Household Goods to High Tech: Nisrine Masri’s Path with Movers Dispatch Board

Nizreen Masri is a partner at Condor Moving Systems and the visionary founder of Movers Dispatch Board, a cutting edge platform that's revolutionizing the way moving companies handle logistics.

Growing up in an entrepreneurial family and starting her first business in her early 20s, Nazreen shares her inspiring journey from the challenges of building Condor Moving Systems to the creation of her tech driven solution, Movers Dispatch.

We'll explore her experiences, the evolution of her companies, and the innovative ideas that set her apart in the moving industry. Whether you're an entrepreneur, a tech enthusiast, or someone in the moving industry, this episode is packed with insights you won't want to miss. As always, if you found value from this content, please like and subscribe. And now here's my conversation with Mizreen Mazri. Enjoy. Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of the Beyond Fulfillment podcast.

I'm your host, Dave Gulis, and this week my guest is the partner at Condor Moving Systems and the founder of Movers Dispatch Board, Nisreen Masri. Welcome, Nisreen. Thank you. Thank you for having me on today, Dave. Yeah, thanks so much for being here. If you could, for everyone. Can you give us some background on your bio and how you became an entrepreneur? Yes, absolutely.

So my entrepreneurship days really honestly started as a young girl growing up with two parents that were both entrepreneurs. If I could kind of go way back in history, my parents have always owned their own businesses. They didn't work together, they had separate businesses. But you know, I grew up in a household of entrepreneurs. When we moved to this country, my parents came really pretty much from a war torn country to coming to the U.S. you know, to build the American dream.

And I saw both my parents work really hard for where they were very successful. And so that was kind of like the learning grounds for me as far as becoming an entrepreneur. I knew one day that I would own my own business. I was really sure what I would end up doing. I had so many interests and so many different things that I really like and I knew I would eventually be doing something. So fast forward, I got into third party logistics.

I worked for a big company out of Grapevine, Texas and I worked for them for a few years. At the same time I was dating someone who worked for a moving company and he wanted to start a moving company. So I said, okay, you know what, I'm going to get involved in this. And we basically started building Condor Moving Systems. And so that was 21 years ago. We built that company up from really nothing into a pretty good sized moving company. We've been in business obviously for a very long time.

And if anyone knows, if you're an entrepreneur, if you're able to make it to 21 years, that's a very, very, very long time. So I was in my early 20s when we started that, about a couple of years ago.

I've always kind of had a vision of a solution for something in the moving industry as far as what I saw a need for and that was movers dispatch board. So about two years ago I started the development of that platform and load board and released almost a year ago and a little bit over a year and have been really kind of pushing hard on movers dispatch board.

So what movers dispatch board is we are a load board and there's definitely a lot of load boards out there, some big ones and some smaller ones. What sets us apart from other load boards that are currently out there is that loads that we have are designed and the whole platform is designed for moving companies. So the solution that we're providing is we're helping independently owned moving companies interline loads either for origin services or destination services.

So if a company is not van line affiliated, they typically, unless they have their own private network, don't really have a big network of interlining loads. Being able to use other companies trucks to complete either origin services or destination services. So what our platform does is it really helps moving companies interline within each other that are not part of a national landline. Okay, all right, so a whole lot to unpack there. So. And interesting how that ties together too, right?

Because I'm sure you got experience with load boards in your early days with a 3 PL when you're just starting your career. Correct. And then you know, fast forward all these years later. It's a key part of the software you created. But so like you said, you came from an entrepreneurial family, both your parents had businesses. You knew that you were going to have some type of business but you know, didn't really know what. So when you start the moving company, like what, what was that like?

Did you instantly just like see the opportunity, see the potential? You know, your partner at the time, right. Had had experience there. Like what was that process like getting that started from nothing? It was very interesting. You know, I had the, I had some trucking experience behind me, but it wasn't in household goods. And with household goods it's a little bit different. Obviously there's services that are involved at the origin and destination. It's not doc dock.

You're basically coming into someone's Home, you know, disassembling furniture, blanking, padding furniture, loading up a truck, and then, you know, moving them from point A to point B, wherever, whether that would be local or a long distance move. So there was a lot to learn. I definitely had a big challenge ahead of me. I had to learn a whole new industry. Naturally, I'm a salesperson, so it wasn't really hard to sell because I can sell anything.

I truly believe that if you're a salesperson, you can sell. It doesn't matter really what, what you sell, as long as you start learning your product and your service. And. And I really did do that. I did a lot of research. I researched other movers. I. I was the one who got us licensed with fmcsa. So I did a lot of, like, research on what did it take for us to get license. I set up our insurance and, you know, started learning all the rules for compliance and what we needed to do for dot.

So it was a big learning, a big learning curve for me. And it was just, you know, trial and error. And I think that if you've got that entrepreneurship mindset, a lot of times you go into things, but you learn kind of along the way and learn from your mistakes, improve. And so that was kind of a big thing for me, is that I had to learn. And I was in my early 20s, mind you. That was. I was like 23, I think, when we started. So I was super young.

Now I look about it and I'm thinking, 23, that's super young to start, you know, start a company and start a business. But it was a great experience because it taught me a lot. You know, I was in college and building a business, and so I kind of had a lot going on at once. So. Okay. And like you said, 21 years, that. That's a, That's a long time for any business. Right? So you certainly, I mean, most.

I don't know what the stats are exactly, but it's something like 9 out of 10 fail within the first 5 years or something like that. Yes, yes. So it's definitely, you know, definitely something that I like to, you know, not brag about, but I'm proud of, you know, I'm very proud of my accomplishment with that because I kind of look back at, okay, I did build something or I was part of something that was. Had a long run. And it's still in. We're still in business.

And so it's a lot, you know, tells a lot about the company and who we are.

If we're able to be in business for that long. So. And you know, like you said, right, there was so much to learn early days. You're, you're a young student basically just finishing up college while you're starting this business. I mean, what, what was the scaling process like in terms of like the challenges and maybe some unexpected things that you didn't see. Like what was it like growing that from, from nothing into like a 20 year plus company? Yeah, absolutely.

I think scaling is the biggest thing, is that we scaled, we grew as we were getting bigger, you know, so it, it was really interesting how we built it up because we didn't have a lot of money, we didn't have a big investor, we didn't have, you know, we kind of built it from ground up. And every, you know, year we'd add another truck or we would add another employee. And as we, we just grew slowly, we just grew as we were, you know, building, building it up so one brick at a time.

And so that was really interesting. It was good. And that's kind of how I'm growing. Movers dispatch board is. I'm a true believer of growing things slowly because you build a better foundation and when things grow too fast, sometimes you oversee a lot of things. So with that, that was very helpful is that we were able to grow slowly over the years. It wasn't that we, you know, came in and said, okay, we're going to buy 20 trucks and now expect to have those, you know, completely full.

We've always kept our staff very slim. We never really overstaffed because like, for example, in the moving industry, it's very seasonal. So if you overstaff in the wintertime, when you don't have the volume you have in the summertime, then you're basically hurting because you've, you know, you have a bunch of employees and no work. So we've always kind of kept our staff very slim, kept our units very, you know, just to the amount that we needed. We, we never had a big, huge fleet.

We only kept the fleet that was going to be full. So we didn't have a bunch of trucks parked in the parking lot that weren't running. So. Okay, and do you think that too, like you said, you bootstrapped it, right? You didn't have a big investment and you're very young starting out. So, you know, it's not like you had a family and maybe some of the, you know, obligations maybe that you would have had later in life.

Do you think that helped you in terms of being able to Just grow it slowly and really build more of a foundation that, that would last. My personal experience. Yes. And that's kind of how I've done with movers dispatch board. I had the experience of kind of, you know, building that company, building Condor with a very small budget and that's how I'm doing. Movers dispatch board. I don't overstaff, I don't have more people on my development than I actually need.

So I keep things very, you know, there. I have a very low budget on a lot of things but it helps me and it's helped me grow. So in my personal experience, for me it's worked very well. So I know a lot of people like to go out and seek a bunch of money in the initial start of a business for investment Movers dispatch board I invested quite a bit, a significant amount of money in development, but I self funded that project.

So my financial situation was a little bit different with movers dispatch board than it was with Condor. And when we started condor I was, you know, a broke 20, 20 something year old. So it was a little different. So I, I can't say that they were exactly the same because with movers dispatch board I did have the funds to, you know, develop. Okay, all right. And so you had the early 3 PL experience. You had a long, you know, history growing the moving company.

So what, what was the aha moment where you really had that idea to, to start Movers dispatch board.

So the aha moment came a long time ago. I would say probably had the idea about five years ago, maybe even longer than five years ago. For a very long time. I just have always had an issue with. The biggest problem that we've always faced is you don't want to turn business away. But sometimes you get jobs that for example, you have maybe a job going to Boise, Idaho and you don't really have a lot of volume with household goods. Not every client is going to the same city and state.

Not, not every job is going to be the same size. So you may have a job that's you know, 200 cubic feet, like a studio apartment that's going to Boise. But are you going to run a truck from wherever you're based? Like for example, we're based out of the Dallas Fort Worth area. Are you going to run a truck from Dallas Fort Worth just for a 200 cubic foot job in Boise? Probably more than likely. No, because it doesn't make sense. Right. So there was always, we were always interlining.

We've been interlining for many years. But the way we did it was very archaic. You know, on, obviously technology has changed over the 20 years. Back then it was like looking people up, you know, on, you know, well, we did have Internet, but you look companies up and say, hey, do you have a truck in the area? It was like a very, a very manual process or this person knows this person who this person and this guy's got a truck and he can take loads because he's got a truck lane.

You have to make 25 phone calls. So it was very, you know, it was very old school, the method. And believe it or not, there's still people using that method today. So I always kind of saw a need for, okay, we get stuck with certain things that we can't move. And then you have extended transit times and then you have clients who get upset because they've waited a very long time where with freight, you know, you pick up dock to dock, you have set routes, set loads.

Household goods is not like that. There are no set low, there are no set routes, there are no set loads. You basically pick up a bunch of jobs and then you have to try to accommodate as many clients as you can on a full semi. So there was always a need. But it was just, I finally decided that, you know what, I was going to take the, you know, take the risk and develop because we really needed something like this in the moving industry. So that's kind of where the need came a long time ago.

But I just finally took the risk and said, you know what? I'm going to go ahead and go through with this and develop. Attention manufacturers and e commerce sellers. Is fulfillment a headache for you? Whether you're fulfilling in house and you know, you need to outsource or you're with another 3PL, you know, you deserve better service. Easy DC 3PL can help. We offer personal service, fast response time and referral, flexible to meet your unique needs.

Get in touch today and find out how we can help you. And you know, having the moving company and the industry experience is one thing. And then seeing the need, of course, you know, like you detailed there, right? That gave you the sense like, wow, there's a real business here. But from someone that's not software, like developer and doesn't have that back. Like what was it like building, like building a software company? So building a software company was, I've always been into technology.

I can code in a few languages. I, you know, built a few websites from scratch, coded from scratch, not use templates that, that, you know, a template website that you can Go on and purchase. So I've always been interested in coding and just basic knowledge of like the coding and technology and development. That's always been something I've always had a great passion for. So that really wasn't intimidating to me. It was actually. I'm very creative, I'm a very creative person.

So building Movers dispatch board was like a very fun project for me at the same time because it was very creative and coming up with like the, how would the flow go? How would the designs be? Obviously I have a development team. I did not. If I, if I were to develop and code on myself, it would probably take 10 times as long. So I do have a professional team that does code and design and develop and stuff.

But I am the, you know, the architect behind, okay, this is what I want it to do, this is what I want it to look like. This is how I want the user experience. It's been a great, great journey and I love to use technology whenever I can in my day to day, you know, at work, at home, anywhere, anytime I can use technology, I'm all about it. So being able to develop this has been an amazing, amazing journey and experience for me. Okay. And yeah, like, like you mentioned, right.

It just seemed to make sense, right, with this is such an issue with moving companies and they're trying to interline and make sure that they have routes that make sense and get loads from wherever they might be going back home. You know, and there's so many aggregator sites in every industry. Were you surprised when you started that like something like this didn't already exist? Very surprised.

Especially because, for example, like DAT board's so big and there's so many other load boards that are out there that already exist. But why had no one developed anything for the moving and storage industry? I'm not really sure. You know, the other, the, the big, the big players in the moving and storage industry are obviously the big national van lines. So they already have their networks in place.

So for example, if you're an Atlas agent, you're hauling for Atlas, so backhauling is not an issue for you typically because you're back hauling for Atlas, so you're able to find loads within your own van line. But what happens to the independents who are not part of the van line, you know, who are needing to have that network and are needing to look for loads.

Another big challenge that happens in the moving and storage industry is for example, let's say you are delivering a client to Boise, Idaho. Well, what happens with what you're bringing back. You know, typically you don't have a sales team that's booking jobs out of Boise to bring you back home full. So you need to be able to have a platform where you can haul for someone else. So for example, if you're running that truck to Boise now, you need loads coming back.

So you're able to get on movers dispatch board and see who has loads in the area that you can haul back to get you back home so you're not running empty. So there are a lot of, there are a lot of solutions for movers disk board that were maybe covered in the van line network, but not outside of the van lines.

Okay. And you know, like you said, you have a professional development team helping you and you have your own experience where you really get a sense of what you want it to look like and the functionality. How was the process like building it like? Did it take longer than expected? Were there any key setbacks? Definitely longer. I've really pushed my development team. I give them very critical deadlines and I'm. And we.

I try to have new releases out every month for different little features and improvements. The initial development did take longer. I did cut back some of the great features that I had that I wanted. I wanted this and I wanted that and I wanted so many things. But obviously I couldn't make that initial launch. So I did take some initial ideas and you know, push them back for phase two and have different timelines for those.

But the initial core, what I wanted with the initial release when we initially released was just the base function of what the load board would be and posting loads and being able to request loads, being able to upload bill of ladings and inventories and documents and rate drivers. So there are a lot of features that were released in the initial launch and now it's just additional features.

We have some really cool stuff that I won't mention today, but before end of the month, we have some additional features that are going to be very, very, very interesting for a lot of people in the industry. So I'm really excited about that and we'll release that information later on on our reels and stuff. So developing was it. It was actually a lot harder than I initially thought because there are so many steps.

You know, for example, a login screen, creating a login, maybe an initial one screen that you see in the front. But there are so many other steps that happen just to log in or just to create a, you know, an account to register. There's a lot. It was Very, very involved. But the overall process has been just a great journey for me. And what excites me every day is that when I do pitch it and I do talk to people about it, I've had a lot of interest.

So. And we're up to close to 470 current users on the load board right now. Those would be companies across the nationwide. Okay, so you've had this on the market just about a year, right? Yeah, just a little over a year. Okay.

All right. And so 470 users. Great start. After a year, I was going to ask what. What was the process like? Okay, you've built it, you're ready to launch. And again, like you said, you're a natural salesperson. What was the process like selling this. This new software that hadn't been developed before? It was really easy because I can relate to my client. I am my client. So that the. My clients are moving company owners, and I am a moving company owner as well.

So I know the challenges that they have and I can relate to them. And that made it very personable. And when I talk to them, it's very relatable. So it's not like I'm having to learn an industry. So that was a very big plus for me with development that I came from the industry. I know who my clients are because I am a client as well. So I know who they are and I know how they typically run their business. Everyone runs it just a little bit different.

Like there are things that people do a little different, maybe with their hiring or maybe with the way they run their trucks, but generally it's pretty much the same thing. So that was not. That was not hard at all. And I love doing the sales. I love talking to clients. I call every subscriber that signs up. I send them emails, I send them my phone number, and I get feedback from them.

And. And it's really funny because when I call, people are a little surprised that I'm the one who's picking up to call. But I do call because I'm a. I'm a people person. So I do like to talk to them and find out, like, what their challenges are. And. And I've gotten some ideas from some of my users about additional features that we can add to improve and enhance. And I've made those changes. So I think it's really important to stay connected. So that's been really, really easy.

I would say it hasn't been difficult to sell because it's. There's definitely a need for the product. Wow, okay. And like you said, being so hands on where you're, you're personally calling them to, you know, thank them for subscribing and hear their, their story, their feedback, I mean that, that's got to go a long way in and just, you know, developing a relationship and making the user feel comfortable about the product. Absolutely.

I had a guy on Friday call and he said, well I saw it, you know, I think he saw us on a Facebook group or somewhere on Facebook. And he said at first I thought it was a scam because there's I guess platforms out there. Not, not a load board. But I, I don't know what he was looking at, but he wasn't really sure if we were real. And he said, but every time I've called, you've answered or you've responded and I wasn't sure. I was worried about putting my credit card information.

I said no, we're us based, we're not, you know, it's not a scam, we're legit. But. And so that was kind of funny that, that I had that feedback. But I monitor really closely who signs on just to make sure that, you know, we have all the anti spam stuff to make sure we don't get spammed and we have fake users and make sure that whoever's signing up and is actually who say they say they are, that their dot matches, you know, their company profile.

And we've tied in with the FMCSA to kind of prevent a lot of that from happening. So another thing too, part of development that I kind of like to mention is when I developed the load board, I wanted to make sure that it was very easy to use because I know who my end user is. You know, our client base, our dispatchers, sometimes their owner operators who are actually the truck driver too. Maybe they have, you know, five employees, maybe they have 20, maybe they have 50. It depends.

They're all a little bit different. But I wanted to make sure that we were using a platform that wasn't hard to use, that you don't really need to watch an hour long training video or have to have a demo to try to figure out how to navigate. It's very simple. So. But we do have, you know, a YouTube channel with a bunch of how to videos of the people that do need that extra help. Okay, Another thing you mentioned about the, you know, someone saw you on a Facebook book group.

Let me just ask you, in terms of growing contour and now especially the movers dispatch board, how important has personal branding been for you in growing your businesses.

I think it's very important. I have really pushed who I am as a person, a business owner. I stand behind Weaver's dispatch board and we are a very credible site. And I have made like our subscriptions, very easy to sign up, very easy to cancel, very easy to move from our free plan to a paid plan because I want my user to be on there and have a good experience. So personal branding is really important for me because I am selling something. I stand behind 100%.

Condor does use movers dispatch board. So we are a client of, you know, the load board as well. And so it's really important for me that I do build a good reputation, a good reputation, a good reputable load board. And that's why I do reach out to people, is I want them to know that I am very involved to make sure that I am building something that is reputable, reliable, and actually works.

And in my initial launch, I, you know, obviously have faced some really difficult challenges, which obviously building a load board seems like it'd be easy at first, but it's actually very tricky and hard because for it to really work, you have to have a lot of users. So you have to have enough users to contribute to the board.

So that way the paid users and people who are on the load board who are signing up and paying for the service are actually finding what they need, otherwise we're going to lose clients. So I've made quite a bit of significant changes to that. And all of that, I back up with my, you know, personal branding and myself. So try to build a good, reputable platform. Okay. And if people want to get in touch and learn more about. More about the movers dispatch board or Condor.

What's the best way people can reach out to you? So I am on LinkedIn and I tell everyone just to reach out to me on LinkedIn. DM me, I will actually respond to you on LinkedIn. So that's probably the easiest way. I am also available on email. That's my first name is Reenactors Dispatch Board. Com. Depending on what company you're trying to reach me out, you know, reach out to me for. But I think the easiest way is on LinkedIn and I am on LinkedIn. All right, we'll link all that in the.

The show notes for everyone. Perfect. Thank you. Well, n.

Thank you so much for joining us today. Really enjoyed our conversation. Congrats on business success. Thank you. I really appreciate your time. All right, that's all the time we have for now. We will see you next time.