During our Series B fundraising process, we got to a point where we had five competing term-sheets. The reason why we chose AVP was that, first and foremost, it was a venture fund, and we knew that Alex Scherbakovsky was going to always be straightforward with us and challenge us in a very positive way. In addition, we really liked AVP’s due diligence process and attention to detail. The AVP team truly cares, they get engaged, want to genuinely help you grow your business, and we couldn’t ask for a better partner.
Krenar Komoni,
Founder of Tive
Can you tell us about the inspiration behind starting Tive and the problem you set out to solve in the supply chain industry?
It all started in Worcester, Massachusetts. We used to live in Worcester and my wife’s father owns a local trucking company, and every time I would go to visit him for dinner back in 2015, he was on the phone trying to track down where his truck drivers were. Most of the time he would have to get up from the dinner table and start calling them—it was quite upsetting at times.
It was so puzzling to me that he was constantly trying to figure out where his truck drivers were. How could he not know this critical piece of information—even though he owned these trucks? After locating his drivers by making multiple calls, the next task for him was to make sure they were going to meet the appointment for loading the truck, or meet the time for unloading at the final destination.
This got me thinking about creating a GPS tracker to attach to his trucks, so I built a prototype, and then coded a PHP-MySQL application for him to use—so he could easily use his mobile phone to see where his truck drivers were. It was exciting to see him use the app frequently throughout the day. Once his friends saw the tracker and app in action, they wanted to track even more trucks. It was thrilling to see the early signs of a perfect product market fit.
The Tive story expanded when I decided to pivot as a company a few months down the road (still in 2015) when one of my father in-law’s truck drivers, Tony, showed me a passive temperature data logger sitting on top of a seafood pallet he was hauling. I asked him how the receivers managed to access the logger data, and he replied: “at the end of a shipment, the logger is removed from the cargo and plugged into a printer.”
Back then, I had completed my studies in electronics and engineering, had worked for multiple startups in the wireless chipset design and cellular connectivity, and my mind started racing as I realized that this industry needed an innovative new technology—and I needed to jump on it quickly!
What are some key trends you see shaping the future of supply chain management, and how is Tive adapting to stay ahead in this evolving landscape?
At Tive, we constantly strive to make advancements that enable global, real-time, multimodal and multi-leg end-to-end shipment visibility a reality—including over-the-road (OTR), rail, ocean, and air coverage.
Our end-to-end visibility capabilities are made possible by relentlessly innovating the capabilities of our real-time Solo 5G trackers, cloud-based platform, and open Application Programming Interface (API)—all of which make it easy for customers to connect their existing transportation management systems (TMS), warehouse management systems (WMS), or other Supply Chain Management (SCM) solutions to the Tive platform.
To make supply chains more efficient globally, cargo visibility is a must have. Some of the key trends shaping the future in this space include:
● Global and ubiquitous cellular connectivity
● Cost-effective chipsets that will drive down the cost of trackers and tracking
● Amazon-like B2C user experiences spilling into the B2B world
● More trustworthy shipment data that will drive more analytics—and help logistics and supply chain leaders make actionable decisions
A key focus of any business needs to be on efficient growth, and one of the best ways to do that is by creating operating leverage—in other words, growing revenue without increasing operating expenses in a linear 1:1 fashion. Tive is focused on demonstrating that capability to our customers through accurate tracking of data—so our customers can stop spending time and money on check-in calls, and also by using our optional 24/7 Live Monitoring services.
Available as an add-on service, Tive’s team of logistics professionals actively monitors global shipments around the clock so customers don’t have to—providing assurance that shipments arrive on time and in full.
Could you share some success stories or specific examples of how Tive has helped companies optimize their supply chain operations and improve visibility?
One of the great success stories we have is with QuickSTAT, and according to James Smith, their VP of Global Operations, “The use of live geolocation and temperature tracking is integral to complex healthcare supply chains, including Cell and Gene Therapies, high-importance study medications, and Direct-To/From-Patient clinical trials. These tools help to proactively mitigate the many challenges that may occur during transit, due to the ability to view live data, which protects product integrity—and ultimately improves the patient experience.”
In June of this year [2023], one of the largest electronics manufacturers in the world was able to stop an unauthorized transloading of a shipment during their first-ever tracked load with Tive—creating one of the quickest time-to-value/speed-to-value examples in our history!
Data security is a critical concern in the supply chain industry. How does Tive address the issue of data protection and ensure the privacy of customer information?
In 2022, we announced that we had undergone a System and Organization Controls (SOC) 2 Type 2 examination, resulting in a CPA’s report stating that we maintained effective controls over the security of the Tive cloud application. We also achieved certification to ISO/IEC 27001:2013—an internationally recognized standard of requirements for an Information Security Management System (ISMS).
The SOC 2 and ISO 27001 certifications demonstrate that we have the appropriate controls in place to reduce and mitigate risks related to information security. We value our customers’ trust, and showing them that we take security seriously is a crucial part in earning that trust.
How do you envision Tive evolving in the coming years? Are there any new features or expansions on the horizon that you can share?
Our goal is to forge an interconnected web of open visibility that ensures transparency, efficiency, and reliability throughout the global trade ecosystem—and multimodal, multi-leg international shipment tracking is the key to unlocking a truly seamless global supply chain.
Tive will continue to improve visibility by building new, more application-specific trackers; expanding the technology and use cases for our innovative Tive Tag; releasing more advanced data analytics and making data even more actionable for our customers; and by expanding our data science offerings. We are also going to continue expanding our 24/7 Live Monitoring service offering.
Finally, what advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs who want to make an impact in the supply chain or logistics industry?
If I had to pick an industry that is ripe for innovation—and where entrepreneurs can continue to have tremendous impact—it is in the supply chain and logistics industry.
My advice would be to get to know people in this industry and ask them a few questions. I am 100% confident they would love to tell you about all the challenges and inefficiencies that exist across many parts of the industry—areas which provide endless opportunities for innovation. I am also confident that as an entrepreneur, given your specific background, you can find a way to solve and tackle some of these challenges using your expertise.
Supply chain and logistics is like the early days of the Internet. There is so much ahead for this industry—and it needs more entrepreneurs to make it happen! Please jump on board and join us!
