Founder Stories

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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 sold our first ten robots from a folding table at a warehouse expo

Founder Storyrobotics

6 min read·hardware

We sold our first ten robots from a folding table at a warehouse expo

Most warehouse robotics startups die in pilot purgatory. Stilt sold its first ten units off a folding table for cash on the spot.

Diego MendozaStilt Robotics

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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 sold our first ten robots from a folding table at a warehouse expo

Built something worth telling?

The real stories
behind the build.