Jim Wilson: Autonomous Inter Modal

Autonomous Inter Modal by the numbers

$10 million

First-round funding being pursued

18 million

Annual market in units

48 years

Railroad industry experience

Background

Jim Wilson is the president and CEO of Autonomous Intermodal, a Houston-based startup working with the railroad industry to design innovative equipment for moving containers and trailers across North America. With 48 years of experience in railroad operations and technology—including leading operations for the Santa Fe Railroad and operating intermodal terminals—Jim had had the spark for a new business two and a half years ago. He realized the equipment designs currently in use are approximately 30 years old, made entirely of steel, and built to last 40-50 years. It was time for change.

Jim saw an opportunity to leverage new technology to improve operations, boost efficiency, and grow markets in an industry that moves 18 million units annually. His entrepreneurial spirit, inherited from his father who was an entrepreneur his entire life, pushed him to pursue this vision.

“You can say the word LivePlan and [investors] know what you're talking about. That means a lot. … I'm not getting thrown out of the building. I'm not told I'm crazy.”

Jim Wilson

Founder, Autonomous Inter Modal

Problem

Jim had started or co-founded three different businesses since 1995, so he understood the importance of a solid business plan. His early experiences creating business plans were painstaking—pure Word documents with basic formatting.

As Jim developed Autonomous Intermodal, he needed to communicate complex engineering concepts and financial projections to potential investors and railroad customers. With his "Kansas background" business English, he struggled with run-on sentences and knew his writing could be cleaner and more professional. He also needed a centralized system to manage multiple revenue streams (11 different lines), financial projections, and investor data. He didn’t want to juggle Excel spreadsheets, Word documents, and multiple software platforms. Most importantly, he needed a way to present his disruptive innovation story backed by solid financial data to secure the $10 million in funding required for his first two years of operations.

Four men in suits posed in front of a yellow service vehicle with rooftop beacon beside a rural railroad crossing.

Solution

Jim was introduced to LivePlan in 2016 by another entrepreneur on an advisory board, and has watched the platform evolve significantly since then. For Autonomous Intermodal, LivePlan became his centralized data hub. The AI features helped transform his writing. With LivePlan, it was cleaner, more efficient, shorter, and eliminated his run-on sentences, while allowing his expertise to shine through. The financial planning tools enabled him to track his revenue streams and present them by month or year, with easy access to an accurate balance sheet, profit and loss statement, and cash flow projections.

Jim incorporated the "Scaling Up" methodology (focusing on strategy, execution, people, and cash) directly into LivePlan, giving him one unified platform instead of bouncing between multiple software programs. He accesses information quickly from LivePlan during investor conversations, and investors trust the data because they know where it’s coming from.

“The evolution of LivePlan to now has been nothing short of amazing. With AI and the way the financials flow, it's much easier to build a business plan. I actually use it for my data hub to show investors too.”

Jim Wilson

Founder, Autonomous Inter Modal

Outcome

After two years of self-funding while developing engineering designs and gathering industry feedback, Jim is now actively pursuing investors with confidence. He recently had his first meeting with the executive chairman of a $65 billion fund who not only showed strong interest but is connecting Jim with four different investment funds and a major trucking company contact. Jim's LivePlan-backed pitch is resonating: he's getting positive feedback from railroad industry leaders instead of being "thrown out of the building" or told he's crazy.

Autonomous Intermodal is launching its first design and prototyping project this year with one of the major railroads. After 3-4 months of engineering with Federal Railroad Administration testing and certification, Jim's innovative products will be ready to sell. His two-step funding plan targets $10 million for the initial phase, followed by $50 million to move into full production. This will position Autonomous Intermodal to capture a significant share of the 18-million-unit annual market and transform an industry that hasn't seen equipment innovation in three decades.