Black founders in freight — WHAT THE TRUCK?!?

Celebrating Black History Month with two special guests

This episode is brought to you by Legend Transportation, which has been establishing partnerships through outstanding customer service since 2007. Learn more at newlegendinc.com.


February is Black History Month and Dooner and The Dude have the honor of interviewing two of the fastest rising black founders in the freight industry, Pierre Laguerre and Marcus Cooksey.

Laguerre is the founder and CEO of Fleeting in Brooklyn, New York, and Cooksey is the CEO of DUKE.AI out of Dallas. 

During this episode of WHAT THE TRUCK?!? Dooner asks Laguerre about some of the strong, positive messaging he features on his website and how he inspires the students he speaks to. He says success is about understanding the people you work for and work with and listening to the goals and visions of everyone around you. 

Cooksey connected with Dooner by sharing his comeback story in the world of freight. Cooksey was inspired to found DUKE.AI by family in the trucking industry and his own difficulties with bookkeeping and financials. 

The Dude says Cooksey’s company was more about solving observed pain points in the industry instead of trying to break in with a shiny new product, and Cooksey agrees that having personal experience with the major problems in transportation was the key to building a successful company. 

WTT’s next guest also has a great comeback story: Britton Wesson shares his story and a song as he plays it forward. Wesson is a market development executive for J.B. Hunt and also hosts The Buffalo Way Leadership podcast. 

Wesson says his advice for leaders in the trucking industry is “keep preaching the message of being resilient” and acknowledges this industry is a tough place to be. 

Breaking into the trucking industry takes resilience, but it also takes a great idea and Hope Zvara saw an opportunity to bring yoga to truckers with Mother Trucker Yoga. Zvara has also created Stiff Mother Trucker pain relief cream to help drivers alleviate stiffness in the cab. 

She is committed to helping increase wellness for drivers, encouraging them to incorporate “small, simple changes” in posture and breathing to encourage better mobility on the road. 

You can find more WHAT THE TRUCK?!? recaps and recaps for all our live podcasts here.

About our sponsor

Subscribe to the WTT newsletter

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

More FreightWaves Podcasts

Subscribe to our Youtube

Follow us on Twitter

Like us on Facebook

Upcoming FreightWaves Events
Compliance

Brokerage Compliance Symposium

The day before F3. Every compliance issue you face - fraud exposure, carrier liability, FMCSA rules, cargo theft, insurance gaps - navigated by attorneys and operators defining best practices in a changing industry.

October 26, 2026
The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN
Register Now
Awards

F3 Awards Dinner

The night before F3. FreightTech100 companies honored. FreightTech 25 and Shipper of Choice winners revealed live. Cocktail reception into dinner and live music - 300 industry leaders in one purpose-built room.

October 26, 2026
The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN
Register Now
FreightTech

F3: Future of Freight Festival

Industry-defining keynotes, rapid-fire technology demos, and industry leaders networking in experiences across Chattanooga - plus the inaugural F3 Awards Dinner featuring the FreightTech and Shipper of Choice reveals.

October 27, 2026 – October 28, 2026
The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN
Register Now
Compliance Brokerage Compliance Symposium Oct 26 • The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN

The day before F3. Every compliance issue you face - fraud exposure, carrier liability, FMCSA rules, cargo theft, insurance gaps - navigated by attorneys and operators defining best practices in a changing industry.

The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN Register Now
Awards F3 Awards Dinner Oct 26 • The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN

The night before F3. FreightTech100 companies honored. FreightTech 25 and Shipper of Choice winners revealed live. Cocktail reception into dinner and live music - 300 industry leaders in one purpose-built room.

The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN Register Now
FreightTech F3: Future of Freight Festival Oct 27 – Oct 28 • The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN

Industry-defining keynotes, rapid-fire technology demos, and industry leaders networking in experiences across Chattanooga - plus the inaugural F3 Awards Dinner featuring the FreightTech and Shipper of Choice reveals.

The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN Register Now

Kaylee Nix

Kaylee Nix is a meteorologist and reporter for FreightWaves. She joined the company in November of 2020 after spending two years as a broadcast meteorologist for a local television channel in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Kaylee graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2018 and immediately made the Tennessee Valley her home. Kaylee creates written summaries of FreightWaves live podcasts and cultivates the social media for FreightWaves TV.