I met Julian when I was twenty-three.
He was twenty-seven.
Handsome.
Ambitious.
And almost completely broke.
He worked as a regional operations manager for a freight company that was struggling to survive.
I had recently completed my degree in finance and supply chain management.
I was working for a transportation consulting firm.
My father, Benjamin Carter, had spent decades building a modest but successful business supplying equipment to industrial companies.
He wasn’t a billionaire.
He wasn’t famous.
But he understood money.
And he had taught me something I never forgot.
“Meridian,” he used to say, “never confuse the person holding the microphone with the person who built the stage.”
Julian and I met at an industry networking event.
He was charming.
Funny.
And passionate about logistics.
He talked about creating a freight company that would use better technology, smarter routing, and more efficient warehouse systems.
I listened.
Then asked him several questions about costs.
