Grant Goodale, the co-founder of Seattle-based trucking marketplace startup Convoy, will step down from his position as chief experience officer and transition to an advisory role by the end of the month.
The longtime tech vet said he wanted to spend more time with his two sons, one of whom will be a senior in high school next fall.
“I’ve spent the last eight years building Convoy,” Goodale told GeekWire Wednesday. “It’s practically my third child.”
Goodale co-founded Convoy in 2015 with fellow Amazon vet Dan Lewis. They started the company by hanging out at truck stops and getting kicked out of warehouses as they did market research when Convoy was just a kernel of an idea.
The startup aims to increase earnings for truck drivers while simultaneously reducing cost for shippers by removing inefficiencies in the existing supply chain. Truck drivers download Convoy’s free app to find work without going through brokers who typically use emails and phone calls.
The company has grown to become one of the highest-valued privately held startups in the Seattle region. It raised $260 million at a $3.8 billion valuation last year. Convoy is No. 5 on the GeekWire 200, our list of the top startups in the Pacific Northwest.
However, Convoy recently went through three rounds of layoffs amid economic uncertainty as it aims for profitability.
“Startups are intense, demanding things,” Goodale said in a 2016 Working Geek feature in GeekWire. “I leave for work before my family wakes up, so I’m very protective of what little time I get with them when I get home. My general rule is to automate anything that can be automated and hire or build process around the things that can’t.”
Goodale previously worked as the company’s CTO, leading its engineering teams to develop products. In his role as chief experience officer he was focused on the needs of the truckers that use Convoy.
Last spring for example, he flew from Seattle to San Antonio, Texas, and rode shotgun with three different truckers on an 1,100-mile trip up to Louisville, Ky., where he spoke at the Mid-America Trucking Show. The idea was to gather insights and feedback on how to improve the app.
Convoy is not planning to name a successor for the position. Goodale said the company has “a lot of people who are passionate about making sure that the needs of our carriers are met.”
Earlier this year, Goodale said he realized that this summer would be one of the last opportunities to create memories with his son before he leaves for college. Goodale was inspired to make the career pivot.
Goodale will continue serving on Convoy’s board of directors and remain active with the company. He stressed that he is not “disappearing.”
In the fall, Convoy will host Moonshot Week, the company’s annual team bonding event where some employees pitch ideas for innovative businesses within the startup. Goodale said he is excited to see what gets produced.
“I’m hoping they’ll let me judge,” he said.
