What do you believe your unfair strength is?

I believe my unfair strength is a keen awareness of my own weaknesses and limitations.  I've benefited greatly in my career by partnering with folks who may share my core values but, more importantly, complement my (many) blindspots.  As an investor, I look for these same type complementary qualities in the teams we invest in.

Detail your most important daily habit/ritual?‍

I love preparing breakfast for my daughters, even if some mornings it ends up being a rushed bowl of Cheerios.  My wife certainly pulls most of the day-to-day parental responsibilities but starting out the day as a Dad is a deeply grounding and satisfying ritual (and it seems to correlate with a successful day in every other facet of my life).

What is the one technology you wish existed today?

There’s a Sanskrit quote that roughly translates to “The journey is more beautiful than the destination.” While that’s important to revisit and remember as leaders and problem solvers, I’m less convinced as a road warrior and family man. 

I can’t wait for teleportation to become a reality. I will be able to see faraway people in the flesh but can return home to my family and sleep in my own bed. On that note, distribution of freight would truly become a problem of moving atoms and last mile delivery will be about teleporting parcels to a garage vs a living room. 

Who is the most influential person in your life?

My great-grandmother has to be the single most influential person in my life. Widowed at a young age with two children, she put herself and her two sons through college in an environment that was unfriendly to single mothers. She passed away about 10 years ago with a variety of accolades: Sanskrit scholar, math teacher, expert seamstress, and more. However, the most notable achievement and one she likely never considered herself was angel investor. Until today, you’ll hear merchants, artists, and others from her community share their stories about her commercial smarts and support as they were trying to get off the ground.

Her tenacity, intelligence, work ethic, and ferocity is something I look to the model.

What's one opportunity area in supply chain or mobility that most excites you?

The convergence of supply chain and fintech.  I strongly believe that the movement of boxes and money are conjoined twins; as boxes move in one direction, money flows in the opposite direction.  There are many lessons to be learned from the emergence of fintech over the last 10 years and how they can be applied to supply chain.  As startups increase visibility, transparency and provence around supply chain, there will be huge opportunities for smarter trade finance with greater granularity at a shipment level.

Who is the most influential person in your life?

Among the most influential people I’ve had the good fortune to be introduced to was David Cohen, one of the founders of Techstars. Long before accelerators were popular, David helped me launch the first accelerator programme outside of the US. More importantly he taught me the value of #givefirst. With his generosity of spirit and desire to help entrepreneurs, David Cohen along with Brad Feld, David Brown and Jared Polis inexorably changed both my life and those of the entrepreneurs who participated in the accelerator programmes and venture funds I subsequently ran. Little did David know that by his generous example of #givefirst, he was setting the foundations for Techstars’ overseas expansion: as fate would have it, three years later I helped open Techstars London, their first international programme.

What do you believe the single most important trait in a startup CEO is?

I think the most important trait a startup CEO would have is vision. The CEO has to set the vision for their company. They must get investors, employees, customers, and vendors to buy-in to that vision. A CEO has to see the invisible.  They have to be crystal clear on what exactly success looks like and inspire others to believe in the startup.

Who is the most influential person in your life?

The most influential person in my life is my wife. We got married right out of college. We took a chance early starting our 3rd party logistics company and she has been fully committed to my entire entrepreneurial career. We even used to go to truck stops on the weekends and talk to truck drivers to learn where they needed help on their backhauls. Heck, we would even get in the back of their cabs. She holds our marriage to a high bar and is one of the hardest workers that I know. She personifies the quote, "The way you do anything is the way you do everything." I love her and am lucky to be married to her.

What do you believe your unfair strength is?‍

My ability to genuinely connect with almost anyone. Coming from a background of unique and diverse experiences has enabled me to form relationships with various individuals from all walks of life no matter the differences we may have. Rooted in this unique ability is a factor of respect for another person's viewpoints, perspectives, and life journeys.

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What's one life goal you have that's yet to be achieved?

‍One goal I have yet to achieve is to meet a sitting US president. Having met President Jimmy Carter at a young age in Americus, GA, I made it my mission to meet at least one sitting president in my lifetime. Politics aside, meeting one of the most influential figures across the world is an opportunity I think most people would seize.

Describe a time someone took a bet on you when they didn't have to

I’d have to thank Indra Wiralaksmana, my first country manager at Ninja Van. It took brass to pick a bule (Indonesian term for a Westerner) with broken Bahasa to join the VP suite of what would become Southeast Asia’s fastest growing logistics startup. I can only hope I did justice to that faith he placed in me by molding the next generation of Ninja leaders to be equally bold.

What's one opportunity area in supply chain or mobility that most excites you?

I’m excited for a future where we no longer think of autonomous vehicles as cars. In my past life at Ninja Van, we pioneered tech-based solutions to overcome limited credit card penetration and low consumer trust, becoming Indonesia’s first courier to provide cash-on-delivery coverage for the entire country. Having seen tech's ability to democratize market access through logistics sparked my interest in autonomous vehicle development and its potential to connect end users not just to products but also services like healthcare. Envisioning a future where mobile doctors’ offices can easily reach the elderly, disabled, and those underserved by mass transit, I believe we are not far away from medical checkups taking place in one’s driveway.

What is the one technology you wish existed today?

Practically, given my insomnia, a switch I could flip to go to sleep on demand. However, if we are swinging for the fences here, I think the real-world equivalent of Ready Player One’s Oasis would do the best at bundling all of my wishes into one. The metaverse is the closest thing to end-game technology for ending suffering and maximizing well-being that I can conceive of.

What's one life goal you have that's yet to be achieved?

I want to interview Patrick Collison, just to have a good conversation. Also, invest in his next startup.