Hey FlexPort, are you hiring :) I would love to be considered for a software engineer position!
Flexport (YC W14) raises $65M Series B
11–20 of 35 posts
Re: Flexport (YC W14) raises $65M Series B
#12Every time Flexport is hiring on HN, it goes front page. I always wondered why...
Are they gaming the system? Has PG a way to pump them up since he is an investor? Or is shipping sexy to the HN crowd?
Re: Flexport (YC W14) raises $65M Series B
#13Every time Flexport is hiring on HN, it goes front page. I always wondered why... Are they gaming the system? Has PG a way to pump them up since he is an investor? Or is shipping sexy to the HN crowd?
YC companies can post on the jobs board (https://news.ycombinator.com/jobs). Job postings automatically go to the frontpage and don't have any upvote system
Re: Flexport (YC W14) raises $65M Series B
#14Every time Flexport is hiring on HN, it goes front page. I always wondered why... Are they gaming the system? Has PG a way to pump them up since he is an investor? Or is shipping sexy to the HN crowd?
[deleted]
Re: Flexport (YC W14) raises $65M Series B
#15I think it's curious that there are four comments in two hours because this industry - like many ready for big change - are unsexy.
What other industries do you have in mind? It almost feels like every industry has been impacted by a startup in the past few years.
Re: Flexport (YC W14) raises $65M Series B
#16Why does everyone keep saying international shipping isn't sexy? It has a profound global impact and you can see it happening massively everyday with the work of thousands of people as giant ships come into the port and load/unload. I know the heart wants what the heart wants, but it should be considered at least as sexy as hosted version control, mobile marketing analytics, 'big data', automated taxi dispatch, or an…
Right?? Did they even look at our "About Us" or "Careers" page?
-person on the 'careers' page
Re: Flexport (YC W14) raises $65M Series B
#17Why does everyone keep saying international shipping isn't sexy? It has a profound global impact and you can see it happening massively everyday with the work of thousands of people as giant ships come into the port and load/unload. I know the heart wants what the heart wants, but it should be considered at least as sexy as hosted version control, mobile marketing analytics, 'big data', automated taxi dispatch, or an…
Of course it is a profound problem in a massive market with tons of financial and world-changing potential. So are things like commercial fire systems, utility-line inspection, and senior care. My snarky barb about the unsexiness of it comes from what feels like excess coverage of gaming, "shared" economy services, and on-demand services. These things are certainly important in their own right, but offering a different way to deliver me a Jimmy John's sandwich is far less meaningful on most every level than, say, reducing the radiation and waste created everytime more concrete is poured.
I hope Flexport is super successful. My jab was not at them at all.
Re: Flexport (YC W14) raises $65M Series B
#18Why does everyone keep saying international shipping isn't sexy? It has a profound global impact and you can see it happening massively everyday with the work of thousands of people as giant ships come into the port and load/unload. I know the heart wants what the heart wants, but it should be considered at least as sexy as hosted version control, mobile marketing analytics, 'big data', automated taxi dispatch, or an…
Of course it is a profound problem in a massive market with tons of financial and world-changing potential. So are things like commercial fire systems, utility-line inspection, and senior care. My snarky barb about the unsexiness of it comes from what feels like excess coverage of gaming, "shared" economy services, and on-demand services. These things are certainly important in their own right, but offering a different way to deliver me a Jimmy John's sandwich is far less meaningful on most every level than, say, reducing the radiation and waste created everytime more concrete is poured.
I hope Flexport is super successful. My jab was not at them at all.
Re: Flexport (YC W14) raises $65M Series B
#19Hopefully this will allow them to take on smaller clients -- we've wanted to start to move some of our shipments from air to sea, but unless you're shipping multiple containers a year they don't have capacity for new clients right now.
There doesn't seem to be a great solution for trying to save money when you're shipping only a few thousands KG a year.
Re: Flexport (YC W14) raises $65M Series B
#20As a former developer at one of the mentioned "large competitors", it became clear to me that the logistics and shipping field is wide open for startups like Flexport. DHL and Expeditors are still thinking it's the 80s and they don't know any other way of conducting business. Congrats on the raise, I can't wait to see what you guys do in the future!
Are DHL and Expeditors the main competitors for this going forward, or is it more likely competition will come from companies within the nations with a significant physical export volume and growing IIoT industries (read: China right now, maybe India or Indonesia in the future)?
It's hard to say - but generally the companies that do well in logistics are the ones with the relationships with the downstream consumer of goods being shipped from China/India/SE Asia. You get the customer (Walmart, Apple, Nike, etc) and you get the shipping business from all their suppliers.