Sam Kinney - Part I
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Sam Kinney - Part I
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In this episode of Algo Ego, I sit down with Sam Kinney, co-founder of FreeMarkets — the company that pioneered online procurement auctions and transformed how global supply chains operate.
Sam and I talk about how FreeMarkets began in the early ’90s — before Java, before Netscape — and how a handful of former McKinsey consultants turned a manual “ballroom auction” into one of the most influential B2B platforms of its time.
We dive into the creative auction formats that shaped modern sourcing, from index bidding to net present value auctions, and the culture that fueled the company’s explosive growth (including the now-legendary “bag of bolts” interview test). Sam also shares lessons from FreeMarkets’ rise, what we learned about innovation and disruption, and how those insights apply to today’s world of AI-driven market design and the future of procurement.