From Sticky Notes on My Door to $1.5B Logistics Disruptor - Itamar Zur - Veho - Episode #98
MAY 5, 202669 MIN
From Sticky Notes on My Door to $1.5B Logistics Disruptor - Itamar Zur - Veho - Episode #98
MAY 5, 202669 MIN
Description
<p>He walked back to his apartment and found 50 sticky notes on the door. "Sorry we missed your package." <br /><br />That problem became a $1.5 billion company competing directly with UPS and FedEx.</p><p><br />Itamar Zur, Co-Founder and CEO of Veho, shares the full story of building one of the most disruptive logistics companies in America from a business school dorm room to 65 markets, nearly 1,000 employees, tens of thousands of drivers, and over $300 million raised from General Catalyst, SoftBank, and Tiger Global.</p><p><br />In this conversation, Itamar opens up about what it really took: obsessing over the Day One customer experience in a way most founders never do, rebuilding the company's values from scratch after 2022 nearly broke everything, and creating a deliberate program to identify and invest in top performers before someone else does.</p><p><br />If you're building a company and want to understand what championship-level execution actually looks like from the inside, this episode is worth your time.</p><p><br /><b>Takeaways:</b></p><ol><li><b>Obsess Over the Day One Experience:</b> Itamar would send detailed end-of-day reports not just to his buyer but to the CEO, CMO, and CFO of every new customer anyone whose email he could find. By the next call, those buyers weren't asking how things were going. They were asking what other markets Veho could go to. First impressions compound.</li><li><b>Values Must Evolve as the Company Evolves:</b> Veho launched with human-first, idealistic values. When the market turned in 2022 and performance management became non-negotiable, those values created internal friction. Itamar rebuilt them from scratch around a championship team mentality. The wrong people left. The right people finally had language for what they had been doing all along.</li><li><b>Your 10X People Know They Are 10X Invest in Them Before Someone Else Does:</b> High performers don't complain, don't ask silly questions at all-hands, and quietly deliver results every single day.</li><li><b>The Co-Founder Decision Is the Most Important One You Will Make:</b> Two original co-founders left over a fundamental strategic disagreement. Itamar refused to compromise on the vision, finding Fred one person he had met once at a conference changed the entire trajectory of the company.</li><li><b>This Is a Marathon Protect the Runner:</b> When the market shifted, the mental and physical toll hit all at once. He now meditates, exercises, sleeps 7–8 hours, and treats it the same way a professional athlete treats training. Everything else depends on it.</li></ol><p><br /><b>Quote of the Show:</b> "The way you do anything is the way you do everything." - Itamar Zur, Co-Founder & CEO, Veho</p><p><br /><b>Links: </b><br /><b>LinkedIn:</b> <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/itamarzur/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/itamarzur/</a> <br /><b>Veho Website:</b> <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.shipveho.com/" target="_blank">https://www.shipveho.com/</a></p><p><br /><b>Chapters:</b> <br />00:00 – Intro: From a sticky note to a $1.5B logistics company <br />01:19 – The one thing: obsessing over the Day One customer experience <br />05:30 – Sending reports to the CEO, CMO, and CFO why it worked <br />09:45 – The moment of truth: lessons from Procter & Gamble <br />14:20 – Veho's original values and why they had to change 18:05 – Championship team mentality: rebuilding culture mid-flight <br />22:40 – How top performers act and why they never speak up <br />27:15 – The Force Multipliers program: investing in your all-stars <br />31:50 – Finding Fred: the co-founder story <br />38:30 – 2022: the year that almost broke everything <br />46:00 – The coach conversation that changed how he leads 52:00 – Taking care of your body and mind as a founder 58:10 – Advice to his younger self: give yourself time to learn</p><hr />