Todd Ziegler: From Filet Mignon Heists to Blockchain Rails and Fixing Trucking’s Biggest Payments Problem

Todd Ziegler (see his bio below) has seen the trucking industry from angles most people never do, from stolen loads of six-figure filet mignon to the quiet financial mechanics that determine whether carriers survive or fail. And according to Todd, the biggest issue in trucking isn’t drivers, trucks, or capacity. It’s how long it takes people to get paid and how much it costs them to wait.

Todd is a seasoned C-suite transportation veteran and the CEO of TCS, a company using blockchain technology to solve the most expensive and broken part of the supply chain: freight payments. In this conversation, he walks through his unlikely path from law school and commercial real estate to freight brokerage, trucking, and ultimately building a Web3 solution that settles invoices same day or next business day at a fraction of the cost of traditional factoring.

Along the way, we cover:

• Why trucking is a nearly $3 trillion industry that most people don’t fully understand

• The infamous disappearing truckload of $100,000 worth of filet mignon

• How factoring really works and why many carriers are trapped in 30–60% annualized interest rates

• Why the cost of capital, not capacity, is the biggest threat to the supply chain

• How blockchain creates faster, cheaper, and more transparent settlement rails

• What it was like being invited to the White House twice and attending the signing of the GENIUS Act

• Why Todd believes most B2B payments will be on-chain within the next 3–5 years

• And why truck drivers might be the most underestimated business minds in America

This episode blends real-world trucking stories, hard economic truths, and a practical look at how new technology actually solves old problems. Whether you’re curious about blockchain, supply chains, or how innovation really happens on Main Street, this conversation pulls back the curtain.

 

This episode is brought to you by... Ever wish your company updates could be less "quarterly earnings report" and more "late-night talk show"? At Pelaccio & Partners, we're revolutionizing internal communications with podcasts that employees actually want to listen to. Imagine podcast episodes that make your employees laugh while staying informed. Our founder, Jeff Pelaccio, doesn't just create podcasts; he creates conversations that break through the noise. Whether you're a growing startup or a massive corporation, we turn your company's story into audio gold. Leadership becomes human. Remote teams feel connected. Your message cuts through the clutter. Jeff is happy to share his insights on improving your culture, increasing employee engagement, and retention. You can contact him via LinkedIn or schedule a Zoom call via this link - 15-minute call with Jeff.  

About ​Todd: ​​Todd Ziegler is a decade-long C-suite transportation veteran. As CEO of TCS, Ziegler is leading a revolution of innovation, making B2B blockchain settlement industry standard in transportation trade finance. TCS settles freight invoices on-chain same day, or next business day, up to 90% cheaper than invoice "factoring." TCS is a main street use case for digital assets that has solved the largest payments problem in North American supply chains - an Industry valued at nearly $3T.