The Front Lines How Starboard uses door-to-door prospecting with donuts to win freight forwarder clients | Sumeet Trehan ($5.5M Raised)
Starboard is building AI-first infrastructure to transform global trade by improving the productivity of freight forwarders—the central coordinators who connect 15-20 different parties in every international trade transaction. With 15 years of experience in the industry, including roles at Maersk, BCG, and Flexport, Sumeet Trehan saw an opportunity to modernize an industry that has invested heavily in physical infrastructure but neglected technological innovation. The company has raised $5.5 million and is approaching $1 million ARR while creating an entirely new category they call "AI-first forwarders."
Topics Discussed:
- Building AI infrastructure to automate freight forwarding coordination and quoting processes
- Creating a new category in the traditional, relationship-driven logistics industry
- Go-to-market strategies for selling to an "old boys club" industry that operates differently from typical SaaS markets
- The founder's decision to personally handle the first 20-30 sales before hiring any sales staff
- Vision for transforming global trade by creating a comprehensive platform for small-to-mid-sized importers
GTM Lessons For B2B Founders:
- Cold calling still works in traditional industries: Starboard generates significant top-of-funnel activity through direct cold calling, with freight forwarders actually appreciating the personal touch. Sumeet's team achieves a 10% pickup rate and converts 15-20% of answered calls to discovery meetings by being upfront about the cold call nature and immediately focusing on business outcomes. The approach works because their target market—freight forwarders—are accustomed to making and receiving cold calls as part of their daily business operations.
- Door-to-door prospecting remains viable for relationship-driven markets: In industries where personal relationships dominate, physical presence can be a differentiator. Starboard literally brings donuts to prospects' offices, which works because their target market values face-to-face interactions. This approach only makes sense when your industry culture supports it and when the lifetime value of customers justifies the time investment.
- Founders should personally execute early sales to understand the playbook: Rather than immediately hiring sales staff after raising funding, Sumeet chose to personally close the first 20-30 deals. This allowed him to deeply understand customer pain points, refine the sales process, and develop a replicable methodology before bringing on sales team members. Only after proving out the top-of-funnel motion did he hire his first SDR, and only after closing 15-20 deals did he hire a sales leader.
- Physical implementation presence drives early-stage product adoption: For complex B2B products still achieving product-market fit, being physically present during implementation creates stronger relationships and better feedback loops. Starboard's team travels to be on-site when clients first use the product, which helps with both adoption rates and product development insights. They maintain ongoing communication through WhatsApp and Teams channels rather than Slack, adapting to their customers' preferred communication methods.
- Category creation requires education over product promotion: Starboard's marketing strategy focuses entirely on educating the market about AI's potential impact on logistics rather than promoting their specific product. By speaking at events, writing blogs, and participating in podcasts about industry transformation rather than Starboard features, they position themselves as thought leaders. This approach builds trust and creates demand for the category before potential customers are ready to evaluate specific solutions.
- Sequencing product development based on customer feedback: The company's current quoting product serves as a wedge, with plans to expand into marketplace functionality and then full operations automation. Each expansion builds on customer relationships and data from the previous phase. This measured approach to product development ensures each step creates value while building toward the larger vision of comprehensive trade infrastructure.
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