Building a Freight Juggernaut Again with Michael Leto

Michael Leto and Joe Lynch talk about building a freight juggernaut again. Michael is the CEO of Emerge, a digital freight marketplace that was built specifically for carriers and shippers. The platform enables carriers to bid on spot and contract business that they wouldn’t otherwise have access to. Additionally, Emerge enables shippers to choose from thousands of vetted carriers or better manage their RFP communication with their existing carriers.

About Michael Leto

Michael Leto, CEO of Emerge, has been in the transportation industry for over 21 years and played an active role in creating one of the largest and fastest-growing 3PLs in the country. He has been recognized as one of Arizona’s “Top 35 Entrepreneurs 35 and Younger” by AZ Central, “40 Under 40” by Phoenix Business Journal, and creating a culture awarded “Best Places to Work”. He has a proven track record of building and scaling successful e-commerce platforms and assimilating teams to drive results and execute strategic initiatives.

About Emerge

Emerge, based in Scottsdale, AZ, is one of the fastest-growing startups in the U.S. and is transforming the $800 billion transportation and logistics industry with its digital freight marketplace platform. Emerge’s award-winning marketplace provides access to direct capacity and live market conditions helping shippers and carriers make the strongest, most beneficial decisions when procuring domestic freight. Launched in 2017, Emerge is backed by Greycroft, New Road Capital, 9Yards Capital, and the founder of GlobalTranz.

Key Takeaways: Building a Freight Juggernaut Again

Michael Leto and his brother Andrew built the freight juggernaut, GlobalTranz. The brothers and their team pioneered a new way of managing freight. Their innovative approach enabled them to grow quickly and become one of the most successful 3PLs in the country.
GlobalTranz developed a transportation management system at a time when few companies understood the power of the new technology.
Additionally, GlobalTranz treated their carriers (and agents) as customers while many freight brokers had adversarial relationships with carriers.
After their successful exit at GlobalTranz, Andrew and Michael founded Emerge with the goal of transforming the freight marketplace again.
Emerge is a free freight marketplace built for both shippers and carriers.
With Emerge, shippers can ditch the blast emails to carriers and the mind-numbing Excel spreadsheets and upgrade to an advanced procurement tool for managing both spot and contract relationships.
The Emerge Marketplace gives shippers access to the lowest rates on live capacity with just a few clicks.
Emerge enables shippers to grow their partner network by connecting to thousands of verified carriers and brokers to ensure their loads are always covered.
Carriers gain access and bid directly on exclusive contract and spot lanes that they would not otherwise have access to. Emerge’s network connects carriers with shippers of all sizes, providing more opportunities for carriers to work in their preferred lanes.