Podcast

1177: The Chat-Driven IT Support Solution Simplifying IT

is a 3x entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of Electric AI. Having experienced the pain and frustrations that many business owners encounter in managing their IT infrastructure and support needs, Ryan’s light bulb idea to create a cloud-based, real-time, 24-7 IT Support ecosystem laid the foundation for Electric’s vision to redefine IT Support for a new generation.

Electric AI is the world’s first all-in-one IT support solution for small and midsize offices delivered in real-time. Through a chat and web interface, personalized service, and flat-rate pricing, Electric enables companies to assess, deploy and manage their technology at a fraction of the cost and headaches frequently experienced with traditional IT managed service providers.

Electric’s core package includes troubleshooting, systems administration, security, and network management, and on-site assistance. Last year, Electric hit the headlines for successfully raising $25M as part of a Series B financing round led by GGV Capital with participation from existing investor Bessemer Venture Partners. To date, Electric has raised $38M. But I wanted to learn more about where it all began.

Ryan shares how he was running his previous company in San Francisco in 2013 and wrongly assumed that IT was an outdated and unnecessary concept for a modern company.

Who’s going to set up computers for all the new hires?
What software should we put on them?
How do we revoke access if someone leaves?
How do we manage administrative access to all of our documents and apps?
What happens if we get hacked? How do we prevent from getting hacked?
The wi-fi is out…now what?

One evening he started Googling stuff like “IT startups” “modern IT platform” “Zenefits for IT” – nothing. He couldn’t believe that the only solution was going on Yelp, finding a local consultant, and dealing with the most out of date, old-fashioned, inefficient processes to get this stuff done.

Crazier still, it became clear that even small businesses like his were continuing to buy and use more technology. Technology forms the backbone of all the work we do – somebody needed to fix this. Listen and learn more from Ryan who shares his inspirational story.

Useful Links