What happens when you try to build "Uber for trucking" and realize brokers don't need replacing—they need better tools? Anthony Sutardja, CEO and co-founder of Parade, takes us through a decade-long journey from failed brokerage to $7 billion capacity management platform.

This conversation goes deep on the real economics of freight brokerage: why carrier procurement eats 35% of costs ($44 per load), how 20% of carrier calls never even reach the sales floor, and why only 4 out of 100 conversations result in actual bookings. Anthony shares the data behind Parade's "Centaur model"—proving that AI + human negotiation beats either approach alone by $39 per load.

We explore Co-Driver, Parade's AI system handling over 7 million conversations, the wild reality of AI-to-AI negotiations happening in freight today, and why the industry benchmark just jumped from 50 to 200 loads per week per rep. Whether you're a freight broker looking to scale, building logistics tech, or implementing AI in operations, this episode delivers battle-tested insights you won't find anywhere else.

In This Episode

• Why "Uber for trucking" failed and what Parade built instead
• The economics: $44 per load, 35% of total lifecycle costs
• How 20% of carrier calls get dropped before reaching brokers
• The carrier conversation funnel: 100 calls to 4 bookings
• Co-Driver's AI negotiation: filtering 55% of wasted conversations
• The Centaur model: Why AI + human beats both alone ($39 proof)
• 7 million automated conversations and counting
• AI-to-AI freight negotiations: The weird new reality
• 4x productivity gains: From 50 to 200 loads per week per rep
• Automating $1B of the $100B annual freight brokerage market
• The path from 70% to 100% digital freight coverage
• Why data freshness matters more than TMS capabilities
• Building carrier relationships from transactional freight
• The three pillars driving rapid AI adoption in freight

About Anthony Sutardja

Anthony is CEO and co-founder of Parade, a capacity management platform with $7 billion in freight on platform. Starting a decade ago with an unsuccessful attempt at building a freight brokerage, Anthony learned firsthand that brokers don't need replacing—they need better tools. Parade now serves hundreds of brokerages, automating over 7 million conversations and handling $1 billion in fully touchless AI freight annually.

Episode Timestamps

00:00 - Intro

01:33 - From "Uber for Trucking" to Building Tools

04:34 - The Aha Moment: Brokers Need Better Tools

06:10 - Texting Every Carrier: Early AI Automation

08:42 - What Makes Parade Different

09:35 - The Economics: $44 Per Load

10:28 - The Phone Line Problem

13:34 - 200 Loads Per Week Per Rep

16:45 - How Co-Driver Works

20:28 - The Funnel: 100 Conversations, 4 Bookings

22:49 - Sponsor Break

24:47 - Transactional to Relationship

26:31 - The Centaur Model

27:24 - The $39 Advantage

30:40 - 7 Million Automated Conversations

31:36 - AI to AI: The New Reality

35:48 - 4x Productivity Gains

36:26 - $1 Billion Automated

37:58 - The Road to 100% Digital

41:38 - AI Fleet Case Study

44:41 - Where to Find Parade

Show Information

This Side Up Podcast digs deep into the minds of founders, builders, and operators reshaping the future of commerce and logistics. Subscribe for more conversations with industry leaders who are actually building the future.

Podcast Website: https://www.thissideup.fm/

Produced by: Intermode - https://www.intermode.is/

Host: Andrew Verboncouer - https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewverboncouer/