Build Mode returns with a bonus holiday episode. This week, Startup Battlefield editor Isabelle Johannessen is joined by this year’s competition winner, Kevin Damoa, CEO and founder of Glīda logistics infrastructure company that aims to streamline the complex process of shipping containers.
Damoa first discovered the challenges of shipping larger loads as a young enlisted man in the US Army, where he worked on a team that loaded tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles onto the rail. He learned firsthand that while railroads aren’t as congested as roads, they come with their own problems. The biggest turned out to be the complex, multi-stage process of moving freight from roads to rails.
Cut to 2025 and Damoa is standing on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt holding a giant check, having just beaten 200 other companies to win the Startup Battlefield competition. In this week’s episode of Build Mode, TechCrunch’s new postcast for builders and entrepreneurs, Damoa breaks down how he found the hardware and software solution to the logistics issues he’d seen firsthand. And he takes a deep dive into how the team came together to make sure these three products (launched almost simultaneously) were ready for a live demo on stage at Disrupt.
“Oh, that was crazy, making sure the software worked,” Damoa said. “And anyone who knows software knows it needs an army of people,” which Glīd doesn’t have at this stage. But that pressure, and the very public deadline, gave the team focus and drive to get their house in order faster than ever.
In this interview, Damoa is fresh off this big win and eager to use the momentum and prize money to accelerate Glīd into its next phase. They are already starting a pilot program with the Great Plains Industrial Park and their next product Glīder is about to hit the market. And the team is hiring for roles in nearly every aspect of the business. Their process is more on the casual end of the spectrum, with Damoa calling it “an organic process” where an initial vibe check and resume review can turn into a new team member.
Damoa says this process has attracted mission-driven, laser-focused people who practice mindfulness. This makes sense when the CEO is the kind of leader who responds to the news that they’ve made the top five on the Startup Battlefield by saying, “I’m going to meditate.”
Using this human-centered approach, the Glīd team has attracted mission-driven, laser-focused people while practicing mindfulness. This makes sense when the CEO is the kind of leader who responds to the news that they’ve made the top five on the Startup Battlefield by saying, “I’m going to meditate.”
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For the full episode and lots more advice from Damoa on how other companies can position themselves to win the Startup Battlefield, watch the video below or listen and subscribe to Build Mode wherever you want to receive your favorite podcasts. And if you like what we’re doing, give us a review — or if you have feedback about the show, contact us at podcasts@techcrunch.com.
