wo years into the launch of
Brad Hollister’s startup, an
online marketplace for buying
and selling freight space in
trucks, he faced a choice.
He’d sunk $200,000
of his own money into the company. Then he’d landed a huge
client, and parlayed that win
into a term sheet for a $2 million
venture capital round. All he
had to do was sign on the line.
Instead, Hollister walked
away—to start what would
turn out to be the fastest-grow-
ing private company in America:
the Madison, Wisconsin–based SwanLeap,
which uses an artificial intelligence plat-
form and custom software to help huge
manufacturers and retailers and other
clients save money on shipping and better
manage their supply chains.
In 2013—SwanLeap’s first full year—it
had revenue of $110,000. In 2015, it crossed
the million-dollar mark. By October 2017,
the company was tracking to take in at least
$70 million that year, and Hollister felt
confident enough to approach Inc.’s editor
in chief, James Ledbetter, during a cocktail
hour at the Inc. 5000 Conference and
predict that his company would be No. 1
for 2018. “He said, ‘That’s what everyone
says,’;” Hollister recalls.
But Hollister was right. Even if, in October ’ 17, he wildly underestimated how the
company would do that year: SwanLeap
ended up taking in just shy of $100 million,
good for a nosebleed-inducing three-year
growth rate of 75,660.8 percent. Forgive
him for the imprecision, because SwanLeap
has been growing as fast as it can hire
software developers, who are a rare
HE REMADE HIS UGLY DUCKLING OF A COMPANY INTO A SWAN
Brad Hollister had an idea to revolutionize the excruciatingly complex
world of shipping logistics. Then a call with his top customer made him
realize he was going about it all wrong. Hollister had two kids and had
already burned through his savings and retirement plan, and he had to
scramble to find another idea for his business. What he came up with
seems to be working out pretty well. BY JEFF BERCOVICI
