We are back with another weekly blog post! This time we got the opportunity to sit down and interview Black Mountains' current CEO: Brian Lint!
Despite his busy schedule, we are grateful to be able to sit down and communicate with one of the individuals responsible for the founding of Black Mountain.
We have a good number of questions to get through so let's dive right in!
What's your story in summary that led you to Black Mountain?
I’ve been in fulfillment in some form for over 20 years. I started as an early eBay power seller where I sourced a variety of products to resell during the winter months while I was a painting contractor in the Seattle area.
I eventually ended up operating a fulfillment center in Colorado and then moving that operation to Las Vegas, where I met my business partner, James.
We saw a need for a fulfillment company that had a more personal approach, where we were true partners with our clients and had a small handful of clients that we had built relationships with over several years that wanted to continue working with us, so Black Mountain Fulfillment was born.
What started with James and I using my pool table as a packing table and having no room to walk in my house has now turned into a 45,000 sq. ft. facility with some exciting new things coming very shortly.
Where do you see Black Mountain in the next 5 years?
With our 10-year plan being accomplished in less than 5 years, the sky is the limit. We have made some very promising strategic partnerships that have opened up a whole new world of possibilities for us. We will be looking for new locations across the country and around the world to better serve our client's needs.
What does BMF already do differently from competitors that you think makes us better?
The biggest thing is our team. Everyone knows how important our function is to the success of our clients. Every team member is constantly looking for ways to improve our process and jumping in to help wherever needed. We keep things fun and do everything we can to make this a place where people want to be. We have always had a very low employee turnover because people want to work here. Since we aren’t having to constantly train new employees, we can keep our accuracy rate well above industry norms and make fulfillment something that our clients don’t have to worry about.
If you had a message to relay to your past self that would better yourself as a businessman what would it be?
I think I would just remind myself to be open to learning from everyone around me. I’ve always done my best to be a sponge and learn as much as I can from others. Don’t be too proud to learn from peers, direct competitors, or even your employees.
What's your favorite aspect of working in the fulfillment business?
Helping our clients achieve success with their business has been very rewarding. Whether it’s an established company that had a bad experience with another fulfillment center and needs help to right the ship, or a brand new startup that just has an idea and a website, I consider it an honor to be able to help our clients chase their dreams.
Any remaining comments?
This is an exciting time to be in fulfillment. It’s become such a huge part of our global economy, generating $21B in 2021 in North America alone. Projections show fulfillment will be a $200B industry in North America by 2030, a multi-trillion dollar industry worldwide, and will only continue to grow from there. We are excited to see what the future will bring to Black Mountain Fulfilment.