Oway

What do they actually do

Oway runs a web freight marketplace that lets businesses shipping pallets get instant quotes and book space on long‑haul trucks already headed in the right direction. Shippers use a self‑serve portal to price and place orders; the platform handles paperwork, insurance/compliance checks, and assigns a carrier. Carriers and fleet operators use a driver portal to receive jobs and monetize spare trailer space with short, pre‑vetted detours (Oway homepage, Oway FAQ).

Behind the scenes, Oway uses electronic logging device (ELD) telematics and machine learning to find trucks near a pickup and suggest small detours, then matches in near real time during business hours. Loads move door‑to‑door and avoid typical LTL terminal handoffs, which can reduce handling and transit time; the company also promotes same‑day average weekday pickups on its site (FreightWaves, TechCrunch, Oway homepage).

The product is live today with public shipper and driver portals and active matching, and Oway lists multi‑state coverage and scale indicators (for example, vehicle counts) on its homepage; those figures are company‑reported (Oway homepage).

Who are their target customer(s)

• Small and mid‑sized pallet shippers (manufacturers, wholesalers, regional distributors): They need lower, predictable pallet rates and simpler booking. Traditional LTL adds terminal handoffs, variable transit times, and extra fees that hurt reliability and cost (Oway homepage).
• E‑commerce and retail fulfillment managers handling regional replenishment: They need faster door‑to‑door windows to avoid stockouts. LTL hub flows are slow and inconsistent, making inventory planning harder (Oway homepage, FreightWaves).
• Long‑haul truck drivers and fleet operators with spare trailer space: They lose revenue to empty miles and want simple, quick pickups that don’t require long detours or extra paperwork (Oway homepage, FreightWaves).
• 3PLs, brokers, and enterprise logistics teams: They need reliable real‑time capacity and clean API/TMS connections. Existing options are fragmented and integrations can be slow (YC profile, Oway homepage).
• Businesses with irregular or one‑off freight (seasonal sellers, project suppliers): They can’t fill full trucks and find LTL expensive and cumbersome to book quickly for sporadic shipments (Oway FAQ, Oway homepage).

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Founder‑led outreach to nearby pallet shippers and a few fleet partners; hands‑on onboarding via the shipper portal with introductory rates and fast‑pickup guarantees. Capture timestamps, photos, and outcomes to produce 3–4 concise case studies and driver testimonials.
• First 50: Add 1–2 inside sales reps to work dense long‑haul corridors; launch a driver referral/bonus program; sign 2–3 regional 3PL/broker partnerships for overflow freight. Standardize onboarding (CSV/TMS import and a one‑page SLA) so ops can reliably match via telematics data.
• First 100: Run mid‑market pilots and integrate TMS/API for scheduled lanes; attend 1–2 regional logistics shows to win channel deals with 3PLs and large fleets; layer paid search and case‑study content for inbound conversion. Formalize pricing bands, SLA, and onboarding; hire an AM and onboarding operator to prove unit economics and scale automation.

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

The cleanest baseline is the U.S. LTL market at about $99.6B, which is where most palletized SMB shipments live today (IBISWorld). A broader upside exists in U.S. trucking overall (~$906B) if spare capacity is productized beyond LTL lanes (ATA).

Bottom-up calculation:

Assuming 20–40% of LTL freight is suitable for ride‑along long‑haul matching (palletized, corridorable, small detours), the near‑term serviceable market is roughly $20–40B; an illustrative midpoint is ~$30B (20–40% of $99.6B) (IBISWorld, pallet prevalence note: industry source).

Assumptions:

• 20–40% of LTL revenue is suitable for ride‑along matching (palletized, long‑haul corridors, acceptable detours).
• Revenue capture is comparable to LTL price basis for those suitable shipments.
• Most packaged‑goods freight is palletized, supporting LTL as the practical baseline.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• Uber Freight: Instant pricing and booking with nationwide carrier access plus shipper APIs and TMS integrations; competes on instant quotes and enterprise‑grade integrations (Instant Quote, Developer docs).
• Loadsmart: Digital broker offering instantly bookable rates, APIs and TMS integrations; targets shippers that want instant pricing and plug‑in workflows similar to Oway’s roadmap (homepage, APIs).
• Transfix: Broker‑turned‑software provider selling pricing, TMS, and AI tools to brokers/3PLs; overlaps on the infrastructure/tech layer (matching/pricing engines and integrations) rather than a retail shipper app (site).
• Cargomatic: Marketplace for on‑demand local freight, drayage and LTL with shipper APIs; overlaps on LTL/short‑haul alternatives and marketplace mechanics, though focus is more local/port regions (homepage).
• Convoy Platform (now part of DAT): A leading automated freight‑matching platform originally built by Convoy; after Convoy’s 2023 shutdown, Flexport relaunched the tech and it was later acquired by DAT, which now operates it as an automation layer for brokers and carriers (FreightWaves, DAT release).