Heather Hoover-Salomon, CEO of uShip, said an internship she had growing up in her hometown of Pittsburg, Texas, helped introduce her to the worldwide supply chain industry.
Austin, Texas-based uShip helps people and businesses haul items through use of its online marketplace that connects shippers with customer-reviewed carriers.
“How I got into supply chain logistics … was after I got a job at Pilgrim’s Pride, a multinational poultry business based in Pittsburg,” Hoover-Salomon told FreightWaves. “I used to be fortunate enough to land an internship in the knowledge technology department.”
Pilgrim’s Pride, founded in 1946, is one among the most important poultry producers and distributors within the U.S. and Mexico.
“[Pilgrim’s] helped me understand supply chain logistics,” Hoover-Salomon said. “I got to tour all the several facilities, feed the chickens to supply the eggs, visit the hatcheries, watch how they sell the eggs, see the processing plants, all the pieces in regards to the company. That’s what got me intrigued.”
Later while attending the University of Texas at Austin, Hoover-Salomon secured a position as an unpaid intern at uShip in 2005. The corporate had been launched a yr earlier by Matt Chasen, Jay Manickam and Mickey Millsap.
“I saw an internship posting for uShip and thought, that is interesting — an organization aiming to disrupt supply chain logistics,” Hoover-Salomon said. “I truthfully saw things I feel they didn’t see, because I had had that provide chain experience at Pilgrim’s. At that cut-off date, uShip’s tagline was “Ride sharing to your stuff.” This was pre-Uber, pre-Lyft, Facebook was just getting going. So it was novel and exciting. And we were aiming to create the eBay of shipping.”
uShip’s online marketplace allows individuals and businesses to post items they need shipped in a wide range of categories, including auto transport, boat shipping, home and office moving services, and the transport of heavy industrial equipment.
![](https://www.freightwaves.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/26/uShip_Hoover-1200x675.jpg)
Throughout the early years at uShip, Hoover-Salomon said the corporate quickly noticed lots of repeat customers using the platform.
“I’ll always remember this one time, five of us were in a single room, and I used to be like, ‘Wow, this one eBay furniture seller keeps listing stuff on uShip. That is great,” Hoover-Salomon said. “They solely sold through eBay, and I used to be considering we are able to really power businesses here and help them move goods because they’ll now expand their marketing reach, they’ll sell anywhere within the U.S. That’s where we’ve evolved our platform … making it easier, more accessible for business customers to ship multiple items.”
In 2019, uShip teamed up with Etsy (NASDAQ: ETSY), a web-based marketplace for artists and sellers, by offering Etsy sellers a technique to ship large and hulking items.
Once an item is listed on uShip, transportation service providers place competing bids for the fitting to haul the client’s shipment. uShip currently has greater than 41,000 lively carriers/service providers in its network.
From cars to cranes and furniture to freight, the corporate’s platform has helped 6 million customers with 9 million shipment listings since opening 19 years ago.
Over that point Hoover-Salomon became uShip’s longest-tenured worker, going from unpaid public relations and marketing intern to company associate, then director of customer operations, vice chairman of operations, executive vice chairman of operations, COO, interim CEO and eventually everlasting CEO last May.
“It’s been quite the ride. I never expected to last this long, but in true startup fashion, you’re in a position to reinvent not only the business and what you’re doing, but additionally myself,” Hoover-Salomon said.
She said she considered becoming CEO through her years at uShip.
“It was definitely something that I at all times had behind my mind, especially after our founding CEO [Matt Chasen] stepped away [in 2016],” Hoover-Salomon said. “I said to myself, I do know this business inside and outside, and I can see the potential, I understand where we’re, and I can see a path to get there.”
Through the years, there have been some bumps within the road for uShip. The corporate laid off 65 employees in 2020 during a period when the pandemic shut down global supply chains.
Now, Hoover-Salomon has taken on the role of CEO at uShip during a difficult time for the general freight economy. She said she’s focused on maintaining and accelerating the corporate’s growth and adapting to customers’ needs, while navigating shifting supply chains.
“In 2023, the economy has done us no favors,” Hoover-Salomon said. “At uShip, we’ve so many various categories that we ship in, but less-than-truckload has definitely been very sluggish. Our business customers, all of their businesses are down, they need less raw goods, they’re selling less. Our larger partner streams, reminiscent of Etsy, have been relatively flat.”
She said she hopes to see more freight moving in the primary or second quarter of 2024.
“That’s really what we’re gearing up for when it comes to our investments, specifically inside our sales department, in addition to the technology that we’re developing to serve more business customers,” Hoover-Salomon said. “We do imagine that more e-commerce customers are coming back They’re going to be able to spend. … We just have to get inflation in check and all the pieces, but that’s what we’re planning on.”
Watch: What the Truck?!? discusses the auto employees strike, autonomous trucks in California and the newest cargo theft data.
The post uShip leader rose through ranks from unpaid intern to CEO appeared first on FreightWaves.