“I didn’t inherit a large business; I inherited the belief that I could build one.” — Minkle says.
Since childhood, Minkle Mittal had dreamed of running his own business. But the path to achieving it was far from smooth. It was dotted with challenges, especially after he arrived in Canada. To make ends meet in the new country, he had to put his entrepreneurial ambitions on hold and take up a job. The dream, however, never disappeared, it simply had to wait. In 2016, he finally founded Golden Freight Forwarding and Marketing Incorporation. Today, he looks back on that journey with a sense of fulfilment, knowing that the dream he once carried as a young man has become the business he leads today.
In the beginning, he measured success in money, revenue, and growth. Now, with years of experience as an entrepreneur, it is now more about creating a legacy. It is about being known as someone who has helped create livelihoods, support businesses, and enable families to earn more money. “I value having a good name and being known as someone who has done something meaningful,” Minkle says.
From Humble Beginnings to a Successful Business
Minkle comes from a humble background in India. His family ran a very small business. The family’s financial resources may have been limited, but Minkle’s dreams were not. With ambitions of becoming an entrepreneur, he went on to study marketing management and earn an MBA degree.
Even when he lived in India, the import-export industry appealed to Minkle. Starting a freight-forwarding business in Canada, therefore, was not a spur-of-the-moment decision.
“When you come to a new country, such as Canada or the United States, it is like being born again,” he says. “It means a renewal of your passion, your livelihood, or your business idea”. The initial days in Canada were tough, which forced Minkle to take up a job. At that point, he thought that a job could support him for a few years and help him stabilize his family’s financial situation. Once he was ready and confident, he took the plunge into entrepreneurship.
His passion for the import-export industry was one driving force and an important factor which ultimately led him to establish his own freight-forwarding business. As he observed Canada’s import-export system, Minkle found that the process was neither clear nor straightforward. Along with dealing with red tape, freight forwarding businesses experienced many challenges in the export sector. There were substantial bureaucratic processes and administrative work which increased the challenges and made it hard to set industry standards.
“I wasn’t going to wait for the industry to set the standard. I decided to become one.” — Minkle says.
Rather than wait for someone else to solve the problem, Minkle decided to take it upon himself. His vision was simple but meaningful: make the freight-forwarding process clearer, easier, and more accessible for businesses. That decision marked a defining turning point, not only in his career, but in the journey that would eventually lead to the creation of Golden Freight. Today, that same drive to bring structure to an unstructured industry has made Golden Freight a benchmark for freight forwarders across Canada, with many looking to its practices as the standard for how the business should be done.
Encountering Multiple Challenges
After founding Golden Freight Forwarding and Marketing Incorporation, Minkle encountered a series of challenges. Although he had theoretical knowledge of Canada’s freight-forwarding industry, he lacked practical experience in running a business and spent a couple of years gaining it.
When Minkle launched Golden Freight in 2016, he was stepping into an industry that was in decline and undergoing significant disruption. Lenders grew cautious, and there were multiple established players who dominated the market, making it hard for a new competitor. For Minkle, that meant every dollar, every client, and every shipment had to be earned the hard way.
“The dream came first; the resources and opportunities followed.” — Minkle says.
Building the business was only part of the challenge. According to him, building a team also proved to be difficult. People were not interested in joining a new company, and some potential employees were not in sync with his vision.
“The challenge was not simply finding people, but finding people who shared the same vision as you.” — Minkle says.
Despite these early setbacks, Minkle stayed the course and eventually built something he was proud of.
About Golden Freight Forwarding Marketing Inc.
Golden Freight Forwarding and Marketing, as the name suggests, is a freight-forwarding company that moves cargo worldwide though predominantly. The company has been recognised as one of Canada’s fastest-growing companies. Report on Business magazine ranked the company No. 208 on its 2026 list of Canada’s Top Growing Companies. In the transportation category, it ranks eighth.
It is an export-oriented company, while Canada is largely an import-driven country. “The country’s ratio is approximately 65% imports and 35% exports,” Minkle says.
While an estimated 90% of Canadian freight forwarders concentrate primarily on imports, Golden Freight has built its identity around exports, with approximately 95% of its volumes being export oriented. It’s a positioning that sets the company apart, not simply as another freight forwarder, but as a business focused on connecting Canadian businesses with markets beyond its borders and contributing directly to the country’s economy and GDP growth. That focus has made Golden Freight one of Canada’s top exporters.
“We move Canadian goods to the world, bringing value back home.” — Minkle says.
In addition to handling export volumes, the company has brought many small businesses under its umbrella, including small freight forwarders that were unable to obtain specialised rates from carriers and shipping lines. They gave them a consolidated platform through which they could use the company’s rates and run their businesses. He adds “I feel proud that we have created something we needed and something this country needed,”
The company has grown sustainably since its founding. Minkle says he is satisfied, but still hungry for more. For him, growth does not mean higher revenue alone. It also means reaching as many people as possible.
“What’s on the plate today is only the beginning and we’re hungry for tomorrow.” — Minkle says
Importance of Technology
Minkle firmly believes that a business can succeed if it brings together intelligent minds and the best technology and software. The company has invested effort, money, and resources in upgrading its capabilities, in terms of its workforce and technology. It is currently using the third internally developed CRM and software system in its history, which was deployed in June 2025.
Minkle’s daughter, Bavya, helms a company under the Golden umbrella. It focuses on technology development. Under Bavya’s leadership, around 16 IT professionals are developing a new software platform that will introduce AI capabilities to freight forwarding.
“Keeping pace with technology is no longer optional—it is essential to staying relevant.” — Minkle says.
Trust: The Foundation of Lasting Relationships
For Minkle, trust is more than a business principle, it is the foundation of lasting relationships. Whether with customers, vendors, colleagues, or business partners, he believes that trust creates opportunities and gives relationships the strength to endure. “When vendors trust you, they are more likely to bring new opportunities your way. And when customers trust you, they keep coming back,” he explains.
Trust also shapes the way Minkle builds his team. Alongside capability, he places a strong emphasis on loyalty and integrity.
“Talent gets you in the door. Loyalty is what keeps you there.” — Minkle says.
These principles have become deeply embedded in Golden Freight’s culture. For Minkle, being a family business is not simply about family ownership; it is about creating an environment where people feel valued and treated as part of something bigger. That sense of belonging is reflected in the company’s employee retention. Many of the people who joined Golden Freight in its early years 10 years ago are still part of its journey today. Average employee tenure now exceeds five to six years, while employee turnover remains low.
The Fair Leader
Fairness is perhaps the quality that best defines Minkle’s approach to leadership. Before making a decision, he makes an effort to consider different perspectives rather than looking only at what serves his own interests. He also recognises that being a leader does not mean being perfect. For Minkle, good judgment means knowing when to step back, think clearly, and respond rather than react. Interestingly, Minkle does not see himself as a traditional leader. He describes himself more as an assistant, or associate, someone who is there to support his team when they need him.
“I lead not from above, but alongside my team.” —Minkle says.
His approach is rooted in accessibility. Despite holding the highest position in the company, he runs an open-door policy and wants his colleagues to feel comfortable approaching him with questions, concerns, or challenges. Rather than creating distance through hierarchy, he believes his role is to help people find solutions and move forward.
For Minkle, leadership is therefore less about authority and more about being available to serve, support, and empower the people around him.
Plans for the Future
For Minkle, the future is defined by one clear priority: expansion. His vision extends to growing the company’s workforce and broadening its range of business activities and strengthening its capabilities to meet the evolving demands of the industry.
Minkle’s son, Saksham, is actively contributing to this next chapter of expansion with a focus on business development and sales. Bringing a fresh perspective to the evolving freight-forwarding landscape, he works closely with future prospects to identify new opportunities, strengthen relationships, and understand changing market requirements.
Technology and knowledge development will also play an important role in this next phase. Minkle intends to continuously build the company’s technological capabilities, expand its expertise, and explore new avenues for growth. “Whatever is needed to support this expansion will form part of the company’s framework,” he says.
After years spent building, leading, and growing Golden Freight, his focus now is on building a team capable enough to run the day-to-day without needing him in every decision. “I want to build a team that can self-delegate and resolve issues on their own,” he reflects. That trust in his team, he says, is what’s giving him room to focus on something just as important: himself.
For Minkle, the next chapter is not simply about expanding a business, it is also growing as a person. After achieving a place of inner peace and satisfaction, he wants to focus on becoming more forgiving, more empathetic, and more grateful. “Whoever I meet and wherever I go,” Minkle says, “I want to be more generous and more thankful.”
The Legacy: The Man who Helped Others Build, Too
Minkle does not want to be remembered simply as the founder of Golden Freight. His ambition is to leave behind something more meaningful: a business that made international trade simpler and opened doors for those trying to build something of their own. He hopes that one day, someone might say, “Because of this guy, we were able to establish our business or livelihood.” For him, that would be a legacy worth leaving behind.
This philosophy has shaped Golden Freight from the beginning. Minkle has always looked beyond moving shipments, particularly when it comes to small and emerging businesses. His goal has been to build a platform where entrepreneurs and smaller freight forwarders can access the support, resources, and opportunities they need to compete and grow. As a result, Golden Freight has opened doors for a range of new companies, from trucking businesses to small freight forwarders, offering them new business opportunities and access to Golden’s own resources.
“The greatest legacy is leaving others stronger than you found them.” —Minkle says.
Looking ahead, he hopes to see Golden Freight expand across generations while continuing to make a meaningful difference in the businesses and people it touches. This is the legacy Minkle is really building, not just a company that carries freight across borders, but one that becomes part of the stories of the people who desire to build something of their own.
Advice to Aspiring Business Leaders
Minkle’s message to the next generation of entrepreneurs is not to chase success, but to build it. In an age where everything seems to move at the speed of a click, he believes there is still no shortcut to experience, resilience, and staying the course. He understands why young professionals expect faster results. Technology has transformed the pace of business, making it possible to accomplish in three years what once took 10 or 15. Yet, according to Minkle, speed should never be confused with maturity. “Evolution is very, very fast. But still, you need to give yourself and your career time,” he says.
His own journey reflects that belief. The dream may begin in an instant but turning it into something sustainable takes years of learning, adapting, making mistakes, and trying again.
“Technology can make you faster, but only time can make you better.” —Minkle says.
For Minkle, that is the balance the next generation must find: move fast enough to embrace change but stay patient enough to build something that lasts.
