Jin Stedge, CEO and Co-Founder of TrueNorth
<p><strong><span class="xn-location">SAN FRANCISCO</span></strong> &#8212; <u>TrueNorth</u>, a Y Combinator graduate that operates a business platform for independent truckers, has secured <span class="xn-money">$50 million </span>in a Series B funding round led by early-stage investors Lachy Groom and Sam, Max, and <span class="xn-person">Jack Altman</span>. Other investors include the Flexport Fund, Tribe Capital, Original Capital, K5 Global, 137 Ventures, and Fifth Down Capital, among others.</p>
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<p>The company has now raised a total of <span class="xn-money">$61.8 million</span> which includes a previously-unannounced <span class="xn-money">$8.5 million </span>Series A, which Lachy Groom led, in <span class="xn-chron">November 2020</span>. Other early investors include Front&#8217;s <span class="xn-person">Mathilde Collin</span>, Figma&#8217;s <span class="xn-person">Dylan Field</span>, Intercom&#8217;s <span class="xn-person">Eoghan McCabe</span> and Des Traynor, Stripe&#8217;s <span class="xn-person">Claire Hughes Johnson</span>, and Color Genomics&#8217;s <span class="xn-person">Elad Gil</span>.</p>
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<p>TrueNorth&#8217;s mission is to ensure the people who deliver the lion&#8217;s share of the value in freight — truckers — take home the lion&#8217;s share of the profits. The company plans to use the capital to further invest in its platform, which gives independent truckers a single place to manage their businesses. The platform helps truckers increase their top-line revenue and decrease their bottom-line costs, ensuring they get to keep more of their hard-earned cash.</p>
<p>&#8220;Many of our drivers are taking home <i>twice</i> — some even more — than what they did previously,&#8221; said <span class="xn-person">Jin Stedge</span>, CEO and Co-Founder of TrueNorth (<em>photo above</em>). &#8220;We increase their revenue by helping them find the highest-paying trucking jobs and making it dead-simple to book them. We decrease their costs by consolidating all vendors in one place and offering steep discounts on fuel, insurance, and equipment. Operating a single truck costs well over <span class="xn-money">$100,000</span> a year <i>before</i> the driver gets paid. By offering truckers a single platform to manage their entire businesses, we help them truly understand and minimize their spend.&#8221;</p>
<p>TrueNorth, which participated in Y Combinator in 2020, has seen strong organic customer growth in the two years since its founding. In the last six months, the company has grown its revenue by 3.4x as it improved its contribution margin by 64%. It grew its headcount by 67% during that time.</p>
<p>&#8220;Most technology companies entering the trucking space build beautiful products, but don&#8217;t solve actual problems the truckers face every day,&#8221; says investor Lachy Groom. &#8220;TrueNorth focuses on making truckers more money and helps them live less stressful lives by tying everything into a single, consumer-grade platform.&#8221;</p>
<p><span class="xn-person">Mike Tomlinson</span>, a truck driver and owner-operator, said TrueNorth has changed the way he works. &#8220;With such a tight cash flow, I was always thinking about getting the next haul. I&#8217;d go months without taking any time off for myself. With TrueNorth, I&#8217;m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I&#8217;m not so cash-strapped these days. Pretty soon, it might even make sense to buy a house. It&#8217;s time for me to discover fun again.&#8221;</p>
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