BGSA Supply Chain “Shark Tank”
We are delighted to announce this year’s winners of the BGSA Supply Chain 2023 “Shark Tank” competition, sponsored by Book Your Cargo.
For the first time ever, two winners were recognized. 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.
Selected from a record number of applicants representing many high caliber companies, our six finalists were given a unique opportunity to present their concepts to three judges, and over 300 industry decision-makers proactively looking for innovative investment opportunities in our sector.
The winners each received $5,000 of legal services from AmLaw200 firm Benesch.
“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.”
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:
- Phillip Akhzar – Founder & CEO, Arka
- Camilo Garcia – CEO, CubiQ
- Mike Malakhov – CEO, Carpool Logistics
- Eric Rodriguez – CEO, Vendorflow
2022 BGSA Supply Chain “Shark Tank” Competition Winner
We are pleased to announce and congratulate DriverFly Founder Julia Pasternack as the winner of the FarEye sponsored BGSA 2022 Supply Chain “Shark Tank” competition. This award recognizes DriverFly for its streamlining of the CDL driver hiring process with their innovative digital full cycle recruiting system.
The contest featured presentations from high-growth, technology-enabled supply chain companies poised for transformative growth. Each finalist was given a five-minute pitch, followed by five minutes of Q&A with our judges. The winner was voted on by the live audience as well as the Shark judges and announced at the Thursday night conference dinner.
“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.”
In addition to winning the “Shark Tank,” for which the prize was $10,000 of legal services from AmLaw200 firm Benesch, DriverFly was also voted best company by the conference attendees.
BGSA would also like to thank all the Supply Chain “Shark Tank” participants for helping to make the event a great success, including:
Finalists
- 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
- Julia Pasternack – Founder, DriverFly
Moderator: Ben Gordon – CEO, BGSA Holdings
Judges:
- Ed Feitzinger – Founding Partner, Opportuna Advisors and Former CEO, UTI and VP Global Logistics, Amazon
- Jack Holmes – Executive Chairman, Emerge and Former President, UPS Freight
- Rimas Kapeskas – Operating Partner, Cambridge Capital
- Doug Waggoner – Chairman & CEO, Echo Global Logistics
2021 BGSA Supply Chain “Shark Tank” Competition Winner
Congratulations to Venti Technologies CEO Heidi R. Wyle, Ph.D. as the winner of the Benesch sponsored BGSA 2021 Supply Chain “Shark Tank” competition. The competition, held during the BG Strategic Advisors Virtual Supply Chain Conference January 20-21, 2021, featured presentations from high-growth, technology-enabled supply chain companies poised for transformative growth.
“I am thrilled at this recognition of Venti and our autonomy technology by an in-the-know panel of logistics professionals. Venti’s market leadership in Safe Speed autonomy is transforming logistics operations for large customers not only by offering cost efficiencies and greater vehicle utilization, but also by providing proprietary logistics autonomy functions such as mutli-vehicle independent control and steering, automated tools for map-changes and the ability to operate in complex and tight spaces. We are seeing great success with deployments of our tug-trailers for customers in the $175 billion logistics hubs marketplace, and building a strong pipeline. We anticipate continued growth in industrial businesses and transportation hubs in the U.S. and worldwide.”
In addition to winning the Shark Tank, for which the prize was $10,000 of legal services from AmLaw200 firm Benesch, Venti Technologies was also voted best company by the conference attendees.
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:
- Simon Murray – Co-Founder, CameraMatics
- Mark Campbell, CFA – Co-Founder/CEO, ProduceIQ, Inc.
- Dmitry Shevelenko – Co-Founder, Tortoise
- Dawn Salvucci-Favier – Chief Product Officer/CEO, Greenscreens.ai
- George Kochanowski – CEO/CTO, Staxxon, LLC
Each finalist was given a five-minute pitch, followed by five minutes of Q&A with our judges.
The BGSA Supply Chain Shark Tank is the best place to gain visibility for your startup. Last year’s winner, SecurSpace, sold to fellow BGSA attendee Envase Technologies, just 8 months later.
The Supply Chain “Shark Tank” finalists were judged by “Sharks”:
- Moderator: Benjamin Gordon – CEO, Cambridge Capital
- Jack Holmes – Chairman, Emerge (Former President, UPS Freight)
- Rob Howard – Founder and CEO, Kindred Motorworks
- Herb Shear – Chairman, Shear Family Office
2020 BGSA Supply Chain “Shark Tank” Competition Winner
BG Strategic Advisors is pleased to announce and congratulate SecūrSpace CEO Lance Theobald as the winner of the DAT sponsored BGSA 2020 Supply Chain “Shark Tank” competition featured at the BG Strategic Advisors Supply Chain Conference 2020 held at The Breakers in Palm Beach, January 23-25, 2020.
“The BGSA Supply Chain Shark Tank was a fantastic event. It gave me the opportunity to tell my story to over 250 logistics and supply chain CEOs and leaders. And it helped me get an outstanding deal done for SecurSpace! I ended up selling my company to a fellow BGSA Supply Chain CEO attendee. Whether you are a successful leader or an aspiring entrepreneur, I highly recommend the BGSA Supply Chain conference and the Shark Tank!”
