Matthew Kropp

Matthew Kropp

Matt is CEO of FR8Star.com, the digital marketplace for flatbed and oversized truck freight. Bringing together 10 years starting Internet 1.0 companies and 10 years consulting for truck manufacturers to build a killer team to transform trucking.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-kropp
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kropp_matthew
Oakland, California, United States
Accredited investor
Member since May 24, 2017
Quote
Platforms are transforming the business world. Come help FR8Star.com bring the revolution to the $50B flatbed freight market - we're hiring! Quote_down
  • About
Investor interests
Categories of interest
Locations of interest
Credentials Accredited Investor
Education
2006 Wharton , MBA , Finance and Strategy
1995 UCLA , BS , Aerospace Engineering
I am a(n):

Entrepreneur

Companies I've founded or co-founded:
FR8 Revolution, Lot 11 Studios, Velodea, PRMTV, Transplant Connect
Companies I work or worked for:
Boston Consulting Group, USWeb/CKS
Achievements (products built, personal awards won):

Transplant Connect is the leading electronic medical record for the organ and tissue donation industry - 70% of organs donated in the US are managed through our system.

If you're an entrepreneur or corporate innovator, why?

I want to invent something cool.

My favorite startups:

Particle, IFTTT, Serverless, Amazon (hey I was building web applications in 1995 - they will forever be a startup to me)

What's most frustrating and rewarding about entrepreneurship/innovation?

There is nothing more exhilarating than conceiving of the world changed by your idea and then walking the path to that world from today. Ideas are the power behind all forward motion in society and entrepreneurs are the craftsman for ideas. Frustration is the time it takes to walk that path.

What's the No. 1 mistake entrepreneurs/innovators make?

Launching too late is death. Since no product survives first contact with the customer, get that contact as fast as possible. You can see the end of the path - what the world looks like with your idea fully realized. But what you can't see is how others react to your idea. That is only visible once your idea is out in the market. The sooner you can get contact with the customer, the sooner you realize that your mental model for the world is wrong. Don't despair! Your vision is still right - and you now know more about how to make it viable in the real world. But if you don't get your first idea out to the market quickly, you will be stuck living in your initial model of the world.

What are the top three lessons you've learned as an entrepreneur?

1. Launch early and often - our motto: Blow things up (and ask forgiveness later)
2. Focus on getting the best talent and building a positive and distinctive culture
3. Crack the whip and be patient - Making progress requires relentless pushing while also realizing that progress takes time

Full bio

Passionate about digital innovation and building high-performing teams. Spent first 10 years of career as entrepreneur building digital businesses in Internet 1.0 including Transplant Connect, the leading EMR for organ and tissue donation. Next ten years honed people development and strategy skills at the Boston Consulting Group, focused on the Trucking and Technology sectors and the intersection of the two, as well as B2B pricing. Envisioned and brought into existence cloud-based data science platform for BCG. Founded and now CEO of  trucking logistics software startup, FR8Star.com. Holds MBA from The Wharton School and B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from UCLA. Interests include mountain biking, backcountry skiing and performing science experiments with his two boys, including launching a GoPro VR rig to the edge of space.