S02 E08: Chris Cochran, CEO & Founder, FreightWise
Meet Chris Cochran
Chris Cochran didn’t grow up in a startup hub—he grew up in the Appalachian foothills, where he watched his mom build a daycare from scratch. That early window into small business showed him what resilience, grit, and leadership really look like.
Since then, Chris has built and sold companies, led sales teams at Oracle, and launched FreightWise—a logistics tech company that’s been named to the Inc. 5000 list six years in a row. His mission? Equip the backbone of the economy—small and midsize businesses—with tools they’ve never had access to before.
Today, Chris is CEO of FreightWise, where he blends software, service, and strategy to help shippers unlock new levels of efficiency and control. His leadership philosophy? Clarity beats complexity.
In this episode:
How FreightWise turned a near client failure into an operational breakthrough
Why most AI projects fail before they start
What small warehouses really need before they can think about robotics
The career advice he’s giving his kids in an uncertain world
This isn’t disruption for disruption’s sake. It’s focused, founder-led innovation—built on experience, execution, and a deep understanding of the real economy.
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