Fleeting, a Black-owned commercial trucking and fleet management services company has announced its seed round investment of $500,000 from NBA superstar Kyrie Irving and his newly-founded KAI Eleven Consulting, LLC (KAI 11 Consulting) along with Lockstep Ventures, a new venture fund founded by Bonin Bough, Marcus Glover, and Michael Loeb.
“I am thrilled to receive this investment from KAI 11 Consulting and Lockstep Ventures to further scale our business and empower those from underserved communities,” said Fleeting’s CEO and founder Pierre Laguerre in an official press release. “The trucking industry is one of the fastest-growing in the U.S. and I want to ensure it provides access to everyone who wants to be part of it. I intend to help those in the Fleeting family to become financially independent and even entrepreneurs themselves.”
In the new joint investment from KAI 11 Consulting and Lockstep Ventures, Fleeting aims to grow its social impact arm to include hiring and training people from marginalized communities which include women and those who were formerly incarcerated.
The company already has plans to offer a three-month training program for men and women who were formerly incarcerated that will provide them with the resources needed to get their commercial driver’s license upon release.
Something as simple as removing bias from its hiring process will allow all employees access to financial freedom.
Incentives are also provided to women truckers and those with families by providing them with flexible hours along with access to shorter trips by the company.
Along with its social impact, Fleeting will address the shortage of truck drivers across the nation.
Due to 71 percent of all freight in America being moved by truck, experts report that the trucking industry will need to hire 900,000 more drivers in order to sustain the market.
Lastly, Fleeting is leveraging underutilized trucks owned by third parties to create an easily deployable and scalable fleet. It will also utilize more technology to help match drivers and trucks to maximize utilization and make a stake in the $700 billion logistics industry.
