It started with a beat-up van and a promise we couldn't break.

Back in 2014, Michael Letts bought a used Chevy cargo van for $3,200. The AC didn't work, the suspension squeaked on every bump, and the previous owner had spray-painted over rust spots with the wrong shade of white. But it ran, and that's all that mattered when a friend in Miami called asking for help moving his parents to San Juan.

Michael had done a few local moves before—helping friends, picking up extra cash between gigs—but nothing like coordinating an ocean crossing. He spent three days on the phone with freight forwarders, got hung up on twice, and ended up driving to the port himself to figure out the paperwork. The whole thing took six weeks longer than he'd promised, but when the family finally opened their door in Puerto Rico and saw their furniture intact, the mother hugged him and said, "You kept your word."

That sentence stuck. Because Michael had seen too many movers ghost customers once the check cleared. He'd watched people lose heirlooms to "warehouse fees" that never got explained. He knew what it felt like to be on the other end of a broken promise.