#107 Founding CRO at Flexport, Ben Braverman: The Power of Genuine Curiosity

Guest: Ben Braverman, co-founder and former CRO of Flexport, now founder of Flexport Fund In this episode, we cover: Being yourself and the pressure to be someone else in business (08:23); What Flexport does and how it cracked a low-tech industry (15:36); The advice Ben would give to his younger self: Enjoy the ride (21:09); How he became the founding CRO of Flexport (26:43); Turning on sales and hiring Justin Schafer (31:25); Growing from thousands in revenue to $3.3 billion (36:59); The trade-offs of always being on the road (40:41); Personal growth in the face of exponential product growth (45:30); Product-led growth and the magic of list construction (50:36); The unique way Flexport sales managers earn equity (53:29); How to spot the next Ben Braverman (57:26); The connection between excellence and insecurity (01:03:00); Going from operating to investing and the long window of venture (01:05:43); How and why both Ben and Flexport’s founding CEO Ryan Petersen stepped aside and passed the baton (01:12:08)