The Future Is Now: Bob Summers Of Goodcall On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Tech Scene
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Platforms are king. Leveraging a platform such as Google or Yelp is key to growing a consumer and small business product. When you partner with these platforms, it forces you to think big.
As a part of our series about cutting-edge technological breakthroughs, I had the pleasure of interviewing Bob Summers.
Bob Summers, founder & CEO, Goodcall is the founder and chief executive officer of Goodcall, a phone assistant for local shops and services. He was formerly a senior product leader for Google Assistant and the co-founder and CEO of CallJoy, a product incubated in Google’s Area120. Born to two computer scientists, Summers sold his first piece of software at age 14, trading code for a car. Summers is a Virginia Tech and MIT graduate with two boys (11 and 13) who share his snow and wave riding passions.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Before Goodcall, I was a senior product leader for Google Ads, Google Assistant and the co-founder and CEO of CallJoy, a product incubated in Google’s Area120. I took this passion for improving the lives of small business owners and put it into founding Goodcall with the sole purpose of lightening the load of day-to-day operations and improving customer satisfaction one good call at a time. Now, businesses can use Goodcall’s smart agent to turn every phone call into an opportunity to establish a relationship with a customer and improve sales.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I created a 6,000 sq. ft coworking space that helped dozens of software companies and used crowdfunding to bring gigabit fiber to the space and the surrounding community in Blacksburg, Virginia. Most of my career has been building software that connects people in virtual spaces, such as video chat and messaging for Windows and Mac, impacting over 5 million people. But when I was looking to build my next company about 10 years ago, I wanted to work in an open space with like-minded people. This did not exist in Blacksburg, Virginia, at the time, and a friend of mine had some vacant space above his bar downtown. So, the idea for TechPad was born. Little did I know that I would bring the tech community together with space and gigabit fiber.
Can you tell us about the cutting-edge technological breakthroughs you are working on? How do you think that will help people?
Goodcall was created to design and democratize access to an enterprise-class call solution that’s readily available and easy to use for any small business. With Goodcall, store owners don’t have to decide between answering the phone and assisting customers in-store.
It may seem like a small problem, but small- and medium-sized businesses leave 62% of calls unanswered. That translates to frustrated customers, decreased loyalty, and millions of dollars in lost revenue. Companies that have tried to provide intelligent phone solutions traditionally run into two problems: it became too expensive and couldn’t scale. Goodcall has overcome those obstacles to provide a fast, simple, accurate and affordable product and makes the lives of business owners and managers easier — and profitable.
By bringing augmented staffing solutions as a free, 24/7 intelligent call agent, small businesses now have access to cost-effective and time-saving technologies to focus on what they do best: providing quality service and delightful experiences to customers.
How do you think this might change the world?
Despite dozens of virtual software and human answering services, small- and medium-sized businesses continue to struggle to address their growing number of phone inquiries. Over 30M small businesses in the U.S. mishandle hundreds of millions of phone calls every year — now, small businesses can use Goodcall’s smart agent to put a stop to that.
Goodcall is about making the lives of local businesses owners and their employees better — freeing up staff to connect on a deeper level with customers and empowering owners and managers to attract and maintain customers in an especially harsh economic climate. Existing answering services and voice mail are either cost-prohibitive or wildly inadequate — leaving customers and potential customers ignored, frustrated, and pushing their business away. Or worse, dependent upon clunky voicemail.
Goodcall makes it easier for people to start and run businesses and, by doing so, makes a positive impact on their communities.
Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
When I created Goodcall, I wanted to be careful not to create a replacement for people. Our mission was — and is — the opposite. Goodcall is an extra set of hands for busy workers. I don’t want to remove small businesses’ personal touch; I want to enhance it by enabling employees to spend more time with the people in front of them and less time answering basic questions via phone or dealing with spam and telemarketers. So, as with any new technology, particularly artificial intelligence, it’s all about identifying the potential drawbacks and ensuring that our product reaches the most people who can benefit from it.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?
While at Google, I was lucky to be a part of the Local Services Ads team, where I began to take notice of the struggles small businesses faced, particularly with handling the demands of phone calls. It was obvious that these businesses depended on phone calls to grow and support their customers, but they had no way of improving productivity in this critical channel. We began to play around with the idea of utilizing Google Assistant technologies as part of a business assistant, and I had the opportunity to explore the idea of conversational AI in Google’s Area120 with a product called CallJoy. Early on, we realized that a virtual call assistant had merit but wasn’t necessarily a fit for Google’s priorities at the time.
We decided the initiative would be better supported to live outside of Google as a standalone company, and in my view, it was too valuable not to pursue. The Google team is excited at the technology’s prospects. After being a part of the Ondeck program for aspiring founders, and the support of the Xooglers network, I decided to take the leap and take this opportunity to bring Goodcall to small businesses across the U.S.
What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?
Many small business owners perceive tech-like AI as out of reach — something reserved for enterprises. And historically, that’s been the case. Part of my job is helping people realize that tools like Goodcall are accessible, both financially and regardless of skill level. Our biggest challenge is demystifying the idea of A’ being exclusive and hard to understand; with Goodcall, that’s not the case. If you have a business and an internet connection, Goodcall is for you.
What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?
So much of our business now is word of mouth. We’re also focused on generating media interest and growing our social channels. Still, the best and most effective advertising for us is when a happy business owner using Goodcall tells a friend. We believe in letting the product speak for itself and we know we’ll be successful the more happy customers that we onboard.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
When I was at Google trying to figure out a path to scale conversational AI to local business, I met Ujjwal Singh, currently Head of Workplace for Facebook. He was a Director at Google’s technology incubator, Area 120. Ujjwal understood the opportunity and challenges we would face to make the vision a reality. His support, leadership and coaching resulted in the success of CallJoy. Ujjwal is particularly good at making connections with key partners which can accelerate an idea. Without him, we would not be where we are today.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I’ve always had a passion for technology. It was instilled in me at an early age by my parents, who were computer scientists. This passion has inspired and enabled me to create a product like Goodcall to help SMBs and take an active role in the entrepreneurial community. I’ve founded 460 Angels (now Virginia Tech Investor Network) and TechPad (acquired), a co-working space for software companies that helped 60+ startup companies. My first endeavor resulted from a crowdfunding campaign, university, government and business collaboration to improve broadband access in a college town (Virginia Tech) by deploying a gigabit fiber network and the world’s first free open access gigabit wifi network: GoGig Internet.
It’s been an incredible journey, and it’s one I want to share with people, whether that be entrepreneurs or business owners looking for extra help.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why.
- The number of employees in a company does not equal success. When I started, I thought that the more people on a team, the more productive and successful it must be. So I made some early mistakes hiring too many people and in some cases, the wrong people. Hire slow!
- Platforms are king. Leveraging a platform such as Google or Yelp is key to growing a consumer and small business product. When you partner with these platforms, it forces you to think big.
- Atomic networks matter. Making a big business begins with starting small and fostering a network of customers in a niche. Scale is all about replicating these networks.
- Meditation is helpful for balance. Building a software company can be stressful and I find that a mindfulness practice, which includes daily meditation, keeps me in the moment and focused on what matters.
- Curiosity is a team value. As a person who has always been curious about how things work and how to make the world a better place, I was surprised to learn that this is not a quality of all people. We now listen for clues of curiosity when we hire. An example is someone building and launching their own app or product. Entrepreneurs are inherently curious.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
I believe it would be empowering local businesses and entrepreneurs to reach their potential by giving them the tools to do so. When people shop small, they’re not only supporting that business; they’re powering local economies. The post-pandemic rush of demand from customers is leaving many small businesses overwhelmed and struggling.
Despite these struggles, recent Yelp data shows that over 500,000 small businesses opened in 2021. As tech founders and creators, we need to begin recognizing that local and small merchants need affordable and effective customer experience solutions that assist them in running their businesses day in and day out. This means leveling the playing field with the same access to enterprise-level solutions that fortune 500 companies have at their disposal.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Life is short, Break the rules.” — Mark Twain
Embedded in every entrepreneur, including myself, is the ability to see beyond a current reality to a vision of a possible future. Then execute to make the vision a reality. To get to that future, you have to take risks that sometimes seem completely crazy to everyone around you. Five years ago, we moved our family of four from a beautiful rural town in Virginia to Silicon Valley. We had a very comfortable and good life in Virginia but had a different vision for our future. That vision included impacting people at a global scale and working in an ecosystem of other like-minded people at the world’s tech hub. A mindset of “life is short” helped us make tough decisions and transition to a new life in Silicon Valley.
Some very well-known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them :-)
Think about a time you walked into a restaurant and waited to be greeted while the host took a call. Or maybe when you were getting a haircut and your stylist had to walk away to answer the phone. Or even when you were scrambling to make last-minute reservations but your calls were going unanswered.
Goodcall’s fully customizable AI solution empowers small- and medium-sized business owners to operate confidently, knowing that customer calls are being properly routed, questions are being accurately answered, appointments are being scheduled, and orders are being taken. Now EVERY phone call is an opportunity to sell or strengthen a customer relationship. Our 24/7 “smart phone assistant” is free for most small businesses. It is a lifeline that many main street businesses need as they navigate current staffing challenges and set themselves up to thrive in a post-pandemic environment.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Readers can connect with me on LinkedIn or follow me on Twitter and follow along with Goodcall on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
