How Rapido’s Founders Created a Freight Staffing Solution in Mexico

Freight brokerages are struggling to find and keep good people. As workloads increase and the demand for top talent rises, the challenge of finding quality staff becomes even tougher. Rapido saw this gap and decided to step in.

Rapido, co-founded by Danny Frisco and Roberto Icaza, is built around a simple idea: brokerages shouldn’t have to choose between accessing top-tier talent and maintaining their culture. With Rapido, they can have both. By nearshoring to Mexico, brokerages tap into a skilled talent pool and build high-performance teams without losing their core values.

How Rapido Started

Rapido’s origins are rooted in logistics. Roberto led operations for Coyote Logistics in Guadalajara, where he saw Mexico’s untapped talent firsthand.

“The people I had in my teams in Mexico were doing the same things, if not better, than the teams in Chicago,” Roberto shared. His experience made him realize that Mexico’s proximity and its skilled workforce could solve many of the staffing challenges in the North American freight market.

Meanwhile, Danny was building BlueGrace’s sales team in Chicago. He grew the team from three to over 40 reps, but noticed challenges when it came to scaling. At one point, he proposed using nearshore staffing to support their driver services team.

“My boss didn’t trust that other companies could understand how he worked,” Danny said. That skepticism made Danny curious. After doing some research, he realized there was little competition and a real demand for better nearshoring options.

When Danny approached Roberto with the idea of creating Rapido, it struck a chord. “I always had the entrepreneurial itch,” Roberto said. Adding:

“More importantly, my passion was always to do something at the intersection of Latin America and the U.S. I truly wanted to help create a company where we could make a positive impact in people’s lives and radically change what a work culture should look like here in Mexico.”

A casual lunch between Danny and Roberto in Guadalajara turned into a brainstorming session, and the idea for Rapido was born.

Danny said, “After that meeting, I knew Rapido would be much stronger with Roberto involved.”

Building the Team

Rapido focuses on building strong, reliable teams for freight brokerages. From the start, the co-founders knew that talent and company culture would be their key assets. By hiring skilled logistics professionals in Mexico and fostering a supportive environment, Rapido helps brokerages not just fill roles, but build teams that drive results.

Danny added, “We learned at Coyote how crucial culture is. At Rapido, we focus on growth, learning, and innovation, so that brokerages get more than just a workforce—they get a team that thrives.”

Roberto echoed this sentiment, saying, “Culture is the backbone of any successful team. Investing in people—through training and creating a collaborative environment—yields long-term success. At Rapido, our strategy revolves around continuous development and fostering strong relationships.

One of Rapido’s clients, Bridget Messina at K&L Freight, said, “Rapido let us extend our culture to Guadalajara, making the team there feel like part of K&L Freight.” This approach ensures that nearshored teams aren’t just workers—they become integral parts of the brokerage.

Challenges and Lessons in Business

Like any startup, Rapido faced challenges along the way. One major lesson was balancing different leadership styles. Danny and Roberto complemented each other, but they had different approaches to running the company. Bridging those gaps was key to Rapido’s growth, especially as they opened a new office in Guadalajara to support their expanding team.

Managing teams across borders is tricky, but Danny’s hands-on experience in talent management made it work. He emphasized the importance of building personal relationships with employees, which helped maximize productivity:

“When I connected with people personally, it built mutual respect. We coach our clients to communicate with their teams in Mexico just like they would with their US-based teams,” Danny explained.

Roberto added:

“Building trust, continuous development, and direct communication with your team and clients are what drive success. Flexibility and adaptability are just as important as strategy because rarely do things go according to plan.”

The Future of Nearshoring

Nearshoring is becoming a game-changer for US freight brokerages, and Rapido is at the forefront of this shift. Brokerages want more than just bodies filling seats—they want skilled professionals who can make a real impact. As Danny put it, “If brokerages don’t have a solid outsourcing strategy, they won’t stay competitive.”

Smaller brokerages especially struggle with finding and keeping top talent. Nearshoring provides the solution—offering cost efficiency, proximity, and access to skilled professionals. Mexico, with its growing base of young logistics experts, is becoming an increasingly important partner for US brokerages. The country even surpassed China as the top US exporter in Q2 2024.

Rapido is positioned to help brokerages stay competitive by offering access to top talent in Mexico, where they can find the skilled professionals needed to keep up with the evolving freight market. "Rapido aims to lead this transformation by offering top-tier talent and adaptive solutions, ensuring our clients are not just prepared for the future but ahead of it," Roberto emphasized.

Ready. Set. Go.

Global supply chains are more complex than ever, and freight brokerages need flexibility to keep up. Nearshoring offers a strategic way to gain that flexibility.

Rapido is here to provide that solution. With a growing team and a clear vision, they’re ready to help US freight brokerages thrive by giving them the talent they need to succeed in a competitive industry.

Learn more about Rapido here.

We recently had Danny Frisco on an episode of the FreightCaviar Podcast where we take a much closer look at what goes into getting a carrier sales team up and running in just 3-4 weeks with Rapido. Check it out here.