Levity.ai Hits the Road: Exploring America’s Freight Brokerage Hotspots

So a German co-founder hops on a plane and heads to America with his freight tech startup team for a U.S. road trip. No punchline.  That’s exactly what Thilo Huellmann of Levity did on his epic five-week journey where they racked up over 2,000 miles on the road, hitting major brokerage cities, and learning everything there is to know about American freight brokers. 

"Yeah, sure. I mean, it was a lot, right? A lot can happen within five weeks. From a general structure, how we did it was spending the first week in Chicago, because that's where most of the businesses going on, right. And then we drove through, you know, the Midwest through, you know, all of the states there were through the major cities to visit rather larger brokerages, sometimes also a little bit smaller, mid-sized ones in their offices."

Thilo’s cross-country trip wasn’t just about racking up miles, though. Along the way, he met with brokers of all sizes, toured office floors, and took the pulse of the industry. While he noticed empty office floors in some places due to the weak market, Thilo found that most brokers had adapted to a “new normal.”

"We saw a lot of, you know, empty floors sometimes... companies that have a big office, but, you know, half of the floor is empty because they had to downsize because of the weak market. But I feel like many have adjusted to a new normal and are now setting up for future success."

From Chicago to San Francisco: Thilo’s 2,500-Mile Journey

The Levity road trip kicked off in Chicago, the freight brokerage capital. It wasn’t just a quick visit—Thilo and his team spent an entire week in the Windy City before making their way through the Midwest and beyond.

Thilo and his team covered over 2,500 miles, hitting key cities like Grand Rapids, Detroit, Cincinnati, Charlotte, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, and Nashville, meeting with freight brokers in various markets. Some were booming; others were feeling the weight of recent economic challenges.

Over the next five weeks, he stopped in key cities like Grand Rapids, Detroit, Cincinnati, Asheville, Charlotte, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Nashville, Houston, Dallas, and finally, San Francisco.

Thilo’s Top Brokerage Cities

While Chicago unsurprisingly topped Thilo’s list of favorite brokerage cities, some other cities caught him off guard. He was particularly impressed with Cincinnati:

"I was surprised by the amount of brokerages there. We also really liked the city itself. It's overlooked, but definitely has a vibrant scene."

Other cities in Thilo’s top five include Dallas, Nashville, and Chattanooga. Dallas, in particular, stood out to Thilo as a "really solid" brokerage hub, while Nashville boasted more brokerages than he initially expected.

The Launch of Levity’s Control Tower

One of the most exciting moments of Thilo’s road trip was the launch of Levity’s latest product: Control Tower. This tool aims to help brokerages by giving them deeper insights into their email communications and automating routine tasks. Thilo shared:

“A lot of companies don’t know where to start with automation. The reason for that is they don’t know how many emails of each type they get. Control Tower helps solve that by providing a clear analysis.”

Control Tower allows brokers to identify areas for automation and streamline their communication workflows, helping them spend less time on email chaos and more time on high-value tasks.

Marketing With Levity Gongs: Cutting Through the Noise

Levity’s marketing campaign during the road trip was just as unique as their approach to automation. They introduced the Levity Gongs, a creative and fun gifting campaign designed to resonate (literally) with sales teams.

Levity’s goal is to encourage brokers to spend less time sorting through emails and more time hitting gongs for sales wins. 

“We wanted to cut through the noise... What can we do that’s different? The gongs were a hit with sales teams, and it sparked some really meaningful conversations with potential clients.”

What’s Next for Levity?

As Levity continues to grow, they have big plans on the horizon. Thilo hinted at the opening of a new office in Chicago and emphasized the importance of deeper tech integrations:

"The deeper the integrations you build, the more valuable this becomes."