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Linda Gray is Co-founder of Mastertech.ai, an innovative company that is leveraging the power of artificial intelligence to transform the auto repair industry. Linda brings a wealth of experience from her time at Microsoft, where she was a principal engineer and led teams on major products like Outlook, Teams, and Xbox Live. Now, Linda is applying her expertise to create cutting-edge solutions that empower auto repair shops and technicians.
In this episode…
The auto repair industry is facing a growing challenge with the ever-increasing complexity of modern vehicles. How can shops keep up with the latest technology and ensure their technicians have the knowledge and tools to effectively diagnose and repair these sophisticated machines?
According to Linda Gray of Mastertech.ai, artificial intelligence could play a crucial role in addressing these challenges. Mastertech.ai’s innovative software analyzes a shop’s historical repair orders, leveraging AI to identify patterns and trends. This data-driven approach empowers technicians to quickly pinpoint the most likely causes of vehicle issues, streamlining the diagnostic process and reducing repair times.
On this episode of Gain Traction, Mike Edge welcomes Linda to discuss the revolutionary impact of AI on the auto repair industry. Linda highlights how MasterTech.ai empowers shops to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and profitability by harnessing the power of shop-specific data and AI-driven insights. The conversation delves into the software’s capability to enhance shop productivity, reduce repair times, and improve accuracy — ultimately increasing profit margins.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
- [08:05] Why the increasing complexity of vehicles demands new solutions for technicians
- [08:55] The impact of AI on the future of auto repair
- [11:25] How Mastertech.ai helps technicians work faster and more accurately, potentially increasing their earnings
- [11:52] How Mastertech.ai can help shops improve their margins
- [13:00] The benefits of using shop-specific data to improve diagnostic accuracy and efficiency
- [13:55] Why Mastertech.ai is a valuable tool for both experienced and newer technicians
- [14:44] How Mastertech.ai creates a centralized knowledge base for shops, capturing the expertise of their best technicians
- [17:07] The potential for AI to empower auto repair shops to thrive in a rapidly evolving industry
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Quotable Moments:
- “The more you chase success, the more you might miss it. Focus on creating value and success comes as a side effect.”
- “AI doesn’t just expand a technician’s memory; it equips them with a collective experience that levels the playing field.”
- “You’re essentially immortalizing your best master technician’s knowledge within your shop through AI.”
- “When vehicles are becoming increasingly more complex, AI steps in to make repairs simpler and more efficient.”
- “Success comes as a side effect when you do something you truly love and believe in.”
Action Steps:
- Leverage AI tools for efficiency: AI-driven solutions help technicians access a vast database of vehicle information and previous repair records, overcoming the challenge of increasing vehicle complexity.
- Utilize historical data for improved decision-making: Regularly analyze your shop’s historical repair data to identify recurring issues and effective solutions.
- Invest in continuous learning: Encourage technicians to stay updated with the latest automotive technologies and repair techniques through workshops and training sessions.
- Foster a collaborative environment: Promote a culture of knowledge sharing among technicians to pool collective expertise and solve complex repair issues.
- Focus on customer value and satisfaction: Prioritize creating value for customers by delivering high-quality, efficient service that meets or exceeds their expectations.
Transcript
Announcer:
Welcome to the Gain Traction Podcast, where we feature top tire and auto repair professionals, shop owners, industry executives, and thought leaders, and share their inspiring stories. Now, let’s get started with the show.
Mike:
Hello folks. Welcome to the Gain Traction Podcast, the exclusive podcast for tire business. I am Mike Edge, your host. Today’s guest is Linda Gray, co-founder of MasterTech.ai. She had an incredible career at Microsoft. Now she and her co-founder, David Forman, have written software for our industry. The home page of MasterTech.ai says, meet your Ultimate Technician and Advisor Companion. I am looking forward to hearing more and learning more, and I’m excited about sharing this guys, this with you guys. So, as you know, before we get started, let’s talk about our sponsor, Tread Partners. It’s a customer and the re-engagement program called Retread. Retread is the only marketing program that I know of, that comes with a guarantee. As a matter of fact, it is a guarantee of 10 to 1, that you’ll receive on your marketing investment within 120 days of doing the program. That is correct.
So for instance, if you were to invest $4,000 today, we’re saying that you’re going to see a $40,000 return in a matter of 120 days from your best, lost customers. It’s customer re-engagement program, and it works. To learn more, visit TreadPartners.com. So my past guest shout out today, is my podcast with Jack Limbaugh. He is president and owner of Jack’s OK Tire Service in Algona, Iowa. I highly encourage you to check it out. Jack’s one of the good guys in the industry. I had a great time getting to know him better, and on top of that, he loves football and I like football and he’s… But he’s got sons and grandkids that have played D1. So, it’s just an interesting discussion and I think you’ll enjoy it. All right. So, I told you guys that we’ve got Linda Gray here. I’m excited about getting this podcast started. I’m excited about learning about this product that it brings AI into our world. Linda Gray, welcome to the Gain Traction Podcast.
Linda:
Thanks, Mike. Thanks for having me. I’m really excited to be here.
Mike:
Yeah. Well, what you do is exciting, but let’s back up and let the audience get to know you a little bit. Where were you born and raised? How did you… Schooling and what would you do when you were younger, et cetera?
Linda:
Yeah. So, I was actually born in China, but my family moved to the U.S when I was 10, and that was in New Jersey on the East Coast. So, ended up going to school in upstate New York and after that, I got a job at Microsoft and moved out to the West Coast to the Seattle area. And been here ever since. Yeah. So at Microsoft, I literally joined as an intern. This was, I think, back in 2004 or something like that. Over 20 years ago, and worked my way up at Microsoft, got to be a principal engineer, one of the highest level of engineer at Microsoft, and led a lot of projects, led a lot of teams, went into leadership positions, engineering management. So I led teams at Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Teams, Xbox Live, build a lot of products.
Mike:
You were involved in writing Teams?
Linda:
Yeah, so, I-
Mike:
A lot of our listeners use teams. We use Zoom here, obviously, but there’s a lot of our listeners and people that we do business with that use teams all the time. So, you were involved in that?
Linda:
Yeah, absolutely. I manage a couple of engineering teams on Microsoft Teams. We worked primarily on the D-to-D app ecosystem, for Teams. So this is where, your Teams has an app store and you can plug into other services, and extensions and things like that. And to really just make it seamless to connect with other services. So, I was managing some of the engineering teams that worked on that aspect, but that was a really, really, really great experience. And it was during COVID time as well, when I work on the Teams. So, where there was so much remote work, so much online collaboration, just a lot of schools were using teams exclusively to do their education. So, really a lot of mission focus in the work as well.
Mike:
That’s awesome. What gets you into software? I mean, what drew you to it? I mean, did you always grow up kind of like a techie person?
Linda:
It’s funny. So, my dad is a software engineer, that’s kind of what he did after he came to America. And so, he built a career actually working in FinTech, except it wasn’t known as FinTech back in the day. But he worked on some of the Wall Street firms or the New Jersey side, the trading firms that are associated with Wall Street on trading. So he worked on trading software for those financial transactions, like stock transactions. So, I remember just growing up, always seeing my dad super stressed out, all the time.
Mike:
And you said, “Hey, that’s what I want to do. I want to be stressed out.”
Linda:
No, and I was like… I didn’t understand everything he was building, but I just know, oh, if the system goes down, the company is losing millions of dollars per minute, or per second, or whatever. Because of just how critical it is, just at such high volumes. So, I just remember back in the day, I’m like, I don’t want to do this. I want to do whatever’s not this. So I said, okay, I don’t want to go into this field. And because of what I saw from my dad, just being under so much stress. But then, later on I sort of just, after resisting it for a while, kind of just got, it was like, oh, now there’s websites are being built. Back in the day, like Geo Cities and Under Construction Guy and all…
I was like, oh, it could be fun to do a fan page of one of my TV shows or sports teams. And so I was like, I started building that and I just thought it was a lot of fun, and I kept going with it. Actually, that’s probably my first start up, quote on quote, is this Knicks fan site that I built, starting when I was 16.
Mike:
You’re a Knicks fan.
Linda:
Huh?
Mike:
You’re a Knick’s basketball fan.
Linda:
I was, yeah. I don’t follow them so much anymore, but I used to be a huge fan. I watched all the games, I went to a lot of games, and we worked on that for seven years and it actually had a pretty decent user base. And we built it from literally nothing from a fan page, to now there’s hundreds of thousands of posts, that we had a forum and everything else. So, yeah.
Mike:
That’s a great experience. Well, and I think, it’s really cool to see, because a lot of the listeners, they’re second and third generation into what their families have done regarding tires and auto repair. And they have seen drastic changes over the years, especially the way automobiles get fixed and whatnot. And then obviously, you had that experience seeing your dad. And it’s interesting in the parallel, with a lot of these folks that are listening. Some of my previous guests, they’ll tell you, “Yeah, I didn’t want to be in the family business. I wanted to do something else, but then it drew me back and you just have this innate attraction to it.” And it sounds to me like, you were born to do what you do and take it to different levels.
And then, you got the experience with Microsoft, one of the premier companies in the world and got to explore that and grow with them and everything. But I like what the sound of your product does. Let’s talk about Master Tech and the service that it provides, the unique service that it provides, owners, operators, the technicians, everybody that’s running a shop, what Master Tech can do for them, that they don’t have now, and how it incorporates ai.
Linda:
Yeah, absolutely. So, we really believe in what we’re building for this industry, and so this is kind of the mission ever since we started this company. So, I started with my co-founder, Dave, and he has over 20 years of experience in the industry as a master ASC technician and as a shop owner. So, really kind of knowing all the pain points that he’s experienced.
Mike:
So, if you don’t mind me jumping in here, that’s what’s really cool for these people listening is that he’s the ASC certified technician. He knows his stuff, but now, he’s got you who knows software and basically, you guys are able to collaborate to make an ultimate tool for the industry.
Linda:
That’s right. Yeah. I was really excited by all of the tech technology innovation that was happening, in the last couple of years around AI. It really unlocks a lot of new possibilities that we can do with technology across many different industries and sectors, that just wasn’t possible before.
And I was really excited to apply it to an industry or a set of workers, that would really benefit from it. That we would be able to make the most impact. And just learning about this industry in particular from my co-founder, Dave, it felt like such a great opportunity and area, where we can feel like make the most positive impact. All of the pain points that he’s experienced, as a technician. So the job for the technician, it is very technical. There’s a lot of hands-on aspect of the job, but there’s also a huge amount of the job that’s about researching technical information about all these different vehicles. And what’s happening now is that, vehicles are becoming increasingly more complex. So every year, every model that comes out, there’s a lot more components, there’s a lot more software, there’s a lot more, the hybrids, electric, everything else. So, the job is actually becoming harder and harder.
Mike:
And it forces the technician really, to constantly have to not just go back into the memory bank and remember how to fix something. It is a whole new learning process every year. How do I connect these things or how do I make this side work, et cetera. Is that a good way of describing it? And then, [inaudible 00:11:30].
Linda:
Yeah, yeah, just new learnings. And then, for these independent shops, they have to service any kind of vehicle that rolls into the shop. Maybe some of them specialize, but on the road today, there’s over 60,000 unique models of vehicles on the road, and each one have their own ticks and issues, and specifications. And there’s so much to learn, so many tools to diagnose and triangulate. So as a result, a lot of these technicians just rely on their personal experience. So it’s like, okay, well, I’ve fixed these things in the past. But the amount of data that they have to navigate, it’s just so much. And so, this is really the perfect opportunity with AI, where we can really tap into the collective knowledge that all these technicians and shops have built over time along with the manufacturing factory data, for these vehicles.
So it’s like, each one of these vehicles comes with basically a blueprint. That we can hook into for, how is it built? What are the specifications? What are all of the known issues? What are the procedures for doing things? And we’re going to build software that… Well, we’ve already built, we’re in progress, but really, to make the technicians and advisors at these shops bionic, in a sense. Where they’re going to have superpowers that they didn’t have before, just rely on their personal memory and experience.
Mike:
That’s huge. I mean, basically you’re expanding their memory, in a sense, but not just expanding the memory, it’s able to bring, because of AI, you’re bringing in all the new data and exactly how to utilize it. But you also, from what I remember talking to you the other day when we had our preliminary call, you guys have the ability to tap into the CRM and look at all the previous customer data, and bring that into the application, correct?
Linda:
Yeah, that’s right. So that’s the focus that we’re currently working on now. That we’re going to be deploying to our customers really, really soon, that we have working right now. Basically, for each of our shops that we can tap into their CRMs, we are going through all of their historical records on their repair orders. So, some of these shops have hundreds of thousands of repair orders, that they have collected over the years, and many of them are multi-location as well. So they can also share that data across all of your locations. And so, it’s really hundreds of thousands, maybe even more than that, millions of records. And what we can do is, use AI to process all of that data, figure out, for a new vehicle that comes in, if it’s similar to some of the issues that they’ve fixed in the past on similar vehicles that have similar issues.
And we can, so right now our product will tell you, it’s like, hey, if it comes in with a specific symptom, this one example, we were just testing this morning. This car comes in with a cooling fan that runs all the time, even after a car turns off. So, that’s one thing that our team has seen in the past, and you run this analysis and it actually found that, there were about a couple dozen cases that had the exact same issue from the shop’s history, and 40% of the time it was narrowed down to a faulty fan control module. And that’s the thing that… And we give the probability chart based on that, but you can also click on the specific Ros, to see exactly how that RO was solved and service in the past. So it just gives instant-
Mike:
Basically, you can start with… I mean, the technician, the mechanic can start with the highest probability, likely, item that’s causing it, and then work your way down based on the data that you guys are providing from all over the country.
Linda:
Exactly. Exactly. And it will have the full details of that exact RO and the full write-up, and everything else. That they can drill down into.
Mike:
I mean, it also, just… I’m sorry to interrupt, but it just makes me think, I mean, the technicians obviously have hourly rates that they work off of and it’s estimated time, but you got to be helping them get underneath those times.
Linda:
Absolutely. The industry, most of the technicians are running on flat rate, so it’s the faster that they can get the work done, the faster, the more they can earn, the more that they can actually work on other vehicles to help the shop go at a higher volume. So, it’s really a benefit to everybody.
Mike:
I mean, it’s faster, it’s more efficient, could be… I mean, it’s definitely going to be more accurate. I mean, it’s just so much more effectiveness, but it makes, so the shop has a chance to do a lot more vehicles and the margins go up because I mean, you get to use the rate that it’s projected to fix it. I mean, what a win-win situation all the way around.
Linda:
And you’re not just relying on… There’s some other tools out there, that have some community stats and things like that for different issues, and they’re fantastic. But nothing beats using your own shop’s data. You’re going to trust how your shop has done things. Maybe you have a specific standard operating procedure for how you identify issues, how you fix issues, how you service, and we’re going to be leveraging all of that. So, it is completely customized and preparatory to your shop, for how you do things. And it’s not just based on a code. So it’s not just based on a P0301 code, for what’s the probability. You can keep adding to it, where it’s like, “Hey, I’m seeing this, but I’m also seeing this other issue.” And then, the more you add to it, the more it refines down the probabilities and the recommendations. So, it’s very specific to how you would think about it as a human.
Mike:
Well, it also makes me think from a management side, let’s say for instance that, I’ve got a good mechanic. I mean, he’s young, he doesn’t have a lot of experience. Well, what sets him different than that experience mechanic that say 45, 50 years old? Well, he’s got a lot of experience. He’s seen a lot of things. So, there’s his database in a sense, but now you’re taking, let’s say, a really talented twenty-something year old mechanic who’s very talented. He just doesn’t have the knowledge base that 50-year-old does. But in a sense, your software has given that to him. Now, he has the chance to really compete. Correct? Yeah.
Linda:
Absolutely. I mean, so the shops, a lot of our shops take really good notes on the ROs for the diagnosis and how they solved it. And we definitely have exactly the actual repairs that they did, as a result of that RO. So it’s kind of the thing that fixed it, and all of that information is there. It’s just, right now, it’s not being fully leveraged in a way that these shops should be, and this is all their own data. It’s kind of like taking the smartest guy, the smartest master tech that has ever worked at your shop, multiplying him by 100, him or her, by 100, and then just having that kind of persistent forever in your shop, as a central knowledge base.
Mike:
That person’s never going to retire, in a sense. That knowledge base is forever here now.
Linda:
That’s right.
Mike:
That’s incredible. Well, I got to tell you, I think it’s extremely exciting, and that’s why I was glad Matt introduced us, but I’m also glad to have you on the podcast. Let me ask you this, because I’m sure folks are wondering. How can they reach you guys if someone’s listening and they think, I want to find out more, I want to learn more?
Linda:
So you can go to MasterTech.ai. So, that’s our website.
Mike:
That’s just the way it sounds, guys. It’s M-A-S-T-E-R-T-E-C-H.A-I.
Linda:
Yeah, that’s right. Yeah, so you can take a look at what we’re building right now. So, the shop history portion we don’t have on our website right now, because it’s still kind of in development, but we’re going to be shipping it really, really soon, probably in the next couple of weeks. So yeah, all the contact information is there and you can sign up even for a free trial and demo, or get in contact with us. And yeah, we’re just really here to, want to make a difference in this industry and we really feel like we can do it.
Mike:
That’s awesome. Well, congratulations. I think you got something huge there. So let me take you on a… I always like to do this for our audience or whatever, but do you have a particular hobby that you, on a personal side, that you engage in outside of work?
Linda:
Yeah. So, right now my biggest hobby is definitely cooking. So, I’m a foodie. I love food. And so, that’s my obsession outside of my startup.
Mike:
What’s your favorite kind of food? I mean, you like desserts, are you talking baking, or are you talking actually meals? What do you love?
Linda:
I like baking, but I love Asian food. So really, not just Chinese. I am from China. So, Chinese food is great, but I love Japanese food. I love Thai. Indian.
Mike:
So, you like hot food. You like the hot food from-
Linda:
Yeah. Malaysian.
Mike:
What level will you go to in Thai?
Linda:
Oh, pretty high. Yeah, so I love curries. I love just spice and flavor and yeah, it’s great.
Mike:
That’s awesome. Well, and then, do you have a mentor or somebody you learned from or do you live by… Do you have a mantra or a motto, a quote that you like that you work with? I don’t know. It’s one of those things that just stays in your gut, your heart, your core that keeps you going in life.
Linda:
Yeah. There’s a couple of really good ones, but lately I’ve been kind of just pivot, focusing on this one from… I think it’s from the Man’s Search for Meaning, the book. And it talks about, don’t aim at success. So, don’t make success your goal, just like you can’t make happiness your goal, the more that you pursue that, the more you’re going to miss it. And for me, it really comes down to, you have to do the thing that you really believe in, that you really are passionate about.
And success and happiness comes as a side effect, as a result of you doing something that you really love doing, that you really believe in, that can make a positive impact. So that’s really kind of what I focus on. So for my startup, a lot of, in tech startups, there’s the whole culture and there’s some founders that maybe are too focused on, “Okay, hey, what’s our revenue? What’s it growing? Month over month? Or what’s the next funding milestone?” And have that be the goal. And for me, it always is like, what are we doing? How are we creating value in the world? How are we serving our customers and what are we building that’s actually going to be working, to make an impact? And everything else will come as a result of that. But you have to put the product first. You have to put the customers first.
Mike:
I think, there’s a lot of wisdom in that. I like to tell my kids and other people as well, but I say, look, in life, you have to learn to love the grind of daily life. So, whatever you’re in, there’s always going to be a grind to it. I mean, you have to go to work, you got to do it, you got to put in the time. And if you’re always worried about the destination, it’s never as joyful as you think it’s going to be when you get there, then you’re like, okay, next. It’s kind of like buying that. It’s like a kid that wants a new bike. Once he gets the bike and he is ridden on it for about a month, now the newness is gone. But if you love the grind, that’s what I say. And I think, we’re saying the same thing in some way.
You got to like the daily grind of what you do. And even though maybe, you look up one day and it feels a little hard or whatever, you still got to look up and compare it and think, this is what I do, this is what I am, this is what I like. I’m going to stick with it. And I think, that’s great advice. And I tell you, Linda, I’m glad we got to meet. I’m glad I got you on the podcast. I’m really excited about hearing more about your product. I hope that you’ll come back on and maybe a year or so, and we’ll talk again and see where you’re at. Yeah, so thanks for being part of Gain Traction.
Linda:
Yeah, thanks so much for having me on. This was super fun. And yeah, you guys are doing awesome things and I’m just glad to be a part of it.
Mike:
Awesome. Well, we can’t wait to hear more about you, and I wish you the best of luck.
Linda:
Yeah, thanks so much, Mike.
Mike:
You’re welcome. So, to all our listeners out there, thank you for being part of our podcast. You make this possible. If you would like to recommend a guest to me, please email me at Mike at TreadPartners.com. We take all recommendations seriously and look forward to receiving those. Until next time, be safe and have a fantastic day.
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