Today's Entrepreneur: Everett Steele, III

Mitos Suson · September 24, 2015 · Short URL: https://vator.tv/n/4028

No. 1 Mistake: Too focused on the end-game of their exits

Today's Entrepreneur is Everette Steele, III, Founder and CEO at Kanga Technology, an Atlanta, GA based startup developing logistics and delivery software for B2B, B2C, and peer-to-peer local delivery. Their software powers crowd-sourced local deliveries, and provides Fortune 500 clients with a white-label friendly solution to answer their enterprise B2B/B2C challenges.

Steele is an experienced leader and innovator focused on bringing results to clients in the small business and startup space, a University of Georgia graduate and a US Veteran Army. 

Kanga Technology self-categorizes in these areas: Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG)RetailServicesSoftware as a service, and Travel

Here's a little about Steele:

I am a(n): Entrepreneur

 

Companies I've founded or co-founded: Kanga Technology, Baby Robot Industries, WunderShop

If you are an entrepreneur, why? 
I'm bursting with ideas!

My favorite startups: 
Nest, Soneter, Pindrop, Synapp.io

What's most frustrating and rewarding about entrepreneurship/innovation? 
 One of the most frustrating things for me about entrepreneurship is the difficulty in working with large companies to deploy tech solutions. Large businesses simply move at a very slow pace, and frequently do not understand the culture of startups, and that speed to market is absolutely critical for long-term success.

 

What's the No. 1 mistake entrepreneurs make?

I think a lot of entrepreneurs are too focused on the end-game of their exits, and not enough on the things like customer discovery, product development, and customer service.

What are the top three lessons you've learned as an entrepreneur?

1. Focus is critical 
2. Speed to market/traction is key 
3. Investor relations is time consuming and must be well-managed


Full bio

I'm a technology entrepreneur believes that small companies with big ideas are key to solving problems on both a local and global scale. I'm passionate about building high growth tech focused startups.

I'm a lifelong entrepreneur, and have been building businesses for my entire life. From selling candy bought on credit from my parents to neighborhood kids at 8 years old to helping to design and market a desktop application at 13, to managing a multi-million dollar software startup, I live for the thrill of building businesses.

Upon graduating from the University of Georgia, I made the decision to join the United States Army. As the leader of a 16 man dismounted reconnaissance, and later as a plans and operations officer for a 400 man long-range reconnaissance squadron, I was entrusted with millions of dollars of equipment and budget, and the lives of many good men. In the Army, I received an experiential education in management of large organizations, budgets, and plans, and I was given the opportunity to see parts of the world most only watch on the news.

After completing my duty, I returned to the world of startups in Atlanta. I worked with a number of marketing agencies and digital development firms, retraining myself in the world of technology and startups. In 2013, I took an opportunity which would eventually lead me down the path to launching Kanga Technology. For the last 2 years I have served as Founder and CEO of Kanga Technology, and have been a part of the company's growth from a laptop on my kitchen table, to an internationally recognized developer of world class logistics software.

 

Kanga Technology is a finalist for the Splash LA competition. The top eight of the competition will compete live on stage at Splash LA on Oct. 15 at Loews Santa Monica Hotel. Register here
 

 

*Want to be included in our Today's Entrepreneur series? Email me: mitos@vator.tv

Image Description

Mitos Suson

I produce Vator Events and enjoy the challenge. I am learning and growing a lot, being involved with Vator and loving every moment of it!

All author posts

Support VatorNews by Donating

Read more from our "Today's Entrepreneur" series

More episodes

Related Companies, Investors, and Entrepreneurs

Kanga Technology

Startup/Business

Joined Vator on

Hundreds of existing and novel Gig-Economy companies exist to offer same-day delivery of products ranging from ice cream to designer wedding gowns. These companies face dual challenges of growing a fleet of drivers and a customer base, while also developing their software.

Kanga Technology's white-labeled software platform helps both emerging startups and Enterprises manage their same-day delivery needs and hire needed drivers without a huge capital investment.

Kanga's platform includes:

  • Shipper-driver-recipient geotargeting, text, and voice communications
  • Dispatch abilities in one geography or across multiple geographies
  • Driver onboarding
  • Data dashboard and analytics
  • Dynamic load balancing APIs that allow companies to share overflow deliveries with other providers, and backfill availability in down-time

Our turnkey solution is helping clients ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies to better serve their customers' growing demands for same-day local delivery. From the United States to Southeast Asia to South Africa, Kanga Technology users are benefitting from our powerful suite of tools.

Current pilots include a major Airline (mishandled baggage and lost & found), a Fortune 500 pulp and paper company (replenishment of paper products and dispensers), a global hotelier, and many more.

Kanga Technology (kangatechnology.com) is currently directly serving customers via our subsidiary Kanga Delivery Inc (getkanga.com), and through 3rd party startups via our Kanga4X.com brand.

Our new GigPool SaaS tool allows gig economy employees to search for the gig jobs that work best for them, and apply automatically in one interface. This helps maximize earnings for contractors by giving them multiple gig economy contracts, and helps gig economy companies by reducing their costs of partner acquisition while simultaneously ensuringthat state governments view their contractors not as employees.

Drivers can joing the Kanga Delivery Network via our iOS, Android, and web onboarding process, and can be checked for vehicle history, criminal background, and more depending on specific client requirements. We can also onboard other gig-economy company providers through our dynamic load balancing API. Current drivers range from individual contractors to existing courier and 3PL providers, to other crowd economy partners.

150917

Everett Steele, III

Joined Vator on

Founder of Kanga Technology, an Atlanta, GA based startup developing logistics and delivery software for B2B, B2C, and peer-to-peer local delivery. Serial entrepreneur, US Army veteran, UGA graduate, ATDC Signature member.