THE BUSINESS OF TRUCKING
The Wheels of Tech Keep America Moving BY HEATHER HAMILTON-POST
Whether you’re a carrier or a broker, Truckstop. com promises to save you time and money by utilizing technology to digitally manage your business. They’re what’s known as a digital load board, which is a marketplace where truck owners/operators, shippers, and freight brokers gather to figure out how to keep freight moving. The company also offers TMS software, cargo insurance, truckload payments, spot market rates, and additional freight solutions. If you’re not in the industry, this may be news to you-Truckstop.com, which is headquartered in tiny New Plymouth, was founded in Idaho in 1995, but many Idahoans aren’t exactly sure what’s going on there. “Our name is a bit of a misnomer,” laughs CEO Paris Cole. “We don’t actually own any truck stops--we’re a technology company.” Cole grew up in Caldwell, and, though he has traveled and lived elsewhere, was happy to get back to his home state. “This is where my roots are. My wife and I, our families, they’re both still in Idaho. I love the lifestyle,” he says. It’s also a great place for startups--business friendly, and now brimming with talented, motivated professionals--350 of which work for Truckstop.com. They’re a company poised for growth, and they’ve 38
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already grown so much. Just last year, Truckstop.com caught the attention of Iconiq Capital, a San Francisco private equity firm who made a serious investment that made Truckstop.com one of the most valuable tech companies in the state. Prior, the company was privately held until 2016, when Bregal Sagemount offered a minority equity investment. Cole explains that it can be tricky to raise capital in Idaho, since most of the capital centers are on the coast-New York and San Francisco being the primary hubs. “It can be a challenge to get those firms to take notice,” he says. At a certain point though, Truckstop.com was hard to ignore. Now, they’ve got offices in Fruitland, Boise, Phoenix, Chicago, Toronto, Hebron, North Dakota, and Fox River Grove, Illinois and around 550 employees in total. Cole says that, for most people, not much changed when Truckstop.com started working with Iconiq. “Most investors are very hands off, meaning they don’t get into the day to day. The changes were in the longer term strategy of the business, which is where investors like to spend their time,” he says. “It’s a misconception that investors come in and dramatically change an organization. For us, working with Iconiq allowed us to essentially double our product and development teams over the span of about a month.” Truckstop.com selected Iconiq because they had a
