An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Never stop learning: While I had, shall we say, a hit-and-miss relationship with higher education, I consider myself a life-long learner, forever curious about the Next Big Thing.
As a part of my series about “Big Ideas That Might Change The World In The Next Few Years” I had the pleasure of interviewing Spencer Steliga.
Spencer Steliga is the Founder and CEO of shuddl, an innovative platform for sustainable B2B logistics for the Web3 era.
Spencer believes that supply chain can achieve a net neutral future via dismissing old ideas in favor of multi-party orchestration across enterprises. The inside out approach lends itself to immediate exception resolution, real time visibility, and a rapid efficiency increase for all organizations involved.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you please tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Growing up in the Chicago suburbs, I always wanted to be in sales, like my dad. But when I got into that field years later I discovered I was a horrible sales guy, while at the same time discovering that the product I was selling was substandard. I came to realize that I just had to create good products around me, because I want to be about something that brings me value. Then it’s very easy for me to sell it.
Can you please share with us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I started my first business when I was 14, mulching neighbors’ yards in between two-a-day football practices in the late summer. I carried that through my junior year, at which point I had five other people working for me. So I would just have to drive around during two-a-days, rather than do the mulching.
Which principles or philosophies have guided your life? Your career?
There’s always more money. If I don’t pursue my purpose — whatever my brain decides that is — I’m going to get very, very ill, very, very quickly. I’m not just going to feel well as a human being. I wish I could tell you it was some conscious choice here, but I’m always in transition, and that transition has got to be an upward trajectory, or I’m in trouble.
Ok thank you for that. Let’s now move to the main focus of our interview. Can you tell us about your “Big Idea That Might Change The World”?
I founded Shuddl, an innovative on-demand cargo pick-up and delivery service in 2022, the idea being that efficiency solutions lie at the nexus of technology collaboration, relationships and experience. Our aim is to scale sustainability applications through resource optimization.
How do you think this will change the world?
Our payment structure is broken. Being a business owner and seeing how money actually flows drives that point home, as when somebody charges you 36 percent three times over, just to get food delivered from another country. A lot of people make a lot of money off of people not having immediate cash flow. Our company is going to change things by maximizing technology. I’m already putting in a dual-sided wallet, so I can real-time pay myself, basically. So that’s the driver’s wallet; it’s on him to get it out.
But as far as blockchain goes, we’re just scratching the surface. Nobody actually uses blockchain. When I finally got connected, it was through this Visa thought leader that introduced me to this girl. She’s the only one I could find that actually has something to do with blockchain.
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this idea that people should think more deeply about?
No. These innovative projects simplify tracking, reduce carbon footprints, allow for greater supply chain flexibility, and address major concerns in cybersecurity.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this idea? Can you tell us that story?
At one point in my life I was a commodities trader, and I really got into probability. Every single thing in my career has been based on some level of mathematical probability that I’ve followed and applied. So yeah, I like sustainability, but sustainability really follows probability, if you apply it correctly, because that follows efficiency.
What do you need to lead this idea to widespread adoption?
Awareness. Shuddl’s supply chain solutions hold the honest potential to solve a myriad of systemic frustrations in logistics & transportation. While everybody (to varying degrees) is aware that our supply chain is inflexible and wasteful, few know that the answers to many of our problems don’t require a paradigm shift.
The irony is that blockchain technology, for instance, isn’t new. Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) has been around in other forms for decades. It was only when we started thinking comprehensively about unexamined applications in finance and data management that things like cryptocurrency and NFTs became available.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why.
Never stop learning: While I had, shall we say, a hit-and-miss relationship with higher education, I consider myself a life-long learner, forever curious about the Next Big Thing.
Embrace weirdness: I have no problem being the outlier. It’s actually, probably, where I’m the most comfortable. A lot of things don’t make sense to me. I wish I didn’t know a lot of things I do. It’s been an interesting ride, particularly these last two years, but I’ve loved them.
Understand the speed of life: The pace of learning in the world is perfect for my brain. There’s new stuff coming out every single day, and I fully embrace it.
Can you share with our readers what you think are the most important “success habits” or “success mindsets”?
Every single thing you think would be one’s weakness is probably my greatest asset to my career or my daily actions. I’ve been blessed with a lot of different experiences, and I always have a lot of ideas.
By leaning into my perceived weaknesses, I refused to let them become handicaps. In elementary school, it hinders your performance to daydream while you should be taking notes. As an entrepreneur, however, my creativity and enthusiasm for brilliant ideas are critical to my success.
Some very well known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
We have an algorithm that predicts what space is going to be wasted at a future point in time that doesn’t exist yet. This technology can then pick up a vendor’s product at a given point in time and go across the country and deliver it at a different date and time. In essence, we’ve figured out mathematically what friend had an extra seat in their car to Coachella. That’s the best way to put it. Almost like carpooling, but for trailer space.
We’re also just scratching the surface with blockchain. I don’t believe that any transportation and logistics company is leveraging distributed ledger technology to its full effect — and it’s going to be crucial to supply chains moving forward.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
You can find me on Linkedin or at @SpencerSteliga_ on Twitter.
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
Shuddl: Spencer Steliga’s Big Idea That Might Change The World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
