10 Things You Didn’t Know about Jett McCandless
Like so many industry leaders and innovators before him, Jett saw a problem, and he set out to fix it when he created Project44. In his eyes, the issue many shipping suppliers and their customers have is a lack of visibility. So Jett helped create a platform for shippers and logistics service providers to make that a thing of the past. Helping the whole world run is about as essential as you can get. Here are ten things you didn’t know about Jett McCandless.
10. More Than a CEO
Anyone with sufficient skill, drive, and the right degree can become a CEO. However, Jett didn’t get his position by applying in the normal way. Instead, he helped to found Project44. This incredible multinational business is connecting customers and their suppliers in ways that were never possible before. Project44 helps businesses keep tabs on where their shipments are worldwide in an accessible manner that can help ease customers’ minds.
9. Keeping Up With Jett
Your average influencer has a million-plus followers, and they won’t give you insight into the mind of a visionary industry leader. If you’re looking for a little more substance, you can find Jett McCandless on Twitter. From his thoughts on Uberx to the latest offerings from Project44, keeping up with Jett will give you content that matters. Plus, he’s not averse to throwing a little good-humored shade when the topic is relevant.
8. You Already Use Services He Designed
Jett McCandless has had a long and distinguished career for a man who is only in his forties. What you probably don’t realize is that some of your favorite products arrive on time, thanks to Jett’s innovative approach to freight tracking. Project44 is used worldwide by names you know. Companies like Pepsi, Bayer, Dollar General, and even Amazon keep an eye on their deliveries through this platform. The next time you’re picking up a Prime delivery, know it got there because Jett and the people at Project44 are helping track it through its stops so it will reach you on time.
7. Taking Chances
Some people like to golf, others prefer a good book, but Jett enjoys adrenaline-packed activities like surfing, heli-skiing, and downhill mountain biking. His willingness to put himself out there and take real risks isn’t just a hobby. Since he got his start working Yellow Freight’s loading dock, he has always taken the tougher path. During his time with YF, he even took unpaid ride-alongs to work his way into sales.
6. Business Has Always Been Jett’s Path
It’s easy to look at any high-powered businessman and assume he always had the advantages in life. Jett didn’t start out wealthy, but he did get motivated early. As a child, he started a lawn mowing business to accomplish his goals, and he’s been in business ever since. After owning a series of businesses, he learned from his mistakes. However, for a long time, McCandless believed that any failure meant he had just failed. It was only later that he learned one of the biggest secrets to success: failure is only a stepping stone on the path to winning.
5. Not Into Oversharing
Some CEOs can’t wait to be in the news. They have a million social media profiles and Instagram everything they had for breakfast. Jett McCandless is not one of those guys. While he’s not exactly secretive about anything, he also doesn’t feel the need to overshare. Finding information on his private life is more than a little difficult. However, it pays to keep your work and life separate, and we can respect his reserved attitude.
4. Motocross Mishap
Even an incredible entrepreneur like Jett isn’t always at work. In 2010 he got fired from a highly paid job, but that didn’t stop him from going out and having fun. Nothing stopped him from looking forward until he got into a motocross accident and broke his back. In the space of forty-five days, he went from the high life to unemployed and in a back brace. For most people, that would have been the end, but not Jett. Within four years, he was the founder and CEO of CarrierDirect LLC.
3. Not So Formal
A surprising number of the world’s wealthiest self-made business owners do not have a college degree. You can count Jett McCandless among these greats. Although he can see the value of traditional education, it was not the right path for him. However, it’s not as if he didn’t try. According to Chicago Business, Jett hitchhiked to Montana, where he did spend time in college.
2. Setting Aside Childish Things
Jett McCandless didn’t always want to be in business. In an interview with Business News Daily, he said he wanted to be a fireman. However, watching his parents struggle and comparing it to the ‘rich kids’ who could afford a pair of hundred twenty dollar Jordans in the 1980s, he realized that the difference was often business. The kids whose parents didn’t seem to have things so hard owned businesses.
1. Monopoly Dreams
Although monopolies in real life are discouraged, it never hurts to aim for complete industry domination. McCandless is a man who dreams big. According to his LinkedIn profile, Jetts’ goal is to “… be connected to every truck, train, plane, boat, barge, rickshaw, SpaceX, and Tesla Truck.”
Final Thoughts
Anyone who grew up in the 1980s with Jett McCandless understands how blatant the differences between being poor and having money are to children. Yet, relatively few took their experiences and channeled them into starting their own successful ventures. The difference between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ isn’t where you start, but what you learn and how you apply it. In a world where the differences between low-income families and the truly wealthy are becoming vaster by the day, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that anyone can work their way up like Jett McCandless. We can’t wait to see what he does next.
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