{{ concept_kicker | default: "Dallas, TX · Dry-van freight · Owner-operator → fleet" }}

{{ tagline | default: "One truck, run right, becomes three. A disciplined owner-operator scaling into a small Texas-triangle dry-van fleet — built on loaded miles, not luck." }}

Prepared by

Capital sought

Launch

Executive Summary

The haul

{{ exec_summary_1 | default: "Milepost Freight is a Dallas-based dry-van trucking company starting as a single owner-operated tractor and scaling to a three-truck fleet over three years. We run dedicated and brokered loads on the Texas Triangle — Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin — where lane density keeps trucks loaded and deadhead miles low." }}

{{ exec_summary_2 | default: "The model is deliberately conservative. One paid-off-on-schedule truck running 92% loaded miles at $2.10 per loaded mile throws off enough margin to seed the next. We don't chase coast-to-coast headhaul; we own a tight regional footprint where we can be home, reliable, and cheap to dispatch." }}

{% for m in exec_metrics %}

{% endfor %}

The opportunity

{{ opportunity_body | default: "Texas moves more freight tonnage than any other state, and the Dallas–Houston–San Antonio triangle is one of the densest short-haul corridors in the country. Brokers chronically need reliable regional capacity. A disciplined small carrier with clean CSA scores books steady, repeatable lanes at premium rates." }}

Why us

{{ why_us_body | default: "Ray Calderón drove company freight for nine years — six of them regional Texas dry van — with a clean record and a book of three brokers who've already committed lane volume. He knows the rate cycles, the shippers, and exactly which lanes pay. This is operator knowledge, not a spreadsheet bet." }}

The ask

{{ ask_headline | default: "$220,000 to put the first truck on the road." }}

{{ ask_body | default: "A $150,000 equipment loan covers the tractor and trailer; an SBA-backed working-capital line plus owner equity funds insurance, fuel float, and a 90-day reserve. The structure keeps the truck cash-flowing from week one and the founder personally un-leveraged on operating costs." }}

{{ company_legal | default: "Milepost Freight LLC" }}Confidential — Page 2

Services & Model

What we move

{{ services_intro | default: "Dry-van freight, regional and short-haul, on lanes we run again and again. We carry palletized consumer goods, packaging, building materials, and brokered general commodity — no reefer, no hazmat, no flatbed. A narrow equipment profile keeps maintenance simple and utilization high." }}

Core lanes & rate structure

{% for lane in lanes %}

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{{ model_box1_body | default: "Year 1, Ray drives. Year 2, truck two is added with a hired company driver and Ray shifts toward dispatch and broker relationships. Year 3, truck three completes a three-truck dedicated fleet. Each truck must clear its own note and insurance before the next is ordered — growth is funded by loaded miles, not new debt." }}

{{ model_box2_body | default: "The whole model rides on loaded-mile percentage. Running a tight triangle, we target 92% loaded against a regional industry norm near 82–85%. Every point of deadhead eliminated is roughly $0.18 per mile of recovered margin — the single most important operating number we manage." }}

{{ company_legal | default: "Milepost Freight LLC" }}Confidential — Page 3

Market Analysis

The demand

{{ market_lead | default: "Texas is the freight capital of the United States, and the Dallas–Houston–San Antonio–Austin triangle is its busiest interior corridor. Short regional lanes, deep broker demand, and a steady stream of shippers needing dependable capacity make it ideal ground for a disciplined small carrier." }}

{% for m in market_metrics %}

{% endfor %}

{{ t.lead }} — {{ t.body }}

{{ market_box2_body1 | default: "Regional dry-van capacity tightened as larger carriers chased long-haul lanes and many small operators exited during the last rate trough. Shippers are actively re-sourcing dependable local capacity. A carrier entering now with clean compliance and committed lanes lands contracts that were locked up two years ago." }}

{{ market_box2_body2 | default: "Short regional lanes also insulate us from the worst of national rate-cycle swings — drayage and dedicated freight hold up when long-haul spot collapses." }}

{{ company_legal | default: "Milepost Freight LLC" }}Confidential — Page 4

Competitive Landscape

The edge

{{ competition_intro | default: "The triangle is served by mega-carriers, regional fleets, and a churn of one-truck operators. The megas are expensive and inflexible; the solo operators are unreliable and undercapitalized. Milepost sits in the gap — small enough to be responsive, disciplined enough to be dependable." }}

{{ comp_col1 | default: "Carrier type" }}{{ comp_col2 | default: "Trucks" }}{{ comp_col3 | default: "Avg rate" }}{{ comp_col4 | default: "Flexibility" }}

{% for c in competitors %}

{% endfor %}

{{ comp_you_name | default: "Milepost Freight" }}{{ comp_you_v2 | default: "1 → 3" }}{{ comp_you_v3 | default: "$2.10/mi" }}{{ comp_you_v4 | default: "High" }}

{{ t.lead }} — {{ t.body }}

Honest risks

{{ t.lead }} — {{ t.body }}

{{ company_legal | default: "Milepost Freight LLC" }}Confidential — Page 5

Operations & Go-to-Market

The machine

{{ ops_intro | default: "The operation is a fixed weekly loop on known lanes, with preventive maintenance and load sourcing run on a tight cadence. The whole system is built so a single truck — and then three — stays loaded, legal, and on schedule without drama." }}

{% for s in route %}

{% endfor %}

{{ t.lead }} — {{ t.body }}

{{ cac_body | default: "Truck two requires a Class-A driver with a clean record. We pay $0.62/mile plus safety bonus — above regional market — and offer home-daily lanes, the single biggest retention lever in trucking. Recruiting through driver networks and a referral bonus keeps the chair filled." }}

{{ staffing_body | default: "Clean CSA scores are the product. ELD-tracked HOS, scheduled PM, and zero preventable violations are how we keep brokers and contracts." }}

{{ company_legal | default: "Milepost Freight LLC" }}Confidential — Page 6

Financial Plan

The numbers

{{ fin_lead | default: "Conservative single-truck assumptions — 110,000 loaded miles in Year 1 at a $2.10 blended loaded rate, 92% loaded. Every figure holds even if we miss plan by 15%." }}

Startup & use of funds

ItemAmount

{% for r in startup_costs %}

{% endfor %}

Total{{ startup_total | default: "$220,000" }}

{{ funding_note | default: "Funded by a $150,000 equipment loan + $45,000 SBA line + $25,000 owner equity." }}

Line{{ unit_col | default: "Per mile" }}

{% for r in unit_economics %}

{{ r.line }}{% if r.sub %} {{ r.sub }}{% endif %}{{ r.amount }}

{% endfor %}

{{ unit_note | default: "$0.49 net per loaded mile across 110k miles covers the equipment note and seeds truck two by month eleven." }}

Three-year revenue projection

{% for b in projection %}

{% endfor %}

{{ projection_note | default: "Year-2 growth adds a second truck and company driver; Year 3 completes the three-truck fleet — each truck funded from operating cash, not new debt." }}

{{ company_legal | default: "Milepost Freight LLC" }}Confidential — Page 7

The Ask

Roll out

{{ close_lead | default: "Milepost Freight is a disciplined, operator-led carrier entering the densest freight corridor in the country with committed lanes already in hand. The capital below is the only thing between a finished plan and a loaded truck on I-45." }}

Milestones — milepost to fleet

{% for s in milestones %}

{% endfor %}

Bottom line

{{ bottom_headline | default: "One disciplined truck becomes a three-truck fleet — on loaded miles, not leverage." }}

{{ bottom_body | default: "The plan reaches break-even in month eleven, services the equipment loan from net-per-mile margin, and self-funds trucks two and three. The $220,000 doesn't buy a gamble — it buys a clean entry into the country's busiest freight corridor with the lanes already committed." }}

Prepared by

{{ contact_line1 | default: "Milepost Freight LLC · Dallas, TX" }}
{{ contact_line2 | default: "[email protected] · (214) 555‑0188" }}

{{ company_legal | default: "Milepost Freight LLC" }} · {{ sign_name | default: "Ray Calderón" }}Confidential — Page 8