Inside the Physical Economy: Charles Julius on Platforms, Trust, and the Food Supply Chain

In this episode of First Builders, hosts Amber Illig and Rachel Tsui sit down with Charles Julius, Co-Founder and CEO of Loamy, to explore what it really takes to build platforms for essential, historically under-digitized industries.Charles shares his unconventional path from healthcare law to software engineering, and how formative experiences at Procore and Motive (formerly KeepTruckin) shaped his philosophy around platform building, customer trust, and leadership. He reflects on building marketplaces and developer ecosystems inside construction and logistics - and how those lessons now apply to the food supply chain, where even small operational failures can create massive downstream impact.Now at Loamy, Charles is focused on reducing food loss by building an operating system for food manufacturers and distributors bringing visibility, AI-driven insights, and end-to-end coordination to one of the most complex supply chains in the physical economy. The conversation covers leadership growth, co-founder dynamics, earning customer trust in mission-critical environments, and why great design and customer empathy matter more than speed.Why customer trust is the foundation of platform adoption in essential industriesLessons from building marketplaces at Procore and enterprise platforms at MotiveTransitioning from law to engineering and learning by getting uncomfortableApplying AI responsibly in high-stakes, operational environmentsHow Loamy is tackling food waste across manufacturers and distributorsThe difference between being “right” and being an effective leaderCo-founder relationships, communication, and long-term partnershipWhy design-led workflows outperform tech-first solutionsThis episode is a deep dive into building durable platforms for the physical economy, and leading with humility, resilience, and purpose.FOLLOW CHARLES JULIUSWebsite: https://getloamy.comEmail: [email protected]: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-julius/FOLLOW THE COUNCIL & FIRST BUILDERSNewsletterYouTube: @firstbuilderspodInstagram: @thecouncilcapitalTwitter/X: @first_builders_TikTok: @firstbuilderspodLinkedIn: The Council