Emerge, a Scottsdale- based logistics technology startup named #23 on Forbes list of “America’s Top Startup Employers” plans to double headcount in 2021.
Emerge is looking for local people to fill a variety of roles in multiple departments, including IT, engineering and sales and operations. This move is more evidence of Arizona’s growing tech industry.
“As we are being recognized by prestigious publications for our growth and culture, we have goals to become one of the fastest growing companies in the country,” said Michael Leto, CEO of Emerge. “We need to attract the top talent in the Valley and beyond to achieve success as an organization.”
The company expects to see enormous revenue growth of more than 300% in 2021, which is what led to the need for significant staff increase. According to Teresa Turner, Emerge “will be making a huge investment in our people this year,” both future and existing employees by doubling down on their training process.
The company’s investment in their employees seems to be paying off. Emerge has also been designated a “Best Place to Work” by Phoenix Business Journal.
Emerge was founded in 2017 by brothers and entrepreneurs Andrew and Michael Leto because they saw the potential to revolutionize the $800 billion transportation and logistics industry. Emerge’s “Digital Freight Marketplace” platform is designed to provide access to direct capacity and live market conditions for shippers and carriers. According to the company’s website, the platform is meant to be “the most advanced truckload procurement technology on the market.”
They first became interested in the freight industry as they grew up watching their father run an air freight business. They even spent summers helping him run the business. It was Andrew who realized the opportunity to utilize technology to improve the freight industry. The two founded GlobalTranz, a software-driven third-party logistics company designed to help manage freight, and 10-4 Systems, which specialized in using tech for freight tracking. The Letos exited GlobalTranz in 2016 and 10-4 Systems in 2018.
After selling their other companies, Andrew decided to build the “Digital Freight Marketplace” to ultimately improve service on everything from quote to delivery, and he brought Michael in as CEO. Emerge has since grown to 150 employees across the Valley and in Colorado.
“It’s rare to find a team that is growing at this rate,” Turner said.