How the Startup Battlefield 2025 Winner Identified a Massive Logistics Gap
Kevin Damoa, the CEO and founder of Glīd, the Startup Battlefield 2025 winner, first learned about logistics inefficiencies during his early days in the U.S. Army. Assigned to a team loading tanks and Bradley vehicles onto trains, he witnessed how much friction existed in moving cargo from road to rail.
Despite railways being less congested, the multi-step process of transferring heavyweight cargo remained slow, manual, and error-prone. This early exposure planted the seeds for what would later become Glīd’s core mission: simplifying container movement through better hardware and software.
The Road to Winning Startup Battlefield 2025
Fast forward to 2025, and Damoa stood on the TechCrunch Disrupt stage holding the giant check after beating 200+ startups. As the Startup Battlefield 2025 winner, Glīd impressed judges with a near-simultaneous launch of three integrated logistics products.
A High-Pressure Live Demo Moment
Preparing the demo required perfect synchronization between hardware and software.
Damoa shared:
“Making sure the software works was wild. Anyone who knows software knows it takes an army — which we didn’t have.”
The public deadline forced the team into focus, pushing them to build faster and better.
What’s Next for the Startup Battlefield 2025 Winner
Fresh off the win, Glīd is accelerating into its next phase:
- Launching a logistics pilot with Great Plains Industrial Park
- Releasing their upcoming product Glīder
- Hiring across engineering, operations, and product
A Human-Centered Hiring Culture
Damoa describes Glīd’s hiring approach as an “organic process” driven by vibe checks, mission alignment, and mindfulness — a culture that helped them excel in the Startup Battlefield 2025 competition.
External Innovation Inspired by Immigration Tech
TechCrunch also highlighted another standout from Disrupt: JustiGuide, an AI platform helping people navigate U.S. immigration.
External DoFollow Resources
- JustiGuide: https://justiguide.com
- TechCrunch Disrupt: https://techcrunch.com/events/disrupt/
- U.S. Immigration Free Law Project: https://free.law
