Flexport YC Application

Winter 2014Active

Flexport went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2014 batch as a B2B company. Below: what the company does, who founded it, and its application to YC, reconstructed question by question in the real YC form.

YC batch: Winter 2014
Industry: B2BSupply Chain and Logistics
Team size: 3000
Status: Active
Launched: 2013

Founders

Ryan PetersenFounder/CEO

What Flexport does

Founded in 2013, we believe trade can move the human race forward. That’s why our mission at Flexport is to make global trade easy for everyone. What the internet has done for bits and bytes, Flexport is doing for physical goods: giving every business the ability to connect to any customer, wherever they are in the world. That sounds pretty straightforward, but a fragmented and inefficient global supply chain has held the world back from untapped growth and innovation. By connecting everyone in the global economy we can unlock commerce, creativity, and human progress. To do so, we’re building the platform for global logistics - empowering buyers, sellers and their logistics partners with the technology and services they need to grow and innovate. Today, we work with more than 40,000 customers and their suppliers across industries like manufacturing, retail, electronics, consumer goods, tech, apparel, and beauty. Companies of all sizes - from emerging brands to Fortune 500s - used Flexport technology to move nearly $19B of merchandise across 112 countries in 2021. Interested in joining our team? Check out our open job postings on careers site and apply directly today!

Flexport's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Flexport, Winter 2014 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Flexport

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Platform for global logistics.

What is your company going to make? Please describe your product and what it does or will do.

We are building a platform that simplifies global trade by connecting buyers, sellers, and logistics partners with technology and services to coordinate shipments internationally. Our platform tackles the fragmented supply chain and provides transparency and efficiency for global freight forwarding.

Where do you live now, and where would the company be based after YC?

We're currently based in San Francisco, CA, and would continue to be based here after YC.

Explain your decision regarding location.

San Francisco is where we live and have access to a deep pool of engineering talent and early customers in tech and manufacturing sectors, which helps us iterate quickly and build the network effects necessary for a logistics platform.

21 more answers in the full application

Founders, Progress, Idea, Equity, Curious, Batch Preference are in the full version. Create a free account to open it in YC Insights, next to every other YC batch.

See full application

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this the real Flexport YC application?

No. Y Combinator keeps submitted applications private. This is a reconstruction: the real YC form questions, answered from Flexport's public data (launch notes, founder backgrounds, product description). It shows how a company like Flexport would present itself to YC, not the text they submitted.