Fueling Growth Without Losing Vision: A Founder’s Perspective

In this episode, Alba Wheels Up Co-Founder Damien Stile shares how he transformed a small customs brokerage into a logistics leader overseeing $15B+ in imports annually. Damien reflects on the decision to bring in private equity, why a values alignment with investors is critical, and how the partnership fueled innovation, scalability, and leadership expansion—without compromising the company’s entrepreneurial spirit. A must-listen for founders navigating growth and bringing on investment.

Chapters

• (00:00:00) - Antony Caparino on Private Equity
• (00:00:52) - Importance of Customs House Brokers: Damian Style on The Podcast
• (00:02:14) - The Journey of Alba Logistics
• (00:03:46) - Customs House Brokerage: The Roll Up
• (00:06:02) - How Did The Private Equity Company Conduct Their Due Dilution?
• (00:08:42) - On The Covid Deal
• (00:11:47) - Exploring the Alba Tech Deal
• (00:14:13) - Have Private Equity Partners Improved the Company?
• (00:17:19) - How Has the Company Strengened the Team?
• (00:18:42) - How Do You Balance Autonomy and Accountability?
• (00:20:35) - Tariffs and the Market
• (00:22:12) - Q&A: Tariffs
• (00:23:27) - A Private Equity Investor Conversation