Blog

Entrepreneur Justin Turk knew his start-up was special, but a $1 million prize from Grammy award-winning singer and producer Pharrell Williams came as a shock.

On Tuesday, Williams announced the winners of his Black Ambition prize competition – and Turk and his business partner, Andre Davis, are in the national spotlight.

Williams’ non-profit was founded in December to help Black and Latino business owners close the wealth gap through entrepreneurship.

Turk and Davis, co-founders of Livegistics, took home the top prize of $1 million. The Detroit-based entrepreneurs run a cloud-based material management software company, which eliminates paperwork in heavy civil construction and demolition. The company also provides data and metrics that construction experts can use for efficiency.

Livegistics is also helping the environment through the elimination of tons of paper each year and helps local communities accelerate the elimination of blight in urban cities and neighborhoods.

“We knew we had something special, but you don’t go in thinking you will walk away with $1 million. But when it happens you are like, ‘Wow, we just won $1 million,’” Turk said.

But the 40-year-old said he never knew joy and pain could co-exist simultaneously.

Success can be bittersweet

On the day he learned his tech start-up won the grand prize, his father-in-law died before he could share the news.

“All in 24 hours, it was the greatest and worst moments tied together forever. There we were with the our biggest business success to date along with the worst day of our lives all in 24 hours,” Turk said. “It is weird. Sometimes I feel guilty for being so happy about what’s going on, but I know he would have been excited.”

Turk, who co-founded the business three years ago with Davis, said that hours after he learned about winning he watched a team of health care professionals try to revive his wife’s father, whom he admired. He was a veteran who loved architecture. And they shared the same passion for construction.

Instead of hosting a celebration party for friends and family, Turk said he will bury his father-in-law in a private ceremony Saturday.

“He would have been enamored with what’s going on. If he would have been able to see all of this, it would have just blown him away,” Turk said. “He would walk around the city of Detroit and look at buildings on his own. This would have just made his decade.”

More like brothers

Turk’s and Davis’ friendship goes back decades. The two met in elementary school when they were 5 years old, Davis said. Then, they were college roommates at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Davis, the chief financial officer, said it was never a goal to become business partners but it made sense.

“He’s been in just about every special moment in my life,” Davis said. “Not only are we solving the single most significant reason construction companies go out of business (cash flow), we’re doing so in a manner that creates less work and makes the lives of our customers easier to manage.”

Davis, 41, said he worked at Financial One as an outsourced CFO to clients in the Metro Detroit area. He started and operated his own accounting and financial services practice for 10 years, managing to keep one foot in the non-profit sector to give back. He wants to encourage other Black and minority entrepreneurs looking to start their businesses to take the leap of faith.

“A thought today, backed by effort today, is one step closer to your dream tomorrow. Justin is brilliant. His background is the foundation for what I forsee as a unicorn in the making,” Davis said. “A third generation business owner, minority-owned, who understands all facets of large construction projects at an expert level…who also has a degree in computer science to speak tech geek language! You don’t find a Justin Turk walking around every day.”

Together, the hybrid team beat out nearly 1,700 applicants to win the grand prize. Williams, who announced the initiative in December, congratulated the team on Twitter Tuesday, saying, “We are so inspired by you and can’t wait to see how you change the world.”

Turk and Davis said this win is bigger than them. It’s about opening the door for the next person.

“Winning this competition is bigger than just the prize money,” Turk said. “When we first entered the tech start-up world as two Black entrepreneurs, we had no idea how to navigate in this space.”

Turk said they are not only being taught how to navigate, “but also to dominate in an industry that just recently decided to grant access to people of color.”

The win will break open doors. And Turk has an another goal.

“We don’t just want an invite, we want to create the guest list,” he said.

Livegistics, Inc., the winner of the inaugural $1 million Black Ambition Pitch Competition, recently closed a $6 million seed round. Dedicated to increasing visibility and leading coordination in the construction industry, with the goal of automating processes and establishing sustainability hubs around the world.

Our 100% cloud-based technology connects all project stakeholders in real-time via a GPS-tracked network of digital information, keeping you and your company moving forward in a paperless society. Real-time material tracking provides valuable load optimization data and transfer productivity on each job site. With our contactless technology, drivers cross the sales in under 12 seconds, drastically reducing CO2 emissions. Our platforms are built to drive productivity and visibility through digital audit trails that are otherwise tracked with thousands of pieces of paper. 

Livegistics just gained $6 million in seed funding to help the Black-owned technology firm expand its operations and gain new customers.

The Detroit-based company is a cloud-based material management system that takes all the paper processes in civil engineering and converts them into a digital platform with real-time GPS tracking. Calling itself a global leader in construction operations software, Livegistics says its niche is helping companies erase revenue losses from lost tickets and giving them a competitive edge with data analytics.

“My father and grandfather once owned and operated Michigan’s largest minority-owned asphalt company, so construction is in my DNA,” Turk stated.

“My ambition to achieve and restore system integrity to the industry is still fueled by their legacy.”

The company informed BLACK ENTERPRISE it plans to use $6 million—representing its first round of seed funding—led by Refinery Ventures and BlackOps Ventures to scale up.

Turk says the money will help speed up Livegistics’s ground-breaking technology rollout via a multitiered platform system offering enormous value and efficiency to users.

“We can now pursue contracts with corporations whose daily activities have a substantial influence on both our communities and the environment.”

Stellantis and the National Business League (NBL) today launched the inaugural collective of the National Black Supplier Development Program, a group of 15 Black-owned businesses representing geographic diversity and a range of disciplines and commodities.

The program also announced the addition of a diverse group of eight corporate partners that will enhance the development and business opportunities for participating companies, according to a press release. Corporate partners include additional auto manufacturers, Tier 1 suppliers, finance, banking and other business service providers. Complete list of companies and corporate partners attached.

These important developments build on a successful pilot in which participating companies either secured or were considered for contracts on some of Stellantis’ most significant marketing projects and vehicle programs, such as the Chrysler Pacifica, Dodge Durango and Wagoneer/Grand Wagoneer. The pilot ran from October 2021 to February 2022.

“These are exciting next steps for the Stellantis-National Business League National Black Supplier Development Program on its journey to ensure that all Black business enterprises and suppliers have an equitable and inclusive stake in the global marketplace,” said Mark Stewart, COO, Stellantis, North America.

“The launch of the inaugural collective and addition of outstanding corporate partners ensures the program will be a sustainable source of significant business and development opportunities for Black businesses, entrepreneurs and communities for many years to come.”

Logistics is the key to any successful project, from building Little Caesars Arena to building a shed in your backyard. As we celebrate black Business Month, there's a company here in Detroit that's changing the logistics game.  Click to watch:

The National Business League and the automaker Stellantis announced Tuesday that they are partnering to launch an inaugural program to develop and support Black-owned supplier companies through education, connections and resources.

The goal is to eventually connect these supplier companies with contracts. Under the National Black Supplier Development Program, the partners said they have selected 15 Black-owned supplier businesses for this phase, 60% of which are based in Detroit.

The goal is to eventually connect these supplier companies with contracts. Under the National Black Supplier Development Program, the partners said they have selected 15 Black-owned supplier businesses for this phase, 60% of which are based in Detroit.

The program has a major focus on two topics: building a growth plan and understanding financial stability. The program has a new learning management system that will connect the suppliers to companies and other businesses. There also are opportunities for participants to work with Stellantis.

“What we intended to do was first look at what the market is doing — whether there’s opportunity and professional services in the future — as well as looking at opportunities internally as automotive companies — what would we need as we begin to transition ourselves into this mobility space?” said Gregory Hawkins, business resource group and global integration manager at Stellantis. “??So what we did was select the suppliers that had those capabilities to deliver what not only we need today, but in the future.”

In addition to Stellantis’ support, Comerica Bank, Cummins, DTE Energy, Ford Motor Co., General Motors, Lear, Magna and Toyota are joining the program as corporate partners.

The participating companies are Boulevard Content, ESG International, BSM Logistics, Goss LLC, Greenwood CRE, ConForm Automotive, JMA Global, Rolling Out Media, Livegistics, Revolt Media, Pro-Tech Group, Superior Innovative Solutions, The Harmon Group, Powerhouse Energy 360 and Vehya. These companies provide commodities such as electronic vehicle solar batteries, transportation, insurance, media, cleaning and advertising.

A pilot for this initiative, which Hawkins called Phase One of the program, launched last year with 13 participating businesses.

“In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which obviously had a demonstrative impact on Black business, coupled with the Black racial unrest that led to a global Black Lives Matter movement — that sparked this black racial equity push,” said Harris, “Our goal was to level the playing field and be intentional with a program that would have a significant impact on the disparities that exist in this country.”

The partners are approaching Phase Two of the program with a kickoff event Tuesday at the Stellantis Conner Event Center in Detroit. Its Tier 1 supplier, auto manufacturer, banking and finance partners are expected to be present, where they will network with the new participating businesses.

Harris said the new corporate partners will receive an orientation. “And then we will have the template for them to be able to engage, whether it's in terms of mentorship and coaching, education and training, access to opportunities within their supply chain, etc.,” he said.

Hawkins and Harris have a vision to eventually support over 2.9 million Black-owned businesses nationally. Hawkins said that the partners are building the foundation for the suppliers, so that more businesses will be able to take advantage of the network in the future.

“We realize that everyone that comes behind them will have the luxury of benefiting from all of that content, that capability and that network,” Hawkins said. “So while much of it is now online, any one of those 2.9 million suppliers can go into that platform, understand how to use it, take that same education and development.”

Livegistics founder, Justin Turk, is a third-generation entrepreneur in the construction industry. But instead of jumping right into construction like his family, he took a different path. Justin went to college to become a software developer, then got his Master’s in civil engineering and construction management. With the partnership of his education and familial ties to construction, the foundation for Livegistics was created naturally.

At the core of the Livegistics software is a deep understanding of their client's business. Their platform is designed to bring the construction industry into the world of technology through real-time data and predictive software that helps to reduce waste and work more efficiently on a project. The data they provide enables their customers to make more insightful decisions for tomorrow and allows contractors and construction companies as a whole to be more proactive than reactive.

“The data is so important in real-time fashion because the work in construction has already been done weeks before you know if you’ve made money or not and if you were compliant or not. We help our clients focus on the unknown and see things they may not have — because that’s so much of what the construction industry is: unknown,” says Justin.

Livegistics is focused on significant impacts through their software — to support the environment and local communities, help businesses make better decisions financially, and reduce carbon emissions and reduce waste. And after their $6M seed fundraise, they’re just getting started.

Building a Culture with Community in Mind

When it comes down to it, the product and the community go hand-in-hand and the company culture impacts that. The Livegistics team is made up of people who are passionate about the work they do and their impact on the environment.

“We see our team members as more than a Customer Service Rep, more than a Developer — we go beyond title. We know they have hobbies and interests that can benefit the Livegistics mission and want to nurture those for the individual, but also for our company,” says Justin. “We have a team member who has expertise in urban gardening, so we asked them to teach us and figure out how to incorporate urban gardening in our messaging as well. We have another team member who is passionate about recycling and sustainability. I know these skills are valuable to our team and our work.”

The Livegistics software, in combination with community help and buy-in, cleans up neighborhoods and builds a healthier and more sustainable tomorrow.

“We’re helping communities live better,” says Justin. “Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the amount of illegal dumping has sky-rocketed and the amount of waste in landfills is at an all-time high. We work with 26 landfills across the country to ensure they are compliant and aid in the fight to keep our environment and our communities clean. We’re also seeing tire disposal challenges in urban areas.”

Nurturing the Livegistics Company Culture

Livegistics faces the same challenges any remote company does with a team separated by screens. Leadership may ask that everyone have their camera on for a certain meeting, but there’s trust that has been built by bringing the right people onboard.

“You don’t know it’s working until it’s working,” says Justin. “My team is strong, determined, and relentless in the pursuit of excellence, and my leadership team and I do whatever we can to nurture that.”

Things like regularly celebrating wins, announcing an Employee of the Month, and ensuring every single individual knows they are part of the Livegistics journey, are just a few examples of this thriving work culture.

Justin also believes that every voice matters, regardless of title or years of experience. Supporting his team is very important to him. He knows that creating a safe space for people to voice ideas, opinions, and even what’s going on in their personal lives only makes for more engaged employees — and successful ones.

Although Justin loves to see these values come through in his employees, he knows it’s important to be an example for them as well. He’s a mentor for other community startups, a football coach, and more. He says, “I want people to learn things that help them grow individually, spread their wings, and do what they want. It’s why I regularly give advice and ideas, connect with people, and share knowledge.”

Building the Livegistics Team

When it comes to building the Livegistics team, interest or experience in construction aren’t at the forefront as one may think.

Livegistics looks for talent who are skilled in tech, but they also put a lot of weight on people who have leadership skills. Through the interview process, the team seeks to find out how a candidate feels about responsibility and ownership — with minimal focus on construction. “We can teach people about construction and we do. I want to know if someone is willing to speak up and is relentless in the pursuit of excellence among other things,” says Justin.

For those members of the team who work face-to-face with the customer, the expectation is to bring the most exciting version of you every day. Justin knows the customer is the most important piece of the puzzle and how his team interacts with them is top of mind. “It’s important to think outside yourself, communicate thoroughly, and follow through on any promises you make.”

Working at Livegistics not only means an exciting product and great company culture. It also means unlimited PTO, a fun workplace, and a real environmental impact.