Raised with impeccable financials and modeling—“My investor asked, ‘Did you do this?’ and I said, ‘I did not f*cking do this” laughs Ian.
Raised with impeccable financials and modeling—“My investor asked, ‘Did you do this?’ and I said, ‘I did not f*cking do this” laughs Ian.
Then a triple threat: Interest rates, inflation, and tariffs—This turned the third-party logistics industry on its head. The market changed overnight.
Pilot CFOs helped find a strategic acquisition—Freightr lives on under a like-minded parent company.
.png)
If it weren't for Pilot, we wouldn't have made it to the point where we rolled into a strategic.
When Ian Nowak founded Freightr, he knew that winning in the freight brokerage business would require sophisticated financial management. As a third-party logistics provider (3PL), they match shippers who need freight moved with carriers who have capacity. To ease those transactions, 3PLs like Freightr often handle payments between the two. But this leaves them covering the spread, and requires tight financial management.
Ian and team brought in a lone fractional CFO who knew the logistics business. They assumed that person would create all the reporting and modeling they’d need. But they found the CFO’s models and analyses surface level.
Frustrated with paying for specialized support and not seeing the value, Ian tried another fractional CFO service—Pilot—and found that Pilot quickly learned more about 3PLs than their prior provider. His Pilot CFO proved a vital source of forecasts and guidance through a blistering phase of growth.
“Let it be known that I asked to do this case study because I respect and appreciate Pilot so much,” laughs Ian. “Seriously, Neha and team are the f*cking best.”
We’ve anonymized the company and founder here with permission so we can tell the complete, true story.
"Pilot was up to speed on the drivers of our business within a month," says Ian. "That allowed us to do strategic modeling, and let me tell you, Pilot’s financial modeling is unmatched—when we sent models to investors, they were like, 'Did you do this?' And I'm like, ‘This? I did not do this.'"
That allowed us to do strategic modeling, and Pilot’s financial modeling is unmatched.
Unlike previous CFOs who worked in isolation, Pilot's Neha, Jenny, and Anna were like a part of the Freightr team, chatting in Slack and updating spreadsheets live during meetings. Pilot continued to study the freight business and built comprehensive models covering everything from cap table scenarios to customer-level forecasting.
"Pilot embodies what the fractional CFO industry should actually be," Ian says. "If they say they're gonna do something, they will. That is so, so rare.” This was finally the support he and his co-founder could build a business around.
Freightr grew exponentially from $3 million to $17 million and then to a $40 million run rate, while improving margins 50% annually. But in early 2024, the gathering storm of interest rates, inflation, and uncertainty caused shipping to plummet. Then the tariffs and unpaying customers turned the 3PL business upside down.
"Our business is very affected by international trade and container volumes," explains Ian. "The tariff craziness was too much—freight demand had been in recession for two and a half years, then tariffs added even greater pressure." The timing couldn't have been worse. Freightr was in the middle of a capital raise when the freight market deteriorated further. "We ended up pausing the capital raise because conditions were so bad," Ian says.
This is where Pilot's CFO team shifted into strategic mode and helped Ian and company systematically assess their options. "The Pilot team did an amazing job understanding those macroeconomic headwinds and coaching us skillfully through that, advising us on different paths,” says Ian. “Even the things we didn't want to hear, which is the sign of a good partner."
The Pilot team did an amazing job understanding those macroeconomic headwinds and coaching us skillfully through that—even the things we didn't want to hear, which is the sign of a good partner.
"Pilot was 100% better than prior CFOs we’d tried because it’s all about whether the person can understand your business,” says Ian. “These are curious people who can understand industries they haven't worked in, whereas plenty of industry experts may know their domain, but they can’t adapt.”
Ian also feels that the size and depth of the team is a big benefit. Because there were multiple people on the account, he was never without coverage. “That depth shows the strength of Pilot as a company,” says Ian.
Despite the challenging market conditions, Freightr successfully tucked into a larger logistics company in a strategic rollup. Ian says Pilot's guidance was essential to this outcome. They ran numbers, advised on options, and pulled countless target lists.
"If it weren't for Pilot, we wouldn't have made it to the point where we rolled into a strategic," he says. "In fact, if it weren't for Pilot, we wouldn't be in business. We would not have gotten acquired—100%, there's no way—without them."
We would not have gotten acquired—100%, there's no way—without them.
Ian reserves high praise for his Pilot CFOs. "They’re the best, literally the best. Great energy, incredibly bright, really hard workers. Very intuitive. Great combination of IQ and EQ," he says.
Ian is also thrilled that he found a partner who reflects his own management philosophy—right people in the right seats and getting out of each other’s way. “We’re a service-based business too and it’s 100% about how you show up for the customer, the expertise you bring. The thing I love about Pilot is the excellent service, the financial knowledge and acumen, the great people, the strong process, the tech expertise, and how they were able to integrate into different systems and mold all those things together," Ian says.
This approach, those reports, and that agility enabled Freightr to grow rapidly and find its exit during the worst freight recession in history.
For founders considering a fractional CFO, Ian's advice is clear: Look beyond technical skills to service fundamentals. "What Pilot promises is what they're going to deliver. And that's rare."
The thing I love about Pilot is the excellent service, the financial knowledge and acumen, the great people, the strong process, the tech expertise—and the grit too.
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
Freightr is a tech-savvy third-party logistics provider that specializes in freight brokerage and connects shippers with carriers across North America
When Ian Nowak founded Freightr, he knew that winning in the freight brokerage business would require sophisticated financial management. As a third-party logistics provider (3PL), they match shippers who need freight moved with carriers who have capacity. To ease those transactions, 3PLs like Freightr often handle payments between the two. But this leaves them covering the spread, and requires tight financial management.
Ian and team brought in a lone fractional CFO who knew the logistics business. They assumed that person would create all the reporting and modeling they’d need. But they found the CFO’s models and analyses surface level.
Frustrated with paying for specialized support and not seeing the value, Ian tried another fractional CFO service—Pilot—and found that Pilot quickly learned more about 3PLs than their prior provider. His Pilot CFO proved a vital source of forecasts and guidance through a blistering phase of growth.
“Let it be known that I asked to do this case study because I respect and appreciate Pilot so much,” laughs Ian. “Seriously, Neha and team are the f*cking best.”
We’ve anonymized the company and founder here with permission so we can tell the complete, true story.
"Pilot was up to speed on the drivers of our business within a month," says Ian. "That allowed us to do strategic modeling, and let me tell you, Pilot’s financial modeling is unmatched—when we sent models to investors, they were like, 'Did you do this?' And I'm like, ‘This? I did not do this.'"
That allowed us to do strategic modeling, and Pilot’s financial modeling is unmatched.
Unlike previous CFOs who worked in isolation, Pilot's Neha, Jenny, and Anna were like a part of the Freightr team, chatting in Slack and updating spreadsheets live during meetings. Pilot continued to study the freight business and built comprehensive models covering everything from cap table scenarios to customer-level forecasting.
"Pilot embodies what the fractional CFO industry should actually be," Ian says. "If they say they're gonna do something, they will. That is so, so rare.” This was finally the support he and his co-founder could build a business around.
Freightr grew exponentially from $3 million to $17 million and then to a $40 million run rate, while improving margins 50% annually. But in early 2024, the gathering storm of interest rates, inflation, and uncertainty caused shipping to plummet. Then the tariffs and unpaying customers turned the 3PL business upside down.
"Our business is very affected by international trade and container volumes," explains Ian. "The tariff craziness was too much—freight demand had been in recession for two and a half years, then tariffs added even greater pressure." The timing couldn't have been worse. Freightr was in the middle of a capital raise when the freight market deteriorated further. "We ended up pausing the capital raise because conditions were so bad," Ian says.
This is where Pilot's CFO team shifted into strategic mode and helped Ian and company systematically assess their options. "The Pilot team did an amazing job understanding those macroeconomic headwinds and coaching us skillfully through that, advising us on different paths,” says Ian. “Even the things we didn't want to hear, which is the sign of a good partner."
The Pilot team did an amazing job understanding those macroeconomic headwinds and coaching us skillfully through that—even the things we didn't want to hear, which is the sign of a good partner.
"Pilot was 100% better than prior CFOs we’d tried because it’s all about whether the person can understand your business,” says Ian. “These are curious people who can understand industries they haven't worked in, whereas plenty of industry experts may know their domain, but they can’t adapt.”
Ian also feels that the size and depth of the team is a big benefit. Because there were multiple people on the account, he was never without coverage. “That depth shows the strength of Pilot as a company,” says Ian.
Despite the challenging market conditions, Freightr successfully tucked into a larger logistics company in a strategic rollup. Ian says Pilot's guidance was essential to this outcome. They ran numbers, advised on options, and pulled countless target lists.
"If it weren't for Pilot, we wouldn't have made it to the point where we rolled into a strategic," he says. "In fact, if it weren't for Pilot, we wouldn't be in business. We would not have gotten acquired—100%, there's no way—without them."
We would not have gotten acquired—100%, there's no way—without them.
Ian reserves high praise for his Pilot CFOs. "They’re the best, literally the best. Great energy, incredibly bright, really hard workers. Very intuitive. Great combination of IQ and EQ," he says.
Ian is also thrilled that he found a partner who reflects his own management philosophy—right people in the right seats and getting out of each other’s way. “We’re a service-based business too and it’s 100% about how you show up for the customer, the expertise you bring. The thing I love about Pilot is the excellent service, the financial knowledge and acumen, the great people, the strong process, the tech expertise, and how they were able to integrate into different systems and mold all those things together," Ian says.
This approach, those reports, and that agility enabled Freightr to grow rapidly and find its exit during the worst freight recession in history.
For founders considering a fractional CFO, Ian's advice is clear: Look beyond technical skills to service fundamentals. "What Pilot promises is what they're going to deliver. And that's rare."
The thing I love about Pilot is the excellent service, the financial knowledge and acumen, the great people, the strong process, the tech expertise—and the grit too.
.svg)
.jpg)
