South Florida entrepreneur Jan Bednar has led his technology-driven logistics company ShipMonk to meteoric success based on a simple yet keen principle: providing other companies ecommerce solutions that let them “stress less and grow more.”

ShipMonk provides a variety of shipping, warehousing, fulfillment and other logistics services for small to medium-sized ecommerce businesses.

Bednar recently added to this rapid rise by securing $290 million in new funding to further expand his venture’s operations and growth. Profitable from the start, Fort Lauderdale-based ShipMonk earned about $155 million in revenue in 2020. This continues the massive increases that have landed it in the top of the Inc. Fastest-Growing Companies list and many other rankings and awards since its founding.

Jan Bednar and Aryan Rashed

The company launched modestly in 2014 with 1,000 square feet of South Florida warehouse space, with no air-conditioning or employees. Today, the company has three high-tech logistics centers across the country (South Florida, California and Pennsylvania), nearly 1 million square feet of operations space and more than 1,000 employees.

The exponential leap in ShipMonk’s growth has coincided with Bednar’s time in Entrepreneurs’ Organization South Florida (EO SOFLO). In 2017, he joined the group which is one of the world’s largest EO chapters, with more than 200 members who run businesses with 10,000 employees and more than $2 billion in annual revenue in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.

He says the EO peer-to-peer learning and experience-sharing has been very impactful on his company’s success and his own personal growth.

“We have some incredible entrepreneurs in our forum with different backgrounds and very diverse experiences to learn and support each other,” Bednar says. “We get a ton of value out of it – both business and fun – and have become very close friends.” ShipMonk also works with a number of EO member companies, such as SinglesSwag, which has scored its own stunning success.

"Jan and his team are great partners. They work to understand our needs and have the operational and technical expertise to help us as we continue to scale,” says SinglesSwag found Jonathan Beskin.

Some of the best advice Bednar has received and passes on to his entrepreneur peers is to constantly analyze your own strengths and weaknesses as much as possible, and to hire “the best of the best” to fill your weak spots.

“Jan works so hard and he would have been 100 percent successful in whatever path he chose, even if it wasn’t a tech or logistics business,” said Aryan Rashed, a member of Bednar’s EO forum, and founder of TREMBLE Pilates studios. “He wants to share and help others, and has the true understanding, grit and spirit you need to really make it as an entrepreneur.” 

Jason Loeb, EO SOFLO president and founder of Sudsies Dry Cleaning & Laundry company, says the Czech-born Bednar personifies the American Dream and the vision of entrepreneurs everywhere. “We have so many talented business owners in our own group and across South Florida, and Jan has achieved the dream of almost every entrepreneur: stunning and profitable growth, delivering innovative solutions and creating jobs for others,” Loeb says. “And we know even greater things are ahead for ShipMonk and its role in fueling the South Florida economy.”

The latest $290 million infusion of capital from Summit Partners will fund ShipMonk’s increased staffing, ongoing upgrades to automation technology, and international expansion.

“We have some very ambitious growth plans for 2021,” Bednar says. “And especially if you have an exciting company, South Florida is an attractive area to lure great talent. Building a great team is another simple principle and what allows any company to succeed.”

For more information, go to www.shipmonk.com. 

For details on EO SOFLO, visit www.eosoflo.com.