Fleet management software for commercial trucking — that's what Switchboard was built to do. Electronic logging, GPS tracking, real-time data sharing across the supply chain. The platform helps trucking companies share their vehicles' real-time data with other stakeholders, solving a trust gap that runs through the entire logistics industry.
The defence connection emerged through the UBC Sauder Scale Up Program. "We had our hands full with the commercial space," the team says, "but having conversations with various people in the defence industry helped us get an idea of where we can help."
What they found was a natural fit: the largest logistics operation in many countries is the defence industry, and significant amounts of secure cargo need to move efficiently within Canada.
The trust dynamics, it turns out, aren't entirely different from commercial trucking — just inverted. In commercial logistics, data is sometimes withheld between parties. In defence, sharing data across teams is assumed.
"Trust is table stakes," the team says. "Unlike in the commercial space where data is sometimes withheld, in the defence industry it's assumed that the data will be connected."
Switchboard's roots are firmly in Vancouver. The founding team met at UBC, and the company traces part of its DNA to UBC's New Venture Design course — a program that pairs engineering and business students to build entrepreneurial projects together.
The company has been through Y Combinator, which makes its decision to join the UBC Sauder Scale Up Program worth unpacking. The two programs target fundamentally different stages.
Y Combinator is built for companies finding product-market fit and raising capital. Scale Up is for companies that have already found it — focused on the growing pains of actually scaling: hiring teams, transitioning away from founder-led sales, and building operational infrastructure.
"UBC Scale Up provides mentorship and resources that target specifically the challenges that happen as a company scales," the founder says.