Flexe offers on-demand warehousing through an AirBnB-like network. They currently have more than 1000 warehouses connected by a single software platform. Unlike traditional solutions, FLEXE makes warehousing available on-demand and uses software to streamline the entire process. They have raised more than 20 million dollars, have consistently tripled in size every year in the past 3 years, and were awarded 18th overall on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 companies.
Karl Siebrecht is the Co-Founder and CEO, and is a seasoned technology executive, with leadership experience in both startups and large, global corporations. Prior to co-founding FLEXE, Karl was CEO of AdReady, a Seattle-based advertising technology company. He is also a founding Board member of EnergySavvy, a SaaS-based solution for energy efficiency management. Previously, Karl was President of Atlas at aQuantive, before its $6B acquisition by Microsoft, and earlier in his career, he was a Manager at Bain & Company in Boston and a Diving Officer in the U.S. Navy.
Listen to the full discussion here:
Some of the highlights from the podcast:
- From a diving officer to the CEO of a technology company
- What are some of the large scale clients that you work with? Walmart, WholeGreens, Casper.
- On-demand warehousing vs traditional warehousing ANALOGY to cloud computing vs data centers
- Accountability for the goods in the warehouse – is it on Flexe or the operators?
- We work as an extension of the client’s operations team
- How flexible is your model? What are the limits?
- Move FAST and DON’T BREAK things!
- Surround yourself with great people!
Show notes:
- [01:34] From a diving officer to the CEO of a technology company. How did that happen?
- [07:44] What are some of the large scale clients that you work with? And what is the model you work on?
- [10:15] What is the distribution between on-demand warehousing and long term leases?
- [17:08] Who is accountable for meeting the Service Level Agreements (SLAs) dwell time, loading windows, etc.? Who is liable for handling and the storage of the goods?
- [21:08] How does Flexe audit the physical conditions of the warehouses?
- [24:24] How truly flexible is your model? Are there minimum commitments to time/quantity, movements?
- [29:10] What are your challenges in terms of growing and scaling your business?
- [34:10] When are you coming to Asia?
- [37:05] What is the most challenging part about finding and attracting the right talent?
- [41:01] What is the best piece of advice that you have received throughout your professional journey?
