WorkHound is a software platform attacking the alarming 97 percent turnover rate within the trucking industry.
Using WorkHound, trucking companies can retain their drivers by improving driver experience. The mobile application enables truck drivers to share feedback—praise, problems and ideas—directly with carriers in real-time. That feedback is turned into actionable insights truck carriers can use to enact change, and ultimately better retain their drivers.
WorkHound is currently in the middle of the Straight Shot accelerator in Omaha. SPN interviewed co-founders Andrew Kirpalani and Max Farrell about WorkHound’s experience so far:
SPN: Who do you call on for advice? Either personally or as a hero-type.
Thanks to our sponsor
AK: Heroes are for the birds. We’re all just people. If there is one thing I’m sick of in the startup community, it’s Elon Musk worship. I go to people I know, trust, and respect and who have done something I want to emulate. Tej Dhawan, Christian Renaud, Erin, Rollenhagen, John Jackovin, Levi Rosol, Emma Peterson, my own badass Grandfather. The list goes on. I want to learn from a person’s experience and have a drink with them; I have no time for hero worship.
SPN: What is keeping you awake right now?
MF: The pressure to show progress. The accelerator experience is a blend of adding rocket fuel to an idea, adding to our entrepreneurial toolboxes and building a high value network for the long term. Learning is fantastic part of the experience, but if we don’t generate traction, we die.
SPN: What was the latest milestone you achieve and how did your startup celebrate?
AK: We made our first sale. We had a beer at lunch and got back to work.
SPN: If your company had one motto, what is it?
MF: Hustle.
SPN: What’s the best advice you’ve received from a fellow Silicon Prairie-ite?
MF: Not necessarily Silicon Prairie, but Adam Griffin of Galvanize, a Straight Shot mentor, shared that you can increase your capacity by 38% when working from Friday at 5pm to Monday at 9am, as that’s when the competition is resting. That sort of mindset has taught us a new level of work ethic, hustle and determination to keep creating value.
SPN: What’s the best reaction you’ve received when you shared that you’re an entrepreneur or work in startups?
MF: Free lunches from people knowing we’re balling on a budget. Thank y’all.
SPN: How do you stay focused?
MF: Recharging is essential. A mix of going to the gym, taking a few nights off and taking most of Saturdays to connect to our friends and family is really important for our team. We grind when we need to, but we also know that productivity falls off if try to stay in turbo mode all the time.
SPN: What makes your team the winning team? How will you beat your competitors?
AK: We are a well-rounded team that also knows it’s weaknesses. Both of us are competent in many areas. I can code, and Max is more comfortable on a cold call. But we can both handle most parts of the business at a passable level. We also both know we have no skill or interest in accounting. So we pay for that. Know thyself.
We also know our industry. We’ve seen employee engagement and we know when it does and doesn’t work. Trade professionals require a different approach than knowledge workers and we seem to be the only ones willing to try those approaches.
SPN: How can the Silicon Prairie readers help you?
MF: WorkHound is looking for connections to trucking executives, specifically, champions within trucking companies that have between 100-1000 drivers. If you know anyone, Max can send you an intro note to forward to them. Please connect with max@workhoundapp.com.
SPN: What else should we know?
MF: We write a weekly recap of our accelerator experience, progress and learnings on Medium:
Andrew wrote our latest post discussing the pros and cons of taking an investor’s counsel vs. his/her capital.
—
Straight Shot Demo Day tickets can be reserved here.
Ryan Pendell is the Managing Editor of Silicon Prairie News.
