The self-described best salesman at every peddler job he has had, Mike Ricklefs decided in 2008 that he wanted to run his own operation. Nearly a decade after its humble beginnings in its owner’s apartment, King of Freight is a growing logistics brokerage company in Wichita featuring a set of young leaders with big plans. “There’s no limit to what we could be,” Ricklefs said. “We could pretty much be one of the biggest companies Wichita has, with time.” Right now, the company – which essentially brokers deals between manufacturers and contractors who move freight to market – has 35 employees, though general manager Brady Miller said the goal is to have at least 100 employees by the end of 2016.
The company recently moved its headquarters from North Rock Road to the third floor of the High Touch Technologies building downtown, 110 S. Main, and has plans to add more than 4,000 square feet to its operation. Ricklefs said the operation will expand to nearly 9,200 square feet once the office space renovation is complete later this year. “The freight industry services the entire country,” Ricklefs said. “If you look outside, everything from the signs to the cement on the ground was shipped here. The computer in my office was shipped here, and nobody is going to replace a semi truck driver with a robot. “What’s cool about this industry is that it’s still going to be here when we die, it’s not going anywhere.” Don’t get Ricklefs wrong. He and his two top lieutenants – Miller and company partner and IT specialist Greg Bolain – don’t figure to kick the bucket anytime soon. The three range in age from 28 to 32; Ricklefs and Miller are former roommates during their time at the University of Kansas, and Ricklefs and Bolain met as teenagers working at a call center.
“Me and Greg were both 16 years old, and we were the top sales reps at MCI in Wichita,” Ricklefs said. “We used to work four hours per night there after school, and we were making a ton of money. “When I came up with the idea for King of Freight, I got in touch with Greg and he ended up learning how to program computer code from YouTube videos. Greg is a genius, and he does all of our custom software.” With all three being from the area, the members of King of Freight’s brain trust agree that it’s important to grow in their home city. Miller said the company strives to do as much business as it can in the Wichita area, even though it also has accounts with major national shippers, such as Georgia-Pacific. “It’s a three-headed attack,” Miller said. “Mike is at the top; he has Greg running IT and me helping him run sales. We’re three young guys who are willing to do whatever it takes to keep this thing moving, to provide jobs for Wichita, and to be the best we can at everything freight-related, from small shipments to really big shipments. “We’ll work with the guy who ships once or twice per month – if you’re a small Wichita company, we welcome you.”
Ricklefs said he “knew nothing about freight” until working for a logistics company, where he said he studied every aspect of the business. The secret, he said, is to provide enough financial incentive for his salespeople to keep them motivated to continuously bring in clients. “Our biggest selling point to employees is that we offer the dream to them,” Ricklefs said. “We put our people on 50 percent commission – if they ship a load for $1,000, they get $500. That’s the highest commission in our industry. “There’s no cap on what you can earn here. We have people who have worked here for six months and they’re already making the equivalent of $100,000 per year.”
After experiencing the ups and downs of starting a company from scratch, Ricklefs said he thinks King of Freight is at the “tipping point” of a major growth spurt. The ultimate goal, he said, is to become the biggest freight brokerage company in the U.S. Can King of Freight get there? “Yes, it can,” Ricklefs said. “We have time. “We’re in it to win it – we want that No. 1 spot.”