No 1 HE REMADE HIS UGLY DUCKLING OF A COMPANY INTO A SWAN
Brad Hollister had an idea to revolutionize the excruciatingly complex world of shipping logistics. Then a call with his top customer made him realize he was going about it all wrong. Hollister had two kids and had already burned through his savings and retirement plan, and he had to scramble to find another idea for his business. What he came up with seems to be working out pretty well.
Brad Hollister → SWANLEAP
Three-year growth 75,660.8% • 2017 revenue $99 million
MADISON, WISCONSIN • FOUNDED 2013
Two years into the launch of Brad Hollister’s startup, an online marketplace for buying and selling freight space in trucks, he faced a choice.
He’d sunk $200,000 of his own money into the company. Then he’d landed a huge client, and parlayed that win into a term sheet for a $2 million venture capital round. All he had to do was sign on the line.
Instead, Hollister walked away—to start what would turn out to be the fastest-growing private company in America: the Madison, Wisconsin–based
