Gavin Tseng

Real estate. Quick-service restaurants. Different industries, different countries, similar feeling at the end of most days — like I was doing the work, but it wasn't really my work. Got results. But I'd be lying if I said I felt fulfilled.

What I figured out eventually — and it took longer than I'd like to admit — was that the thing I actually enjoyed was helping people get somewhere. Not the freight or the warehouses or the processes. The people. Watching someone build something they believe in and knowing you played a part in that. That's what gets me up in the morning.

The business itself started with my wife. She was exploring launching her own product brand. She'd done the research, she had samples, she had a real idea — and she needed a 3PL to help her get it off the ground. What happened next kind of stuck with me. She could not get anyone to call her back. Not because she wasn't serious. Not because the idea wasn't good. Because she didn't have the order volumes yet. She wasn't big enough to matter to these businesses.

I found that really hard to watch.

"Behind every early-stage brand is a person taking a genuine chance on themselves."

Because behind every early-stage brand is a person taking a genuine chance on themselves. Risking their time, their money, often their family's finances, to try and build something better. And the industry that's supposed to support them treats responsiveness like a privilege you have to earn. That frustrated me enough to do something about it.

We built Fulfilpackers on the Gold Coast, and we're staying here. That's not an accident — it's a decision. Most of the bigger players in this space are either Sydney-based or US-owned with a depot down here and a ticket queue somewhere offshore. We're local. When something needs sorting, there's a real person you can reach. Usually pretty quickly.

The team we've built reflects that. Some people in logistics only hire from logistics. I've never done that. Our best operators have come from restaurants, retail, education. People who've worked the peaks and troughs in high-pressure environments, who understand what it means when something urgent lands at 4:45pm. Our client success managers come from backgrounds in education and retail — they understand people, they have patience, and they know how to navigate a tough conversation without just telling someone what they want to hear.

The smartest improvements we've made haven't come from consultants. They've come from someone on the floor asking "why are we doing it this way?" That keeps me honest.

"Anyone can process inventory when everything goes to plan. The real test is what happens when it doesn't."

One of the things I'm most proud of has nothing to do with a metric. One of our clients, Tuff Towel, received their very first container shipment. This was it — their first big inventory investment, everything they'd worked toward landing in our warehouse. During transit, moisture had gotten into the container. And when your product is towels, they absorb that moisture. The stock was wet.

The easy call would've been to reject the shipment. That's what a lot of operators would have done. Make it the carrier's problem, send the paperwork, move on. But we knew what was at stake for them. This wasn't just inventory — it was their first product. So the team got together, we hired drying racks, took advantage of the Queensland weather, dried and repackaged every single unit ourselves, and got it ready for dispatch. No major delay. No dramas.

For me, that's what partnership actually looks like. Anyone can process inventory when everything goes to plan. The real test is what happens when it doesn't. That's when you find out what a business is actually made of.

I'm probably still too early in this to talk about legacy. Honestly, I feel like I'm still at the beginning. There are plenty of hurdles left and plenty of lessons still to come. But if you asked what motivates me day-to-day — it's not freight or cartons or warehouse square meterage. It's hearing a client say "we were so cooked till you came into the picture." It's watching a founder go from packing orders at their kitchen table to running a real operation.

"When your colleagues feel more like mates than co-workers, the work doesn't really feel like work."

It's coming into work with a team that actually gives a damn about each other. When your colleagues feel more like mates than co-workers, the work doesn't really feel like work. That's what we've got here.

— Gavin Tseng