Welcome to the Automation Unplugged After Show! Today, we're taking some time after the live show to talk with Matt Fowler, Co-Owner and Director of Operations of HomeTroniX.

Before joining HomeTroniX, Matt spent some of his career in the wine industry. In this aftershow chat, Matt shares with us his experience working with Total Wine and even gives us some of his favorite wine recommendations.

If you haven't already listened to the full interview, make sure to check out show #137  here on the podcast. Let’s jump into my conversation with Matt Fowler.

Here are some of the topics Ron had the opportunity to discuss with Matt Fowler:

• How Matt’s time in the Marine Corps impacted his role as a leader
• How to grow and scale an integration firm
• HomeTroniX’s growth during COVID
• Matt’s approach to marketing and creating a strong digital presence

To get transcripts, resources of what was mentioned in the show, and more visit: onefirefly.com/au137

SHOW NOTES

Matt Fowler is Co-Owner and Director of Operations with HomeTroniX of Arkansas LLC. In 2019, with the company at a crossroads between growing at a faster rate or keeping the status quo, Matt agreed to join the family business as an executive with the goal of growing and scaling the integration firm.

Ron Callis is the CEO of One Firefly, LLC, a digital marketing agency based out of South Florida and creator of Automation Unplugged. Founded in 2007, One Firefly has quickly became the leading marketing firm specializing within the integrated technology and security space. The One Firefly team work hard to create innovative solutions to help Integrators boost their online presence, such as the elite website solution, Mercury Pro.

About One Firefly

One Firefly, LLC is an award-winning marketing agency that caters to technology professionals in the custom integration, security and solar energy markets. One Firefly is headquartered in Davie, Florida with staff located throughout North America and has been operating since 2007.

Welcome to the Automation Unplugged After Show! Today, we're taking some time after the live show to talk with Josh Willits, President at Portal. 

While many of you may know Josh for his career in the custom integration channel, he also has a passion for coffee that has led him to join the coffee roasting business.  

In this after show chat, Josh shares with us his passion for coffee and how he came to know of The Lonely Monk Coffee Roasting business. 

If you haven't already listened to the full interview, make sure to check out show #136  here on the podcast. Let’s jump into my conversation with Josh Willits!

Here are some of the topics Ron had the opportunity to discuss with Josh Willits:

• Josh experiences in the CI industry that ultimately led to his role as President of Portal.
• Portal’s turnaround strategy deployed in May 2019 that saved the company
• Proposal trends during that last 6 months including the amazing growth since June
• Josh’s thoughts on the rest of 2020 and the future of our industry

To get transcripts, resources of what was mentioned in the show, and more visit: onefirefly.com/au136

SHOW NOTES

Josh Willits got his start in AV by selling speakers online out of his college dorm room. He spent years running operations at an integration firm before taking on the role of  Director of Operations at Jetson Systems, a Crestron CSP. Later in 2012, he founded Invenshare, a website for dealers to buy, sell, and trade excess inventory, before merging his business with SupplyStream two years later. Josh helped rebrand the company that is now known as Portal where he currently serves as President of the company.

Ron Callis is the CEO of One Firefly, LLC, a digital marketing agency based out of South Florida and creator of Automation Unplugged. Founded in 2007, One Firefly has quickly became the leading marketing firm specializing within the integrated technology and security space. The One Firefly team work hard to create innovative solutions to help Integrators boost their online presence, such as the elite website solution, Mercury Pro.

About One Firefly

One Firefly, LLC is an award-winning marketing agency that caters to technology professionals in the custom integration, security and solar energy markets. One Firefly is headquartered in Davie, Florida with staff located throughout North America and has been operating since 2007.

Here are some of the topics Ron had the opportunity to discuss with Jeff Brewer:

• Leadership strategies Jeff learned while working for the late Steven Covey where he was Master Certified
• The James Loudspeaker acquisition and their approach to their rep network
• Ways Jeff and his team are leveraging virtual trainings and meetings to strengthen relationships
• Exclusive announcement regarding the new Sonance Invisible Speaker Series

To get transcripts, resources of what was mentioned in the show, and more visit: onefirefly.com/au135

SHOW NOTES

Jeff Brewer is Vice President of Sales at Sonance & James Loudspeaker. His background includes working for companies including Best Buy for Business as their VP and Sr. Director and even for the late Steven Covey. Since joining Sonance and James Loudspeaker in 2012, Jeff has led their sales directors team and currently coaches over 100 Sonance & James Loudspeaker Representatives.

Ron Callis is the CEO of One Firefly, LLC, a digital marketing agency based out of South Florida and creator of Automation Unplugged. Founded in 2007, One Firefly has quickly became the leading marketing firm specializing within the integrated technology and security space. The One Firefly team work hard to create innovative solutions to help Integrators boost their online presence, such as the elite website solution, Mercury Pro.

About One Firefly

One Firefly, LLC is an award-winning marketing agency that caters to technology professionals in the custom integration, security and solar energy markets. One Firefly is headquartered in Davie, Florida with staff located throughout North America and has been operating since 2007.

Here are some of the topics Ron had the opportunity to discuss with Taylor Whipple:

• His rewarding time as a Peace Corps Volunteer in West Africa - he even spoke to us in Wolof!
• Taylor’s start in the music industry where he spent some time working for Madonna’s music label before he decided to go back to school to pursue his MBA in Finance.
• How an analytical approach to brainstorming ideas has helped further empower One Firefly’s growth
• One Firefly receiving a placement on the 2020 Inc. 5000 list

To get transcripts, resources of what was mentioned in the show, and more visit: onefirefly.com/au134

SHOW NOTES

Taylor Whipple is Vice President of Operations & Finance. Having just celebrated his 7 year anniversary with One Firefly, Taylor has been responsible for overseeing the organization's financial and production management.

Ron Callis is the CEO of One Firefly, LLC, a digital marketing agency based out of South Florida and creator of Automation Unplugged. Founded in 2007, One Firefly has quickly became the leading marketing firm specializing within the integrated technology and security space. The One Firefly team work hard to create innovative solutions to help Integrators boost their online presence, such as the elite website solution, Mercury Pro.

About One Firefly

One Firefly, LLC is an award-winning marketing agency that caters to technology professionals in the custom integration, security and solar energy markets. One Firefly is headquartered in Davie, Florida with staff located throughout North America and has been operating since 2007.

Here are some of the topics Ron had the opportunity to discuss with Jeremy Elsesser:

• Jeremy’s 16 year career track at Level 3 Audiovisual, leading to his achieving the position of President of the company in 2017
• The importance of company culture and hiring for passion
• The transition from Commercial Integrator over to Managed Services
• The acceleration of software and cloud based communication platform  solutions for the new global focus on work from home environments

To get transcripts, resources of what was mentioned in the show, and more visit: onefirefly.com/au133

SHOW NOTES

Jeremy's sixteen-year career at Level 3 Audiovisual has led him to his current position there as President of the company. Jeremy has been in the technology industry for nearly 20 years and has worked on a broad range of projects, including broadcast, production, and communications for higher education, corporate, healthcare, and hospitality clients. 

Ron Callis is the CEO of One Firefly, LLC, a digital marketing agency based out of South Florida and creator of Automation Unplugged. Founded in 2007, One Firefly has quickly became the leading marketing firm specializing within the integrated technology and security space. The One Firefly team work hard to create innovative solutions to help Integrators boost their online presence, such as the elite website solution, Mercury Pro.

About One Firefly

One Firefly, LLC is an award-winning marketing agency that caters to technology professionals in the custom integration, security and solar energy markets. One Firefly is headquartered in Davie, Florida with staff located throughout North America and has been operating since 2007.

Here are some of the topics Ron had the opportunity to discuss with Paul Lopez:

• What experiences led Paul to opening his own integration firm.
• What it’s like being a Dolphins fan living in Dallas
• Paul’s transition from a majority commercial focus pre-covid to a majority residential focus post covid.
• Why Integrated Lifestyles chose to join the ProSource buying group

To get transcripts, resources of what was mentioned in the show, and more visit: onefirefly.com/au132

SHOW NOTES

Paul started pulling cable in attics 20 years ago and worked his way up to the ranks as he now runs Dallas-based custom integration firm, Integrated Lifestyles where they focus on creating a collaborative work environment with a “client first” approach.

Ron Callis is the CEO of One Firefly, LLC, a digital marketing agency based out of South Florida and creator of Automation Unplugged. Founded in 2007, One Firefly has quickly became the leading marketing firm specializing within the integrated technology and security space. The One Firefly team work hard to create innovative solutions to help Integrators boost their online presence, such as the elite website solution, Mercury Pro.

About One Firefly

One Firefly, LLC is an award-winning marketing agency that caters to technology professionals in the custom integration, security and solar energy markets. One Firefly is headquartered in Davie, Florida with staff located throughout North America and has been operating since 2007.

Here are some of the topics Ron had the opportunity to discuss with Ryan Anderson:

• Ryan’s past experience as a racecar driver with Ferrari
• The Bravas acquisition strategy to purchase 50 integration firms over the next 5 years.
• Defining the “Why” for both Bravas and the CI Industry.  
• Ryan’s thoughts about this new-era of event cancellations and more focused department training events

To get transcripts, resources of what was mentioned in the show, and more visit: onefirefly.com/au131

SHOW NOTES

Ryan gained his current role of CEO of Bravas in 2018. Previously, he was the founder of Kansas City smart home integration firm, Elevated Electronics. Today, Elevated Electronics is now the KC Bravas location.

Ron Callis is the CEO of One Firefly, LLC, a digital marketing agency based out of South Florida and creator of Automation Unplugged. Founded in 2007, One Firefly has quickly became the leading marketing firm specializing within the integrated technology and security space. The One Firefly team work hard to create innovative solutions to help Integrators boost their online presence, such as the elite website solution, Mercury Pro.

About One Firefly

One Firefly, LLC is an award-winning marketing agency that caters to technology professionals in the custom integration, security and solar energy markets. One Firefly is headquartered in Davie, Florida with staff located throughout North America and has been operating since 2007.

Here are some of the topics Ron had the opportunity to discuss with Shaun Schuetz:

• Shaun’s background and how he got into the consumer electronics industry
• Cultural differences Shaun encountered during his four years in Asia
• Shaun’s love for Star Wars and how he was able to do charity work with the Star Wars Costuming Community, 501st Legion while in Taiwan and now throughout the US.
• Shaun’s thoughts on CEDIA 2020 going virtual

To get transcripts, resources of what was mentioned in the show, and more visit: onefirefly.com/au130

SHOW NOTES

Shaun joined AudioQuest in 2012 with the opportunity to live in Taipei for four years representing their distributors throughout Asia. In 2016, Shaun and his family moved back to the States and has held multiple positions including his current role as AudioQuest's VP of Sales for the Americas.

Ron Callis is the CEO of One Firefly, LLC, a digital marketing agency based out of South Florida and creator of Automation Unplugged. Founded in 2007, One Firefly has quickly became the leading marketing firm specializing within the integrated technology and security space. The One Firefly team work hard to create innovative solutions to help Integrators boost their online presence, such as the elite website solution, Mercury Pro.

About One Firefly

One Firefly, LLC is an award-winning marketing agency that caters to technology professionals in the custom integration, security and solar energy markets. One Firefly is headquartered in Davie, Florida with staff located throughout North America and has been operating since 2007.