Avery Tomek·August 4, 2025

Building a $25m FedEx Route Empire from $100k Equity | Avery Tomek Interview

Avery Tomek is a CPA-turned-entrepreneur who built a FedEx ground route empire from a single $1 million SBA-financed route in rural East Texas (Nacogdoches) in 2022 to a ~$25 million annual revenue operation running 152 active trucks across 7 states by mid-2025. His entry coincided with the end of COVID-era e-commerce peaks: package volumes fell, diesel costs spiked, and his variable-rate SBA loan interest nearly doubled — a near-death experience compounded by a failed foray into linehaul tractor operations. Rather than retreat, Avery recognized the downturn as a buying opportunity: he purchased hundreds of lightly-used FedEx step vans at auction for roughly half price from a liquidating fleet leasing company, tapped every available lender for truck financing, and accepted FedEx contingency route contracts (at 2-3x normal rates) as other operators failed, receiving long-term route contracts for free. By 2024 volumes recovered, the Express/Ground merger added ~30% incremental package volume, and Avery's 240-truck fleet and management team of three GMs yielded EBITDA margins of 35-40% on $550k weekly revenue. The business is entirely remote-managed from Dallas, but Avery emphasizes it is deeply owner-intensive at his growth pace — he attributes much of his advantage to personally hunting contingency opportunities and pre-positioning truck inventory 6-12 months ahead of demand.

Deal facts

purchase price: ~$1m (implied: ~4.6x EBITDA on ~$200k SDE)
multiple: 4.6x EBITDA (guest's characterization; noted as high/COVID-era pricing)
sde ebitda: ~$200k SDE at time of purchase (guest noted actual earnings had likely fallen by close date)
revenue: ~$1.1m annually at time of purchase (~$22k/week); grown to ~$25m annual run rate by July 2025
financing structure: SBA loan (variable rate) + $100k equity down payment
notes: First acquisition was a single FedEx ground route in Nacogdoches, TX area — the only SBA-eligible FedEx route available in Texas at the time. Guest subsequently grew to ~240 trucks across 7 states (TX, LA, AL, TN, MO, KY, OH), running ~152 trucks actively as of July 2025, generating ~$550k/week revenue. Additional routes were awarded by FedEx at no cost during COVID downturn when other contractors failed. Guest also briefly entered linehaul (tractor-trailer) segment with 5 tractors but exited after significant cash flow pressure.

Why this business

Avery had known about FedEx routes for several years through a friend who owned them successfully. He was drawn to the relatively low capital entry point, the weekly cash flow from a reliable corporate payer, the absence of sales/marketing/collections functions, and the unlimited growth potential — FedEx would keep awarding routes to operators who performed well. He was moving away from real estate (too expensive post-COVID) and wanted a cash-flowing business with a clear operational model.

What's working

Weekly Friday deposits from FedEx with no accounts receivable, bad debt, collections, or marketing burden
FedEx awards additional routes (contingency and long-term contracts) to proven high-performing operators, enabling essentially free acquisition of additional revenue
Countercyclical truck buying during COVID downturn: purchased lightly-used trucks at auction for roughly half price (~$30k) from a liquidating leasing company, building a 240-truck fleet at low cost basis
Running contingency routes during competitor failures generated 2-3x normal per-package rates, funding further truck purchases and fleet expansion
Remote management model: guest runs operations from a Dallas office across 7 states, with ~3 senior GMs/VPs handling day-to-day station management
Express/Ground merger by FedEx added ~30% volume increase, benefiting operators with underutilized assets
35-40% EBITDA margins achieved through contingency work and operational reputation; ~$550k/week revenue by July 2025 (~$25m annual run rate)
Reinvesting all cash flow (no salary taken) accelerated compounding; ~80 trucks purchased outright for cash, eliminating those monthly payments

What's hard

Bought at peak COVID valuations on a variable-rate SBA loan; interest rates nearly doubled and package volumes softened immediately after closing
Russia-Ukraine war caused diesel prices to spike more than double with no compensating fuel surcharge from FedEx at the time
Labor shortage was acute and remains persistent; guest employs 3 recruiters plus a recruiting agency to staff drivers
Entered linehaul (tractor-trailer) segment with 5 tractors at ~$15-20k/month in payments; that market fell sharply, causing severe cash flow strain and near-total loss — eventually sold the tractors to exit
Truck breakdowns create brittle operational domino effects: drivers missing, routes failing, managers pulled off tasks, tow trucks needed, rental trucks at high cost — all simultaneously
Business is highly owner-intensive at scale; guest acknowledges it would run at roughly half current revenue without his involvement hunting contingency opportunities and managing fleet pipeline
Truck prices have risen ~50% since the COVID trough; new trucks now ~$90k vs. the ~$30k he paid at auction
Seasonal cash flow: January-February are the slowest months; peak season (Q4) requires heavy resource pre-positioning

Notable quotes

FedEx is such a big corporation, their little crumbs they leave behind are gold nuggets to individuals.

When other people are bearish, there's a bull market in every market cycle. You got to be a cyclical player. A lot of times do the opposite of what other people are doing.

I never being there — I mean, I would go occasionally just like for the morning and then drive back — but not being there on a regular basis was probably the best decision I made.

There were about three times where I thought maybe I was going to lose it all, but when things are bad, people forget that they'll be good again. So, if you can be patient and last, you can weather just about any storm.