Podcast - Curious is Better

Martin Inc.
Original Airdate: 10/21/2025

From Data Chaos to Smart AI — Scott Feldbush on Automation, ERP, and Building What Matters In this episode of Curious is Better, Craig Lamb sits down with Scott Feldbush, Vice President of Information Systems at Martin, to unpack how disciplined technology strategy drives transformation. They cover:

• The move from multiple ERP systems to a single source of truth
• Why bad data kills automation and AI potential
• How process is a strength, not a slowdown
• The smart way to decide between building or buying software

Neely Loring
Original Airdate: 9/30/2025

The future of your business isn’t in technology alone. It’s in people, adoption, and knowing where the real value hides. In this episode of Curious is Better, Craig Lamb sits down with Neely Loring (CEO of Matrix) to cut through the noise on automation, managed services, and the future of logistics.

What you’ll learn:

• Why 80% of every company looks the same — and the 20% that makes or breaks success
• How robots and AI are already replacing jobs in ports and warehouses
• Why CFOs only care about ROI tied to OPEX (and nothing else)
• The #1 reason implementations fail (hint: it’s not the tech)

Atomix Logistics
Original Airdate: 9/23/2025

In this episode of Curious is Better, Craig Lamb talks with Drake Meyer, CEO of Atomix, about how real companies are winning with automation and AI. No hype. No buzzwords. Just practical insights from the floor to the boardroom.

We cover:

• Why owning your tech creates a competitive edge
• How Atomix uses vision AI to solve problems instantly and double throughput
• The ROI math behind every tech investment
• Why AI frees people to think, instead of replacing them

HandyPro
Original Airdate: 9/9/2025

How HandyPro Uses AI, Culture, and Transparency to Scale a National Brand | Curious is Better Podcast What happens when a family getting scam turns into a nationwide business success? HandyPro Founder Keith Paul joins Craig Lamb on Curious is Better to share how his company grew from a single handyman to a multi-location franchise by focusing on integrity, culture, and innovation. In this episode:

• The $2,000 scam that sparked HandyPro’s origin story
• How AI is transforming estimates, onboarding, and customer trust
• Why culture—not technology—reduces turnover
• How transparency removes customer anxiety and builds loyalty

Viridi
Original Airdate: 9/2/2025

Innovation isn’t pretty—it’s expensive, messy, and often looks like failure until it doesn’t. In this episode of Curious is Better, Craig Lamb talks with Jon Williams about building safer battery systems, developing a “self-driving” energy grid, and leading diverse teams through the chaos of invention. From burning $5M in prototypes to discovering why curiosity beats arrogance every time, Jon’s insights hit home for any leader facing the hard road of real innovation.

Honey-Can-Do
Original Airdate: 8/26/2025

Surviving ERP Nightmares, AI Game-Changers & Building Through Recessions | Curious is Better Podcast Most companies don’t fail because of lack of ideas. They fail because they can’t execute when it matters. In this episode of Curious is Better, we sit down with Steve Greenspon, CEO of Honey-Can-Do International, to unpack the real stories behind building a business through a recession, surviving ERP integrations (without losing your sanity), and using AI + RPA to actually save time and money—not just make a flashy headline. We get into:

• Why launching a startup in the middle of a recession might actually be an advantage.
• The debate between customizing software vs. adapting processes to fit (hint: ego kills more projects than bad code).
• How AI and RPA cut through cash reconciliation headaches and redefined content creation for retail.
• The truth about ERP implementations—why they’re always late, always over budget, and always riskier than leaders want to admit.

Elite Roofing
Original Airdate: 8/19/2025

From paper files to AI-driven sales, Brie Reis didn’t just climb the ladder—she rebuilt it. In this episode of Curious is Better, we dive into how the CEO of Elite Roofing transformed a family-run construction business into a tech-forward operation that’s miles ahead of its industry peers. We cover:

• Killing inefficiency by ditching paper and streamlining with CRM integrations.
• Building a culture of trust to push through change resistance.
• Leveraging digital onboarding and SOP videos for retention and scalability.
• The cautious (but necessary) first steps into AI and private LLMs.
• How to vet tech partners so you don’t get stuck with a “demo-only” salesperson.
• Why legacy systems and cash-based software cripple construction companies.
• The one automation Brie wishes existed to unify every tool in her tech stack.
• Leadership advice for tearing down ceilings and walls—literally and figuratively.

Tacolicious
Original Airdate: 8/12/2025

Jonatan Prestini, GM of Tacolicious, shares 30+ years of hospitality experience — from Brazil to the Bay Area — and how restaurants can use technology, data, and training to boost service and sales. We cover POS upgrades, staff training strategies, customer data tracking, and the balance between tech adoption and human connection. Perfect for restaurant owners, managers, and hospitality pros looking to optimize operations without losing the personal touch.

Vector Global Logistics
Original Airdate: 8/5/2025

Custom AI in Global Freight | Brian Oxley on Curious is Better In this episode of Curious is Better, I sit down with Brian Oxley, co-founder of Vector Global Logistics, to talk about the evolution of freight, the growing complexity of global shipping, and how AI is becoming a critical tool for modern logistics operations. We cover everything from:

• The early days of Vector and scaling across 6+ countries
• Why off-the-shelf logistics tools just don’t cut it anymore
• Building custom software on top of a TMS
• How AI is transforming tariff management, traceability, and customs reporting
• The challenge of integrating disparate systems in freight
• And what Brian would build with unlimited resources (spoiler: it’s bold)

Han-Tek
Original Airdate: 7/29/2025

Why Custom Automation Wins: Craig Lamb Talks with Patrick Tobin of Han-Tek | Curious is Better Podcast “Custom isn’t a luxury anymore—it’s survival.” In this episode of Curious is Better, I sit down with Patrick Tobin, President of Han-Tek, to talk shop about automation, material handling, and why you can’t fake readiness with a forklift and a dream. We dig into:

• Why everything Han-Tek does is custom (and why that’s a good thing)
• The ROI conversations that actually matter
• Why your AGVs better impress the customers you bring through the door
• The real obstacles to automation (hint: it’s usually not the tech)
• How AI is creeping into automation design—and why "nimble with patience" is the new reality

GPA Logistics
Original Airdate: 7/22/2025

Is your tech actually doing anything... or are you just paying for dashboards no one reads? In this episode of Curious is Better, Craig sits down with Bill Drummer, CEO of GPA Logistics, who proves you don’t need to be Amazon to run a smart, tech-forward operation. Bill moved across the country, scaled from 250K to 2 million square feet of warehouse space, and built a 10-person in-house tech team—all while competing in one of the most brutally commoditized industries around.

We cover:

• How private GPTs are helping his warehouse staff eliminate chargebacks
• How AI is optimizing pick paths on the fly (not just spitting out pretty graphs)
• Why he holds weekly cross-functional IT meetings (and won’t let anyone leave without speaking up)
• The right way to vet tech hype—so you don’t get stuck with software that looks good in a demo but flops in the real world
• Where robotics are working, where they aren’t, and what hardware-as-a-service might fix
• And why treating frontline workers like tech users—not liabilities—is a game-changer

Met Plus
Original Airdate: 7/15/2025

Logistics. Chaos. One Guy Who Actually Gets It Done. Hasan Alkaya didn’t show up in the U.S. with a VC check, a LinkedIn following, or a 10-year plan. He showed up with a network, a container full of kids’ furniture, and an allergy to excuses. Today, he’s running a logistics and operations company that quietly solves the kinds of problems that would leave most companies gasping into a Slack channel. In this episode, we get into:

• How one $55K customs mistake turned into 250+ container shipments
• Why “start small” is still the best advice no one wants to take
• The difference between AI hype and actual AI utility
• Frankensteining together Zoho, NetSuite, ShipHero, Eva, and private GPTs into a system that actually works
• Why documenting your process like you’re writing for a 3rd grader is the only way to scale
• And what not to do when building a business in logistics (spoiler: it’s most of what people are doing)

3BG Supply
Original Airdate: 7/8/2025

When the Real Problem Isn’t the Problem In this episode of Curious is Better, I sit down with Shane Araujo, co-founder of 3BG Supply, to talk about what really drives value in B2B industrial distribution — and spoiler alert: it’s not just selling parts. Shane gets into:

• Why the first thing your customer says is almost never the real problem
• The difference between putting out fires and preventing them in the first place
• How 3BG uses tech like AI, sensors, and automation — not to sound cool — but to grease the wheels for actual humans
• Why hard closes are nonsense when you actually give a shit
• How they’re building a people-first company culture (and buying others like it)
• Why part numbers are chaos incarnate
• And how younger buyers are killing donuts and golf outings — and why that’s a good thing

Scott Hopkins
Original Airdate: 7/1/2025

Old-school meatpacking meets modern tech—and the result is smarter sales, streamlined ops, and a front-row view into what food industry transformation really looks like. In this episode of Curious is Better, Envative’s Craig Lamb sits down with Scott Hopkins, Director of Foodservice at Farmington Foods. Scott shares lessons learned from scaling a regional foodservice juggernaut at PFG—then jumping into a 60-year-old, family-run manufacturer that’s still doing things the old-fashioned way… for now. This isn’t a surface-level chat. You’ll get a real look at:

• Why quotas often kill CRM data quality—and how bad inputs lead to worse decisions
• The broken feedback loop between brokers, manufacturers, and sales teams
• What a tech-lean distribution operation actually looked like in 2012 (hint: it worked)
• Why food distributors hate flour and how pallet optimization tech is evolving
• How Scott’s building a modern sales strategy without blowing up the culture
• Plus: robots, AI, value-added meats, and why automation isn't the villain

Babylon Micro-Farms
Original Airdate: 5/22/2025

How Babylon Micro-Farms Is Bringing High-Tech Hydroponics to the Masses In this episode of Curious is Better, Craig Lamb sits down with Graham Smith, co-founder of Babylon Micro-Farms, to uncover how a student project turned into a full-blown ag-tech company that’s reinventing how we grow food. From tinkering in a garage to building sleek, smart hydroponic farms that live in university cafeterias and hotel lobbies, Graham shares the startup journey, the tech stack powering Babylon IQ, and how they’re making indoor farming approachable—without the pipettes and pH strips.

We cover:

• The origin story of Babylon Micro-Farms
• How hydroponics work and why they matter
• The industrial design and automation behind each unit Babylon IQ and the brains behind the farms
• The balance of beauty, simplicity, and complexity in ag-tech

Serenity Kids
Original Airdate: 5/19/2025

In this episode of Curious is Better, host Craig sits down with Joe Carr, co-founder and President of Serenity Kids, to talk about how a mission-driven baby food company is leveraging technology — and now AI — to scale smart. Joe shares the story behind Serenity Kids’ formation, how they built a brand rooted in purpose, and the surprising ways AI is helping them streamline operations, enhance customer experience, and make more informed business decisions. 🔍 Topics covered:

• The origin story of Serenity Kids
• Building a values-based company in the CPG space
• The role of technology in modern brand-building
• How AI is shaping their operations and decision-making