From Startup to Market Leader: Michael Kraus Explains It All скачать в хорошем качестве

From Startup to Market Leader: Michael Kraus Explains It All

Chairman & CEO Michael Kraus joins Jason Burns on Last2First to break down how Expak Logistics rebuilt from the ground up, including the bold choice to walk away from Amazon, shift to an asset-light managed transportation model, and scale nationwide through an agent network, strong SOPs, and obsessive operational discipline. If you’re building in the final mile / middle mile / retail distribution, this episode is packed with real operator insight: how to price intelligently, choose the right carrier partners, run clean launches, reduce noise for customers, and win long-term through consistency. 01:44 — Intro + meeting Michael Kraus in California 03:14 — Michael’s origin story: Wall Street → M&A → logistics 06:24 — The “printing + parcels” synergy that didn’t work 08:34 — Why logistics was the long-term bet 09:49 — Discovering X Pack Logistics (2011–2012) 11:24 — The bold reset: selling off ~80–90% of revenue 13:24 — The Amazon growth lesson: “not just any growth” 15:04 — X Pack today: nationwide coverage + agent network model 16:54 — Why customers trust them without owning assets 18:54 — How X Pack manages 50+ active partners (and a database of 800) 20:49 — Front-end analytics + the “one-pager” carrier package 24:04 — SOPs that actually get read + how they launch new programs 26:54 — Pricing guidance: art + science + capacity reality 29:24 — What makes a great carrier partner 30:49 — “Why do we exist?” accountability vs blaming subcontractors 33:09 — Private equity perspective: building long-term (no debt) 35:54 — Leadership shift: investor → operator lessons 37:54 — Writing SOPs for real-world execution (not “Wall Street lawyers”) 40:04 — AI in logistics: where it helps + where it doesn’t 42:54 — Sales = relationships: “email isn’t closing a deal” 45:44 — Parenting + coaching: delegation, mistakes, growth 48:54 — Competitive edge + “chip on my shoulder” mindset 50:54 — Quiet peak season = operational excellence 53:54 — Future of last mile: service, stability, and “quieting the noise” 57:04 — California risk (AB5 / classification) + being thoughtful 58:54 — “Last2First moment”: walking away from Amazon 1:00:54 — Closing thoughts + what X Pack is focused on next Guest: Michael Kraus/   / michael-s-kraus-547a278   https://expak.com/ 👉 Subscribe on YouTube:    / @last2firstpodcast   🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3gDS58w... 🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/hn/podcast... 🏈 Join the Huddle: www.l2fhuddle.com 📌 Shoutout to our Sponsors! Dropoff Inc. https://www.dropoff.com/ info@dropoff.com +1 888-376-7633 GigSafe https://www.gigsafe.com/ +1 407-496-9882 Deliver Different https://deliverdifferent.com/ SCI https://sciadmin.com/