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of the day. You‘re there to be part of a During a holiday in Portugal in mid- financial runway to build this. You can‘t
show. I didn‘t get investment, and there 2024, he was driving down a high build something like this if you‘re out
were bits of commentary that probably street when he found himself staring at fitting floors 12 hours a day just to pay a
didn‘t help either – but that‘s the format.‘ the shops on either side and asking a mortgage. If you‘re doing that, you‘ve got
Despite the disappointment, Steve question most people weren‘t asking yet: no capacity left to build anything else.‘
continued to push the brand forward. ‘How is AI actually going to change these The name changed once before landing.
CrepStars remained active for some time businesses?‘ Steve initially called it Tradie Brain, but
afterwards, supported by paid advertising He started to imagine a flooring retailer it felt too generic and trade-broad and
and online sales. However, by late 2024 who owns the shop but doesn‘t need crucially, wouldn‘t travel. ‘In Australia
he began to reassess its future. to be in it: AI handling the day-to-day, you say tradie, in America it‘s contractor,
‘I realised I‘d tried everything with it,‘ almost like a digital shopkeeper, while so it already falls apart if you try to
he says. ‘I‘m not someone who gives up the owner runs things remotely. ‘That got scale it.‘ BillyBot stuck because it does
easily, but you‘ve got to recognise when me thinking: how does AI fit into flooring several things at once: it sounds human,
something isn‘t scaling.‘ specifically? That‘s when it really clicked.‘ it references billing and invoicing, and it
He scaled back marketing spend He came home with a plan. ‘I started doesn‘t lock you into a geography. ‘People
and allowed the business to run down connecting the dots. Could this be used in ask if I‘m Billy,‘ he says. ‘But that‘s fine –
organically. ‘I stopped pushing ads and flooring, could I build something around it sticks in your head.‘
just let it tick over. There was about a year it? I just knew it was going to be a huge
where I wasn‘t sure what direction to go.‘ change. So I thought: I need to build ITHIN a week of returning home
Rather than leave the business entirely, something with it.‘ Wfrom Portugal, Steve had already
he redirected his focus back into flooring In order to invest himself started building. ‘I didn‘t know how to
and other digital opportunities, including wholeheartedly in his new project, Steve build anything at all,‘ he admits. ‘I didn‘t
SEO-led stair-runner websites, a pivot turned to his 31-year-old brother to run know what an API was. I remember
that came from the skills he‘d picked up Pro-Fit Floorcoverings. finding out for the first time that an API
through CrepStars. ‘Ben has worked for me for years and can connect to systems like Sage or Xero.
‘I realised I‘d learned a lot from building likes to think he‘s better than me at I was like, what? That was unreal to me.‘
it: websites, marketing, all of that,‘ he flooring,‘ Steve laughs. ‘Obviously he isn‘t. He began exploring automation tools,
says. ‘So I started thinking how I could But he‘s very good because I trained him.‘ initially through Zapier, but quickly
apply that again in a different way.‘ Over time, Ben became the natural realised their limitations. ‘As soon as I
It was that mindset, he suggests, that person to take on more responsibility. ‘I started using it, I knew it wasn‘t going to
eventually pushed him to start thinking knew if I was going to build what I wanted cut it. So I just started learning everything
differently about what he was building – to build, I couldn‘t have distractions. as I went.‘
and what he might build next. If it meant ignoring repeat customers The first problem Steve tried to solve
spending thousands, then so be it.‘ using BillyBot was quotes, and it wasn't
HE shift towards AI didn‘t arrive as Ben stepped up. ‘He‘s been running the straightforward. But that worked in his
Ta single moment but as a gradual business while I‘ve been building BillyBot. favour because he got the toughest
awareness that something significant Many business owners would worry part out the way first. ‘Everything starts
was changing. ‘ChatGPT came out and, about handing control to someone else with a quote. It‘s also one of the biggest
like everyone else, I started playing but you find out pretty quickly they can drains on time and money. You go out
around with it,‘ Steve says. ‘But I don‘t be better than you expected.‘ to site, measure up, gather the details,
know why I got so heavily into it. I was The decision required personal sacrifice. then head back to the office, calculate
going home and watching YouTube videos Steve has moved back into his mother‘s areas, check supplier pricing, add your
about AI when I wasn‘t working. That home to free up capital and time. ‘I‘ve got margins, and manually build the quote
wasn‘t what most people were thinking two sons, but I live at my mum‘s now,‘ in something like Quote Builder or Sage.
at that time.‘ he says. ‘I did that to give myself the It‘s a long, manual process, and
often you‘re doing it for jobs you
might not even win. So if you can
streamline that, you‘re saving a
huge amount of time and effort.
That‘s where AI can make the
biggest difference in flooring.‘
The early version of BillyBot
was extremely basic. ‘It was all
text-based at first. I was literally
writing job details in my phone
notes thinking, what if I could
Despite investing just paste this into a message
wholeheartedly in his and it replies with a quote?‘ The
new projects, Steve
never abandoned his reality, he says, was far more
flooring business, complex. ‘It was a mess to start
Pro-Fit Floorcoverings.
Fortunately, he’s been with. Quotes were wrong, data
able to rely on his wasn‘t structured properly: it
younger brother Ben just didn‘t work like that.‘ Still,
to steer the ship in
his absence the process hooked him. ‘I just 

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@CFJMagazine CFJ July 2026