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Ryan Petersen: Flexport, Founder Mode, and the Return of the Founder-CEO

Ryan Petersen founded Flexport in 2013. He stepped back in 2022. He returned in 2023 to steer the company through the freight downturn. Along the way, Paul Graham's Founder Mode essay used his story as the anchor.

Ryan Petersen

Flexport

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We built a B2B marketplace by ignoring 90% of the buyers we got

Fast Trackmarketplace

6 min read·wholesale

We built a B2B marketplace by ignoring 90% of the buyers we got

Most B2B marketplace founders chase sign-ups. We turned away 90% of inbound buyers and the GMV grew 7x.

Camille RousseauLarder

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The real storiesbehind the build.

Ryan Petersen: Flexport, Founder Mode, and the Return of the Founder-CEO

Every story, unfiltered.

We built a B2B marketplace by ignoring 90% of the buyers we got

Built something worth telling?

The real stories
behind the build.