Why Jason Sullivan Says There Is No One-Size-Fits-All AI Rollout

And we've had the good fortune here at Distro to have customers that run the [00:11:50] gamut from the multi-billion, uh, all the way to the single location and kinda everywhere in between. [00:11:55] And as you said, fundamentally, uh, kinda different personality sets when you look at the [00:12:00] different segments of the market. And- The one constant [00:12:05] that I would say is the care that folks have for [00:12:10] their people, um, especially in that mid-market when you see a lot of, [00:12:15] uh, family-owned mu-multi-generational family-owned businesses or ESOPs.[00:12:20] Um, folks have been working at these distributors for, in some [00:12:25] cases, decades. Yeah. Uh, and the process of not just [00:12:30] selling to, but, but working with on an ongoing basis, uh, let's say [00:12:35] your, you know, maybe 50 to $100 million, uh, multi-generational [00:12:40] family-owned HVACR distributor. Uh, it's a really [00:12:45] consultative kind of advisory process. It's not just a matter of, "Hey, here's a [00:12:50] software platform. Set it and forget it. I'll see you later." It's a [00:12:55] collaborative process, it's a partnership, and it's important to the folks that we're working with [00:13:00] that we care about them, we care about their people, and we, again, wanna [00:13:05] make their day-to-day better, and we're not here, uh, to be replacing people. We're here to, [00:13:10] to, to be a force multiplier for them. [00:13:11] Hugh Hornsby: So is customization something that's [00:13:15] really important in, in trying to make it work for, for a distributor? [00:13:19] Jason Sullivan: It [00:13:20] can be. Yeah, it can be, and I'd say it spans, you know, a bit of a spectrum, [00:13:25] right? Some folks, uh, have their own processes, their own [00:13:30] systems that they've built over years, and they need a little bit more care and maybe a bit of customization, and [00:13:35] we kind of work with them on that. Some cases, some folks are working with different systems that, [00:13:40] you know, maybe slot in a little bit more easily. Uh, what I've learned and what [00:13:45] we've learned at Distro is that there is no one-size-fits-all. It just doesn't really exist. [00:13:50] And if you're coming to this industry as, uh, an AI specialist or a [00:13:55] software builder, it's a reality you have to accept and really be excited about. Uh, I'm [00:14:00] excited by it. I like the idea of being able to work with folks and really get in the weeds, [00:14:05] understand how they do things, and build to their specifications. And in [00:14:10] some cases, that's making customizations to the product. In some [00:14:15] cases, that's, as I noted before, just being advisory, being consultative, [00:14:20] helping them understand how they, for instance, can apply AI in different areas [00:14:25] of their business, sort of being that partner for them in years to come. [00:14:28] Hugh Hornsby: When you're talking about some of these [00:14:30] wholesalers, and I, I guess, you know, it's like you said, they're all over the gamut, you [00:14:35] know, and, and all of them are looking for different things. What's, what's the one question that [00:14:40] typically comes up from a wholesaler that, that they have to have? Or are they, [00:14:45] uh… Or is there one question? Is it kind of depend on each [00:14:50] wholesaler or each, um, you know, rep that, that you're [00:14:55] having conversations with? [00:14:56] Jason Sullivan: It's a good question, and I would say There are [00:15:00] definitely some unique e-elements to, to every distributor, but there are some [00:15:05] constants as well. And I'd say one of the biggest constants that we see that you [00:15:10] really, again, wouldn't necessarily understand if you were just entering this industry yesterday, [00:15:15] is the importance of, uh, working with [00:15:20] the people who are gonna be using the product, the platform on an ongoing basis, [00:15:25] and helping that executive, that sponsor, that VP that we're [00:15:30] working with directly, helping them with the messaging internally, helping [00:15:35] them with the philosophy, helping them obviously with the rollout of the product, and [00:15:40] really understanding that you're just gonna see such a wide variety of different folks [00:15:45] that are gonna be using the platform from somebody who is maybe on the younger [00:15:50] side, uh, a little bit more comfortable with AI solutions. Maybe they're using [00:15:55] some, like the Chat GPTs of the world or the Clods of the world in their daily life and their personal life. [00:16:00] Whereas on the other end of the spectrum, you might have some of those folks who are later [00:16:05] on in their career, they've got a process that works. They may be a little bit, uh, more [00:16:10] hesitant to dive in, and that just takes a different kind of type of care, level of care, [00:16:15] and understanding that and making that part of our process here at [00:16:20] Distro. Uh, and Helping the executive sponsor [00:16:25] understand that we really have to get in the weeds with their people- Yeah ... to get them to accept, understand, and [00:16:30] work with it, that's such an important part of things. [00:16:32] Hugh Hornsby: And so how do you typically do that, Jason? [00:16:34] Jason Sullivan: I [00:16:35] think it's a combination of having real hard-earned process in place.[00:16:40] That is, we've just got so many at-bats at this point. We've kind of seen, I [00:16:45] like to think, just about every version of somebody who might need a little bit more [00:16:50] help or might be a little bit resistant, right? We've got a bit of a playbook that we've built, [00:16:55] uh, to work with folks on that front. But I'd also say it's just time in the [00:17:00] seat. We, you know, a-as a c- as a company, as a partner, you really just [00:17:05] have to be willing to put on the live training session. You gotta be willing to [00:17:10] fly, like we do. We'll fly our people out i-in some cases to, to meet with folks in [00:17:15] person and, you know, buy folks lunch and just get them together and help them understand what it is we're [00:17:20] doing. Um, and it's an ongoing care thing as well. You really gotta be there [00:17:25] because, again, it's not just a one, you know, kind of set it and forget it type piece of [00:17:30] software. It's a collaborative thing. It's an interesting, dynamic industry. Lots of new things come [00:17:35] up. And so if you've implemented, right, if you've imple- implemented the [00:17:40] platform day zero, day 30, you gotta be there [00:17:45] six months in when some new and interesting type of format of plan [00:17:50] and spec might come up, or this customer of ours brings on a [00:17:55] new customer that has a different need on their end. Uh, and you really just gotta be there on an [00:18:00] ongoing basis is the key. [00:18:01] Hugh Hornsby: It's, it's not that different than selling copper fittings. [00:18:05] It's, and it's a crazy thing because copper fittings are nothing but a copper fitting, but they're [00:18:10] not because the difference is the person that, that brings the value that's gonna take care of the [00:18:15] problems back behind, um, you know, versus other things, and it's, it's about [00:18:20] caring. You know, one of the things that, that comes up from time to time is [00:18:25] security, and I know that, uh, you know, I'd love for you to [00:18:30] speak to that because as AI has become bigger and bigger, uh, I [00:18:35] think security of people's systems is something that they, they're really concerned with. [00:18:40] Can you, can you s-speak to that a little bit? [00:18:42] Jason Sullivan: Absolutely. It should be very [00:18:45] much top of mind for anybody who's a potential buyer or partner of an AI [00:18:50] solution. You should be thinking about security in a few different ways, uh, and ownership [00:18:55] too. So ownership of your data, privacy of your data, security of [00:19:00] your systems. These are all very key things. And one [00:19:05] unfortunate consequence of what you might call the AI rev-revolution is that- [00:19:10] It's never been easier to build a prototype of [00:19:15] software. And I say prototype very specifically there because it's arguably just [00:19:20] as hard, in some cases even harder, to build a true production quality software [00:19:25] platform that's sellable and marketable and something you can really deploy. But to spin up [00:19:30] kind of something small, internal has never really been easier to do. And so we [00:19:35] come across increasingly folks that spend time, uh, let's say in an IT [00:19:40] department at a larger distributor, spending time working [00:19:45] with, uh, Claude and various services to build some internal software [00:19:50] Now, the challenge there from a security standpoint is suddenly [00:19:55] you don't necessarily know what your software developers are [00:20:00] installing, uh, what various, uh, services that they're kind of wiring into your systems [00:20:05] because things move so quickly. It can just be really easy to let that slip by, and [00:20:10] so that just creates security holes where you might not realize they [00:20:15] existed for weeks. That happens with increasing frequency. So what [00:20:20] that really means, on the one hand, is you've got to be careful about what it is you're [00:20:25] trying to build internally versus working with an external partner that's professional, [00:20:30] that's, that's only focused on this, that's very securias- uh, security-oriented. Um, [00:20:35] and when you're working with or considering working with a partner [00:20:40] like Distro, for instance, you're really gonna wanna have your IT team, your head of [00:20:45] IT, spend time, uh, with their counterpart at [00:20:50] the, your potential partner's side and understand how is your data being [00:20:55] stored, uh, how is your data kept separate from the data of, uh, other [00:21:00] customers, for instance. What security best practices are they engaged in? Uh, [00:21:05] how are they handling and how would they handle any sort of incident, for instance? These are [00:21:10] considerations that are really key in the evaluative process. [00:21:13] Hugh Hornsby: And I was gonna say, how do you handle [00:21:15] that with your clients most of the time? Is that a, a- is that a flight out to go in [00:21:20] and sit down with the IT department and, or is there something else that you [00:21:25] typically do, you know, that's different than that? [00:21:27] Jason Sullivan: Well, it can be. It really depends on the [00:21:30] preference of, uh, of the prospective partner. I think the most important thing is just making sure you do [00:21:35] have a meeting of the minds between, uh, the, the counterpart, our head of [00:21:40] engineering typically, head of product typically, uh, with the head of IT, uh, or [00:21:45] digital on the part of, uh, our prospective distributor partner. Uh, [00:21:50] and getting those folks together, typically, you know, they're able to run down the list, make [00:21:55] sure that they're all on the same page about how they want things implemented from kind of a safety and a security [00:22:00] perspective, and setting those expectations out the gate, uh, is really, really [00:22:05] important, and a lot of folks don't necessarily think to do that. [00:22:07] Hugh Hornsby: A lot of the people that we have on here are [00:22:10] founders, and, um, you, you are-- This is your second, [00:22:15] um- Yeah, it's your second startup. Your, your first startup w- was what? [00:22:19] Jason Sullivan: First [00:22:20] startup was a company called Vested, which is... You can think of it sort-- It's in the financial [00:22:25] technology space. You can think of it as sort of, uh, a marketplace for, uh, [00:22:30] startup securities, uh, startup options. [00:22:32] Hugh Hornsby: And so this one is DistroAI, [00:22:35] and you were, you were able to get some funding, which, you know, [00:22:40] congratulations on that. Has that helped? [00:22:41] Jason Sullivan: Oh, it's been fantastic. We were, uh, fortunate [00:22:45] enough to go through a, uh, a well-known startup accelerator called Y [00:22:50] Combinator. Uh, it's sort of the top 1% of the top 1%, uh, [00:22:55] of folks in Silicon Valley investing in the top founders. Uh, [00:23:00] uh, and it was a fantastic opportunity kinda earlier in our journey, [00:23:05] uh, to build relationships, to build out our go-to-market motion, to [00:23:10] build out our product suite, and served as a fantastic launching pad into [00:23:15] raising additional capital, larger funding from, from venture capital. Um, not [00:23:20] every founder, uh, has to go that route. Not every founder necessarily goes [00:23:25] the, the VC route or the private equity route. It's worked well to go the VC [00:23:30] route for us. Um, and, uh, you know, it's kind of the, the world that I've lived in [00:23:35] in the past. But, uh, it's been fantastic. We've got great partners, investors that we work [00:23:40] with to continue to build the business. [00:23:41] Hugh Hornsby: So do they invest, but they also, um, [00:23:45] give you guidance? Uh, y- I mean, obviously, uh, uh, if I remember correctly, you left New [00:23:50] York and you went to, to, um, you know, California for a, a period of [00:23:55] time, and it probably wasn't an easy You know, it's, it was probably a lot [00:24:00] of training that went on there. [00:24:01] Jason Sullivan: Yeah, exactly. When we did Y Combinator, uh, [00:24:05] it's a, it's an in-person pla- it's an in-person program, so you, you fly out from wherever you're [00:24:10] based, and you spend three months out in the Bay Area and, uh, in the San Francisco area. [00:24:15] And we were, as you noted, previously based in New York, and we fully [00:24:20] intended to go back to New York at the conclusion of the program, but we just kinda fell in love with it out here [00:24:25] and ended up relocating the company to Palo Alto, kind of the heart of everything, uh, which has been [00:24:30] fantastic. And again, the, the Y Combinator program was, uh, was great for [00:24:35] us and was a great launching pad for us to grow, you know, pretty rapidly. [00:24:39] Hugh Hornsby: So [00:24:40] for, for those founders that are out there, and I know there's all different types, [00:24:45] is there, is there a piece of advice that you can give somebody that's, you know, [00:24:50] that it's, you know, founding a company and, and, and building it out? Because obviously you've [00:24:55] made all the mistakes, and, uh, you know, you, you, you've got some, you know, you've [00:25:00] got some guidance that... Is there anything you can share? [00:25:02] Jason Sullivan: You know, it's funny. My perspective, [00:25:05] uh, on the one hand, I've-- I'm a second-time founder, as you mentioned before, so [00:25:10] in that situation, I had some co-founders. And in the situation with [00:25:15] Distro, I'm a solo founder. Uh, I've obviously got a great team, uh, around me. [00:25:20] Uh, but just from a founding perspective, uh, it was me early on, uh, and then I kind [00:25:25] of built up the team and, and raised capital and so on and so forth. But from a founder's perspective, [00:25:30] I've kind of seen both sides of that coin, so working with co-founders and [00:25:35] specializing in one area. So in my case, I was the chief technology officer at my prior startup, and [00:25:40] I had co-founders that focused on, uh, other areas of the business, whether it's operations [00:25:45] or data, things like that. Um, my background is somebody with, uh, [00:25:50] both kind of the technical side of things, given where I went to grad school. I went to Stanford and focused on [00:25:55] artificial intelligence, and I've, I've been a software engineer for many years. I've also got, [00:26:00] uh, the commercial side as well, so I spent many years in finance too. So from a [00:26:05] skill perspective, I was in fact able to, to kind of tackle everything early on as a [00:26:10] solo founder. Um, but you're only one person, and you've only got so many hours in [00:26:15] the day, so you really do need to align yourself with the right folks at a leadership [00:26:20] level who are skilled, who care, who can, uh, act in a [00:26:25] way that, uh, you know, sort of they're acting like an owner, right? So whether it's the [00:26:30] case that you've got formal co-founders or whether you're a solo founder and you've [00:26:35] got great leadership level folks, you need to have a network. You need to have the [00:26:40] support system. You-- And you can't just do it by yourself is really the point, one way or [00:26:45] another. [00:26:45] Hugh Hornsby: Oh, I love that because that's- That's another chapter in my [00:26:50] book. It's like when we try to do it on our own, um, that's a hard way to [00:26:55] go. I always respect it, uh, and I kind of wonder where y- y- where you picked [00:27:00] it up, where you came into an industry that you didn't know anybody, [00:27:05] um, or at least I don't think you knew a lot of people, but you were able to, to [00:27:10] maneuver and find people that have been, you know, leaders in the [00:27:15] industry and, and really a big part of it to, to help you figure out how to, to, [00:27:20] uh, figure that out. Um, where, where did you pick that up, Jason? 'Cause [00:27:25] that doesn't, that's not something that typically just shows up. Um, [00:27:30] but m- maybe it was something that you, from your last, uh, situation, you, [00:27:35] you, you kind of figured out, you know, how to maneuver that. [00:27:38] Jason Sullivan: Yeah, you know, it's a good question. I would [00:27:40] say it's maybe a running theme in how I've operated and, and really how [00:27:45] Distro operates is you gotta be, uh, people-oriented. You [00:27:50] gotta be working with folks. You can't assume that you know everything. I mean, that's... If you look at how we work with [00:27:55] our, our customers, our partners at Distro, we know what we're expert in. We're expert in the AI [00:28:00] side of things, and we've had enough at-bats in the distribution space to be strong there, but we [00:28:05] always, uh, you know, are open to learning new things, right? And so we spend a lot of time [00:28:10] forging relationships, building that network to understand what folks need, [00:28:15] uh, and how we can be helpful, what opportunities there are. So if you walk that backwards [00:28:20] into my initial entry point into the space and into my prior career, [00:28:25] it's kind of the same philosophy. You can be amazing at what you do, [00:28:30] but you cannot assume that you know everything, and the only way to cure that is to [00:28:35] build relationships with folks who do have that expertise and do know things. And that's, again, [00:28:40] you know, I, I entered this space early on, uh, about four years ago at this point with [00:28:45] Distro, uh, knowing that I didn't know a whole lot at the time. [00:28:50] And so I deliberately sought out folks like yourself, Hugh, and, and others [00:28:55] that we brought into our, our fold, our advisory network, um, because I wanted to [00:29:00] have that kind of student mentality early on. And same idea, like, [00:29:05] where did that idea, uh, come from in the first place? Having worked with and spent so much time with [00:29:10] other founders, uh, earlier on in my career, I just knew that that's something that you [00:29:15] had to do. If you're entering a new space that you didn't really have a whole lot of ties to, [00:29:20] you just needed to build that relationship with the right folks early on, and it has worked out really well.[00:29:25] [00:29:25] Hugh Hornsby: That's incredible, 'cause I always wondered that, and of course, I've been in this industry for 40 years, [00:29:30] so seems like I know a few people. But at, at the, um-- But [00:29:35] turning around companies and building them up, uh, it is all about people, [00:29:40] and, uh, it, uh, you know... And first of all, con- congratulations on [00:29:45] that. Um- Are you getting any sleep? [00:29:48] Jason Sullivan: That's the question, huh? [00:29:50] Um, it waxes and wanes, I would say. You know, [00:29:55] again, going back to the, uh, the being, you know, a solo founder and, um, [00:30:00] I've got a great team, but I also find myself pulled in a lot of different directions in the [00:30:05] business. That's kind of how I operate. If there's a challenge that, that we're looking to solve [00:30:10] on the product or the engineering side of things, or on the sales, the [00:30:15] go-to-market side of things, I'm all in. I've gotta, you know, sort of get tunnel vision for a little while [00:30:20] and make sure that I'm focused on that. And sometimes that just [00:30:25] means, hey, you gotta burn the midnight oil and get it done. And I think of [00:30:30] it as, from a leadership perspective, you know, I wanna set an example. [00:30:35] I, I'm, you know, at the end of the day, the person who is [00:30:40] setting the tone, setting the pace for the rest of the organization, [00:30:45] and if I'm not out there getting it done, burning it at both [00:30:50] ends, not all the time, but when need... when, when that's needed, you know, how can I expect other folks to do that? [00:30:54] Hugh Hornsby: [00:30:55] But that just shows leadership on your side, and it's what I love about our industry because I, I [00:31:00] think when we say blue collar, it's like, you know, you, you... It doesn't mean that [00:31:05] you're going out there and digging a ditch. It means that you're gonna get it done from where you are. Uh, I have a [00:31:10] couple more questions. One of them is on, you know, PE is enter- entering our [00:31:15] space, um, pretty heavily, and it's, it's, um, happening both on the [00:31:20] h- on the wholesale side, but it definitely has happened down [00:31:25] below with, with the, um, with the contractor side. What do, what do you think [00:31:30] about what's happening there, and do, do you have, do you have any input on, [00:31:35] um- On how that's gonna affect the space and, and what people really l- need to look [00:31:40] towards. [00:31:40] Jason Sullivan: It's a great question. It's a, it's a very fascinating dynamic because like [00:31:45] anything else, you can't just put one label on it. So when you think about private equity as it might apply [00:31:50] to the contracting side of things versus the distribution side of things, and [00:31:55] who's actually out there as a private equity sponsor, um, you [00:32:00] see anything from somebody who just graduated from business school [00:32:05] who decides because they had a class, uh, they decide they wanna do a [00:32:10] roll-up of contracting businesses in their area, right? All the way up to [00:32:15] real professional mid-market and above private equity firms that have been around doing this [00:32:20] for ma- you know, many years, right? And so because private [00:32:25] equity sponsors have such, uh, an influence in some cases on their [00:32:30] portfolio companies, you see this new dynamic entering the space [00:32:35] where, you know, if, if you're a distributor and you're selling into contracting businesses and [00:32:40] they've recently been rolled up by a private equity sponsor, that might affect [00:32:45] what that contracting business expects in terms of level of service or [00:32:50] pricing, uh, you know, versus what they were doing before, and that might impact, you know, how you [00:32:55] think about maintaining that relationship, right? Um, when you think about [00:33:00] private equity as it applies to the distribution side of things, you know, it, it's an interesting [00:33:05] dynamic as well. On the one hand, a lot of folks in that sort of [00:33:10] multi-generational family mid-market area, you know, [00:33:15] they're always in this position where they've gotta think about succession. What do they do [00:33:20] with the business? If you're on generation three and you're passing it to a son or daughter that, [00:33:25] um, or you're thinking about passing it to a son or daughter Does that make sense? [00:33:30] Is that a business that they want to continue with? Does it make more sense to go the ESOP route or does it make [00:33:35] sense to go the private equity route? These all have different implications on what impact that might [00:33:40] have on the business, your own outcome, your employees as well. [00:33:45] Uh, and, uh, it's just a, it's a really interesting dynamic. And for us at [00:33:50] Distro, when we think about that case, if you're in that kind of [00:33:55] multi-generational, uh, family business, and there are a ton of those in the distribution world as you well know, Hugh, [00:34:00] um, y- you at least want to be in a position where you have a [00:34:05] choice, you have influence over the matter. And part of what allows you to do [00:34:10] that, whether it's, you know, feeling like you're pressured into, you know, getting [00:34:15] acquired by a private equity sponsor, for instance, uh, is do you have leverage? [00:34:20] And part of that leverage comes from how productive are your people. And from our [00:34:25] perspective, what we do here, uh, at Distro is we arm distributors, [00:34:30] uh, of all sizes, but particularly that kind of size, with the [00:34:35] ability to help their salespeople, their revenue generators, be much more effective at what they [00:34:40] do day to day. We act as that kind of force multiplier. And the aim is, you know, [00:34:45] you don't have to necessarily feel forced into a sale to private equity or [00:34:50] an acquirer. Suddenly you're actually able to, uh, uh, pound for pound [00:34:55] be more effective than the bigger folks out there. [00:34:57] Hugh Hornsby: We find a lot of those companies, [00:35:00] founder-based companies, the founder's making all the decisions, really doesn't have the systems [00:35:05] to go with it, uh, that, you know, you have that ability [00:35:10] to go in with a company and maybe it's a company that maybe they don't want to sell for five years or [00:35:15] so, or maybe they want to, you know, they're, they're putting a transition plan in [00:35:20] place. Um, uh, do, do you find AI being able to go in [00:35:25] and help them with those systems on the back end position themselves, [00:35:30] not that they have to sell to private equity, but at least they have, have those [00:35:35] systems so that when the founder walks out, everything doesn't walk out the door? [00:35:39] Jason Sullivan: [00:35:40] Exactly. That's a great point. I mean, we're in the business of business [00:35:45] transformation at the end of the day. And I, I try to-- I really try to shake folks out of the [00:35:50] mentality of, "Hey, you know, you're buying a piece of software," because I think [00:35:55] that era in history is kind of passing us by now, and it's really more [00:36:00] about investing in a partnership. And when you're thinking about this example and, and [00:36:05] how we approach our partners, our customers It's all about business [00:36:10] transformation. So we're here to help, uh, implement a, a platform that will help, for instance, [00:36:15] your, your commercial sales team, quote, plan and spec much more effectively and profitably, [00:36:20] right? But zooming out, zooming way out, we're here to put systems and [00:36:25] processes in place and, and ultimately kind of put a mirror to your business and act as [00:36:30] a cons- as in a sort of consultative way, uh, to help you, uh, [00:36:35] be as kind of AI-enabled as possible really throughout the business. And what you [00:36:40] do with that longer term is up to you. I mean, that puts you in a better position to [00:36:45] succeed, uh, in the business that you're in now. It puts you in a better position to be able to [00:36:50] compete against your larger competitors. Also puts you in a better position potentially to [00:36:55] be attractive as a, an acquisition target if that's down the road the, the way that you go. [00:36:59] Hugh Hornsby: You know, [00:37:00] I've been in a lot of businesses and, you know, you, you, uh, I've seen the [00:37:05] founder-based businesses and I've seen the ones where the founders are making-- still making [00:37:10] decisions, you know, m- making all those decisions. And I, I think that, [00:37:15] um, there, there's a book out there, um- And one of [00:37:20] the cha- it's, it's about restaurants, and it's about restaurant smart versus systems smart.[00:37:25] And in that chapter, and I, I've got one called blue collar smart versus, [00:37:30] you know, corporate smart, is that you need both, and that, um, you know, some of [00:37:35] the old way of doing it, you know, you've, you've gotta have those systems to go along with it. I would, [00:37:40] I would think AI would help them with that, and not only help them with where [00:37:45] maybe in the transition part of it, but help them to be more [00:37:50] efficient with their salespeople, you know, getting in front of, [00:37:55] you know, their, their clients. Um, I, I don't know if I asked a... [00:38:00] I don't think I asked a question there, but, you know, I, I, I am interested in your opinion [00:38:05] on that. [00:38:05] Jason Sullivan: No, I think there's something in there and, and I'd love to, to dig in. So, you know, [00:38:10] take the, take the term, uh, AI out of it entirely. Forget about AI. Just [00:38:15] think about a business transformation, as I mentioned before. That's what this is [00:38:20] all about, and holding a mirror up to your business. So if you're an [00:38:25] entrepreneur, if you run a distributor, whether you're the owner or, uh, or [00:38:30] the president, whatever the case may be, you've always gotta be in the mental space of, [00:38:35] how can I understand my business better? How can I be an enabler, a [00:38:40] force multiplier for my people? What- whichever department I'm thinking of, how can I [00:38:45] understand how things are going and how can we make things better? And AI, whether it's applied [00:38:50] to the sales team, uh, in our case, or whether it's applied to [00:38:55] anything, marketing or HR or whatever the case may be, it's just a tool to [00:39:00] enable, uh, that business transformation. And so it, [00:39:05] it goes back to that idea of investing in a partnership and not just a, a, [00:39:10] a piece of software. You know, can you find somebody, can you find a [00:39:15] vendor or a partner that can help you think about all these different areas from a 360-degree angle [00:39:20] and understand the concept of business transformation? [00:39:24] Hugh Hornsby: I, I love it [00:39:25] because I think that's what business is about, and it's what our industry's about. [00:39:30] Um, you know, Jason, w- as we wrap this thing up, uh, when I, when I was a kid, [00:39:35] uh, you know, we had, uh... My mom-- I, I used to-- W- when I'd [00:39:40] come home and they'd say, "Hey, Hugh, you need to go to special needs," I'd come home and I'd get upset, and she'd, [00:39:45] she'd say, "Hey, take 15 minutes for the pity party and then go upset and write-- upstairs and write [00:39:50] on this yellow pad, you know, what you're gonna do differently, and then come back and tell me w- you know, how you're gonna [00:39:55] take action." So, uh, I just wanted to ask you, uh, [00:40:00] if you had a, a yellow pad moment that you can share, um, you [00:40:05] know, with the audience, what would, uh, what would that yellow pad moment be? [00:40:09] Jason Sullivan: Oh, that's a really [00:40:10] good one. I like that. Uh, so I can, I can think of a few. I'll say [00:40:15] there's maybe a yellow pad moment that I can think of internally [00:40:20] in terms of how, uh, I have built and how I run Distro, and maybe a yellow pad [00:40:25] moment that I could think of externally in the way in which we're working with our customers, right?[00:40:30] So when I think about internally, uh, I mentioned, [00:40:35] you know, maybe a few minutes ago, the idea of if you're in that [00:40:40] startup founder position, you sometimes really do have to go get tunnel vision, [00:40:45] go super deep. There was a term that got popular a couple years ago, founder [00:40:50] mode. It was a pretty popular term, uh, by Brian Chesky over at, uh, [00:40:55] Airbnb. And you really have to get deep in the weeds. But simultaneously, you [00:41:00] have to be kind of managing all aspects of the business. And [00:41:05] one of the insights I had was there was a, a period of time [00:41:10] that I had to go super deep in the weeds on the engineering side of [00:41:15] things. We had to make some really key decisions about how we were architecting some pretty [00:41:20] important parts of the Distro platform. And given my own background in software, I [00:41:25] spent a lot of time partnering directly with our head of engineering to scope things out and to [00:41:30] build things out in such a way that made the most sense for Distro. But part [00:41:35] of the way through that process, I realized, oh, well- I'm [00:41:40] looking over at the growth, the marketing side of the business. I'm looking over at [00:41:45] the, uh, customer service side of the business. I'm looking over at the product side of the business, [00:41:50] and things are, are humming. But the leaders over there and the teams over there, they really [00:41:55] need... They need the, the leader's personal touch. I need to be able to put [00:42:00] my head above water and spend time with all those teams and address [00:42:05] everybody, even while I'm going super deep on one area. And so the mechanism by [00:42:10] which I've, I've figured out a way to do that is internal [00:42:15] one-on-ones and internal all-hands meetings. So I'm meeting with [00:42:20] the folks who are leading these various areas of the business on a weekly [00:42:25] basis and spending time understanding how things are going, how can I be helpful, [00:42:30] what are you seeing out there talking to our customers? And I'm also spending time [00:42:35] with the entire, the entirety of the company in what we call our, our monthly all-hands meeting, [00:42:40] giving everybody, "Here's the top-level view on the business. Here's a [00:42:45] top-level view on the product. Here's our highlights. Here's our challenges." And that [00:42:50] simultaneously allows me to do that tunnel vision, founder mode motion, [00:42:55] while making sure that every area of the business is covered. And so there was a moment during [00:43:00] that, during that time going deep on engineering where I sort of had that yellow pad [00:43:05] figuratively. I said, "Okay, I need to do this," and it's been night and day, um, [00:43:10] just, you know, making sure everybody's got the attention they need. So that's, that's maybe the internal facing [00:43:15] version of that yellow pad. [00:43:16] Hugh Hornsby: I, I, I think that's huge for any [00:43:20] business that's out there, uh, because especially with founders, right? Because you get in [00:43:25] the weeds and, uh And sometimes you're getting to the wrong weed [00:43:30] and, and maybe you need to be overseeing it. That, that, that's-- congratulations on that [00:43:35] because there's a lot of people that never figure that out. [00:43:37] Jason Sullivan: Yeah, no question. Uh, it's, uh, it's [00:43:40] an insight that, you know, you always wish you had earlier, but when you do have it, it's [00:43:45] a, it's a pretty big game changer. And, you know, I, I would say when we think [00:43:50] about that external-facing version of the yellow notepad, it's maybe an [00:43:55] extension of, of some of what I had mentioned before around spending time with the [00:44:00] individual users and understanding what their day-to-day challenges are. You know, some [00:44:05] software companies out there, they sort of view the day-to-day users of their product [00:44:10] as just a consumer. They don't pay a ton, ton of attention to them. But [00:44:15] early on in our journey, what I realized and what our customer success team realized is, [00:44:20] you know, what I mentioned before, everybody's got their different day-to-day challenges. There's a lot we can [00:44:25] learn from people who are using the platform. And so what we decided in [00:44:30] a bit of a yellow pad moment, as you said, early on, is, hey, we need to [00:44:35] really understand and get in the head of our users from, from that example of [00:44:40] somebody who is newer in their career, maybe more AI-oriented, all the way to somebody who's [00:44:45] less AI-oriented but more experienced. We need to just do the work [00:44:50] and spend real quality time, sometimes in-person time, with these [00:44:55] people. You can't assume anything, and I cannot tell you [00:45:00] how many just golden nugget, you know, gem, uh, [00:45:05] conversations we've had, insights that we would never have had, uh, without spending the time [00:45:10] regularly meeting with our users, with our customers at varying levels, from the [00:45:15] individual user level to the branch manager, the VP of sales, and the executive. Everybody's got their own [00:45:20] perspective. And so we took that yellow pad out early on and we said, "Okay, well, [00:45:25] we need to just roll up our sleeves, say we're gonna dedicate real time across the [00:45:30] organization, from me all the way to folks on our, on our customer success team and [00:45:35] product team, to be that student on an ongoing basis, be that [00:45:40] student of our users." And that's been A huge differentiator for [00:45:45] us relative to, I think, other folks who are, are serving the space [00:45:48] Hugh Hornsby: Well, it just says a lot [00:45:50] about you. Um, and it says a lot about your leadership, which, you know, when we say [00:45:55] building a people-based business movement, you know, that's what it's about. [00:46:00] Sometimes the hardest one that we, we need to look in the mirror at is ourselves, [00:46:05] right? And making that decision, and I wanna say congratulations on that. [00:46:10] Jason, if there was one question that I haven't asked, um, that [00:46:15] when somebody's driving down the road, they say, "Man, I wish Jas- I wish Hugh would've asked [00:46:20] Jason, you know, this question," what question would've that b- would, would that have been? [00:46:24] Jason Sullivan: I mean, I, [00:46:25] I could probably fill a book with that just 'cause there's so much to talk about you. Um, [00:46:30] look, I would say, um Plenty to talk about. [00:46:35] The one question I would say is, is how do you reach me? And, uh, [00:46:40] I, I would welcome anybody from the industry that wants to spend a little time in a consultative [00:46:45] way understanding, uh, how they can think about the application of [00:46:50] AI to their business, uh, to reach out and just spend a little bit of unstructured [00:46:55] time with me, uh, with folks from our team. And, uh, we can just kinda help [00:47:00] think through whether it's the areas of the business that Distro, uh, can [00:47:05] focus on, that is the, the sales team, uh, or, uh, or some of the finance team accounts [00:47:10] payable, for instance, or if it's totally different areas, or if it's, you know, how can I [00:47:15] get more out of Claude or Chat GPT in my daily life? Um, [00:47:20] it's the same idea of find the right partner that's willing to do that upfront work of [00:47:25] being consultative. So I'd say, uh, you know, folks should just reach [00:47:30] out and, uh, we're happy to be helpful however we can. [00:47:33] Hugh Hornsby: So if, if they're gonna reach [00:47:35] out, um, uh, do it through the website or y- you have... [00:47:40] What's the best way to get ahold of Jason Sullivan and Jason Sullivan's team? [00:47:43] Jason Sullivan: Absolutely. So [00:47:45] I would encourage everybody to take a look at our website. It's distro.app, [00:47:50] D-I-S-T-R-O dot A-P-P. I'm sure it'll be in the, the notes section, [00:47:55] uh, of, uh, of this clip, uh, this video. Uh, reach out to me directly. [00:48:00] My email is jason@distro.app, J-A-S-O-N at [00:48:05] distro.app. And, uh, please, you know, spend some time and let's, uh, let's [00:48:10] talk about how we can be helpful, uh, to you and your business. [00:48:13] Hugh Hornsby: Love it. First of all, [00:48:15] thank you. Thanks for the friendship and, uh, and all the support. You know, I, I've been in this industry [00:48:20] for a long time and I, I got to know Jason. Uh, he is the real deal. [00:48:25] Uh, I'm honored to call him a friend, and I'm honored to [00:48:30] call him somebody that has, in three and a half years, invested in our industry [00:48:35] in a way that he's just taken ownership of it. So Jason, thank you and, uh, [00:48:40] just keep it going and, you know, thank you very much. [00:48:44] Jason Sullivan: Thank you, [00:48:45] Hugh. It's been a pleasure. I appreciate it. [00:48:46] Narrator: Every great trade organization was built by someone who [00:48:50] chose people over price. Blue Collar Smart exists for that leader. If [00:48:55] you found value here, subscribe and share this with the operator who's ready for the next level.[00:49:00] Built different. Trades proven. Hugh Hornsby, [00:49:05] Voice of the [00:49:10] Trades.