for outstanding presentations and for helping to make the event a great success, including:
- Camilo Garcia – CEO, CubiQ
- Eric Rodriguez – CEO, Vendorflow
- Mike Malakhov – Founder & CEO, Carpool Logistics
- Phillip Akhzar – Founder & CEO, Arka
About Nereus.io
Nereus.io is a container asset management solution that is servicing Shipper Owned Container (SOC) demand. Nereus.io connects Freight Forwarders, Beneficial Cargo Owners and Shippers with container capacity that they can own and control, minimizing detention, demurrage and other hidden costs. The Nereus.io platform was designed for container asset management to include; procurement, logistics, tracking the assets, and liquidation, offering the management of the entire life cycle and needs for container shipping and global trade. For more information, visit nereus.io.
About Navix
Navix is a modern Software-as-a-Service platform streamlining document retrieval and freight auditing service. Navix enables 3PLs and brokers to automate their processes at scale, increasing their cash conversion cycle and revealing better insights into their freight spend and discrepancies. Navix creates greater profitability through its highly configurable automation triggers, API-first approach for seamless integrations, AI/ML-driven insights, and white-glove auditing services. For more information, visit navix.io.
About Book Your Cargo
Book Your Cargo (BYC) is a dedicated trucking partner for your container drayage operations across the US and Canada, delivering a tailor-made container drayage solution with its nationwide vendor network and proprietary state-of-the-art Transportation Management System. BYC’s cloud-based Digital Drayage Platform optimizes the drayage process with instant rate quotes, operational optimization, service integration, order visibility, and real-time milestone updates transmitted through API/EDI integrations eliminating the fragmentation experienced for years within the industry. The company’s team of drayage experts offers white-glove service to some of the top fortune 500 companies & other OTIs, touting a less than 1% track record of service failures. For more information, visit bookyourcargo.com.
About BG Strategic Advisors Supply Chain Conference
The BGSA Supply Chain conference is a one-of-a-kind, invitation-only event designed to bring together top industry leaders from all segments of the supply chain and provides an intimate and candid setting where CEOs and leaders can privately network and explore ideas and opportunities with their peers. For more information, visit bgsaconference.com.
About BGSA Holdings
BGSA Holdings (“BGSA”) is the leading investment banking practice serving businesses in the supply chain sector. We are a trusted partner for sell-side engagements, buy-side acquisition advisory, strategic advice, and a variety of other investment banking services. For more information, visit BGSA.com or call Jennifer at (561) 932-1607.
BGSA Announces 2022 Supply Chain “Shark Tank” Competition Winner
Award recognizes DriverFly for its streamlining of the CDL driver hiring process with their innovative digital full cycle recruiting system
West Palm Beach, Florida — BG Strategic Advisors, a leading advisor to the supply chain and technology sector, is pleased to announce and congratulate DriverFly Founder Julia Pasternack as the winner of the FarEye sponsored BGSA 2022 Supply Chain “Shark Tank” competition. The contest, held during the BG Strategic Advisors Supply Chain Conference January 19-21, 2022, featured presentations from high-growth, technology-enabled supply chain companies poised for transformative growth.
“I am absolutely elated that DriverFly was selected by both the audience and judges as the winner for this amazing competition. It was a thrill and honor to present in front of such highly respected and reputable judges.” “As a passionate believer in our ability to challenge the status quo in supply chain, it was truly an encouragement to see our efforts validated by an overwhelming number of conference attendees from across the industry.”
The Supply Chain “Shark Tank” finalists were judged by “Sharks” Ed Feitzinger, Founding Partner, Opportuna Advisors (Former CEO, UTI and VP Global Logistics, Amazon.com Inc), Jack Holmes, Executive Chairman, Emerge (Former President, UPS Freight), Rimas Kapeskas, Operating Partner, Cambridge Capital, and Doug Waggoner, Chairman & CEO, Echo Global Logistics.
The prize was $10,000 of legal services from AmLaw200 firm Benesch.
BG Strategic Advisors would also like to thank the other Supply Chain “Shark Tank” participants for outstanding presentations and for helping to make the event a great success, including:
- Steve Johanson – President, Starboard Corp
- Sean Jones, CEO – QuickLoadz Intermodal Robotics
- Bruce Kulp – CEO, Deliver One LLC
- Matias Lonardi – CEO, Treggo
- Miles Mufuka Martin – Co-Founder & CEO, Relai
About DriverFly
DriverFly is re-engineering CDL driver recruiting in the US. We combine lead generation with applicant tracking to offer a full cycle, semi-automated solution built completely around the driver. By establishing distinct scaling verticals, we’re able to maximize engagement in addition to providing automated matching, omnichannel communication, integrated compliance management, and advanced analytics that optimizes throughput and driver satisfaction. https://driverfly.co/
About FarEye Technologies
FarEye’s Intelligent Delivery Management Platform is making the delivery experience better for everyone. FarEye enables enterprises to deliver at reduced cost with a superior customer experience. The low-code approach provides an environment to develop applications with a quick turn-around time and minimal code to shorten the “concept to ship” cycle. The platform leverages millions of data points to predict the shipment journey and improve delivery experience. FarEye has been recently recognized as a challenger in the 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Real-Time Transportation Visibility Platforms. FarEye provides one of the strongest networks of FTL carriers in Asia, fast growing in USA and EMEA and is currently integrated with 2 million+ networks of vehicles through telematics integrations with OEM fitted devices. https://www.getfareye.com/
About BG Strategic Advisors Supply Chain Conference
The BGSA Supply Chain conference is a one-of-a-kind, invitation-only event designed to bring together top industry leaders from all segments of the supply chain and provides an intimate and candid setting where CEOs and leaders can privately network and explore ideas and opportunities with their peers. www.bgsaconference.com
About BGSA Holdings
BGSA Holdings (“BGSA”) is the leading investment banking practice serving businesses in the supply chain sector. We are a trusted partner for sell-side engagements, buy-side acquisition advisory, strategic advice, and a variety of other investment banking services. www.BGSA.com
For more information, visit www.BGSA.com or call Jennifer at (561) 932-1607.
2021 BGSA Supply Chain Conference Recap
On behalf of all of us at BGSA Holdings and Cambridge Capital, we wanted to share some highlights of BGSA Supply Chain 2021. For those of you who joined us, we hope you had a great time.
This was a unique experience. We were sorry that we could not host you in Palm Beach at the Breakers, as COVID-19 caused our 15th annual conference to go virtual. Nevertheless, the silver lining was that we had the opportunity to include an even broader-reaching mix of supply chain leaders, including speakers such as Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel, USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, and over 30 CEOs, CSCOs, and industry leaders. In addition, we benefited from the active participation of close to 200 select registrants, including CEOs, owners and entrepreneurs, everywhere from Switzerland to South Africa to Australia.
A Representative List of Speakers and Industry Leaders
For those of you who were not able to attend this year, we wanted to summarize some of what you missed.
First, let’s start with the data.
On the one hand, 2020 delivered the biggest gut-punch to the economy, and in particular to the transportation sector, since World War II. The airline industry, for instance, suffered a 66% decline in passenger volume, and $118 billion in losses.
On the other hand, 2020 was a surprisingly good year for the supply chain public markets. In aggregate, the BGSA Supply Chain Index increased 26% in 2020. Nearly all sectors went up, headlined by LTL, parcel, and supply chain software.
The key driver was ecommerce. The three parcel giants, UPS, Fedex and DHL, gained $110 billion in market value to reach $343 billion. As people shifted from office to work-from-home (WFH), and transitioned from retail to e-tail, we saw a surge in ecommerce, LTL, parcel, and last-mile shipment growth.
COVID compressed a decade of projected ecommerce growth into a quarter. The pandemic accelerated an underlying trend, and provided a boost to logistics companies tied to ecommerce, such as ecommerce fulfillment, parcel, LTL, last-mile, and reverse logistics.
As a result of this spike in ecommerce, we are also witnessing a surge in deal-making in downstream logistics services. For instance, the boom in M&A for last-mile logistics continues.
Similarly, reverse logistics is continuing to increase in importance. As the market expands to $1 trillion worldwide, the 25% ecommerce return rate is fueling 19% annual growth.
Another ripple effect emerges from COVID: cold chain technology. As pharmaceutical giants race to distribute vaccines for 8 billion people worldwide, the supply chain has become the weakest link. How will governments ensure their populations receive vaccines? And how to prevent spoilage? The answer lies in cold chain logistics. And the technology to support it has continued to grow in importance.
As a result, the market has never been stronger for supply chain technology. Capital continues to pour into winning companies in this sector. Freight technology, for instance, attracted $4 billion in 2020.
The capital markets are showing increased interest in supply chain. 74 SPACs were raised in 2020, featuring over $63 billion of dry powder. Many of them are looking at our sector. This includes EV companies like Hyliion and Canoo, as well as software companies. We expect to see more SPAC-supply chain activity in 2021.
Cambridge Capital Outlook
At Cambridge Capital, we have never been more excited about the outlook for high-growth supply chain/technology companies. The key themes we see continue to grow in importance.
Cambridge has put its money where its mouth is. In the past year, Cambridge has invested in
- Bringg – a SaaS-based last mile delivery orchestration platform, powering the world’s leading brands
- Liftit – an e-commerce leader automating last-mile transportation in Latin America
- GreenScreens.ai – predictive pricing and data analytics for logistics professionals
In addition, Cambridge has expanded its team. Today, the firm consists of eight professionals focused on helping supply chain companies to scale up.
In the coming year, Cambridge expects to back more outstanding companies and entrepreneurs. Please reach out to any of us if you have ideas for companies that fit our themes and would benefit from our capital, people and resources.
Perspective at BGSA
On the advisory side, BGSA continues to expand its M&A services. BGSA has earned a reputation as a leader in M&A for transportation, logistics, and supply chain services, and has worked on over 50 transactions in the sector. Clients and transactions have included NFI, C.R. England, GENCO (now FedEx), New Breed (now XPO), and many others.
BGSA continues to play an active role as trusted advisor to major companies in the sector. Just this week, BGSA’s client Werner Enterprises announced the sale of Werner Global Logistics to Scan Global Logistics Group. Please reach out to BGSA if you’d like to discuss deal ideas.
Closing Thoughts
In sum, we thank you for being a part of the BGSA Supply Chain ecosystem. We all learn and benefit from the collective wisdom of this outstanding network of CEOs and industry leaders.
To see highlights from 2021’s event, feel free to click here.
Please save the date for next year’s BGSA Supply Chain Conference: January 19-21, 2022. Next year we plan to return to the Breakers in Palm Beach, for our 16th annual conference!
Meanwhile, we look forward to a successful 2021 for our clients, to a busy year of strategic advisory work with BGSA Holdings, and to a few more outstanding platform investments with Cambridge Capital. If you would like to discuss strategic, financial, or other ideas, please feel free to contact me directly at (561) 932-1601 or Ben@BGSA.com.
Thank you and best wishes for the coming year.
Sincerely,
Benjamin Gordon
BGSA Announces 2021 Supply Chain “Shark Tank” Competition Winner
Award recognizes Venti Technologies for its disruptive autonomous vehicle technology
