Before Lauren was a trusted member of the Kojo Customer Success team, she was in the electrical industry–and a user of Kojo. Like many in the trade contractor sector, her first employer was family-owned and operated.

Working for a family friend who needed bookkeeping assistance, Lauren spent six years working her way up, starting with data entry, moving on to Payroll, AP, AR, Project Accounting, and even Purchasing and high-level Finance. As her organization grew, Lauren helped to scale that growth with tech solutions.

We sat down with her to talk about that experience and how she sees the industry today.

Tell Us About Your Industry Experience

“Most of my experience comes from working at Stetner Electric. I started there just filing paperwork but throughout my late teens to early twenties I started taking on more and more responsibility for them. What started out as simple admin tasks turned into more impactful roles, including AP, project accounting, purchasing, and high-level finance.”

Lauren noted that from the time she started to the time she left, Stetner had grown from $5M a year to $80M a year. To keep up with that growth, those at Stetner knew they needed to incorporate software to automate certain tasks. That also meant Lauren’s role grew to include the responsibilities of a technology implementation manager.

“I helped implement a new time-keeping software, helped in making the switch in our ERP from Quickbooks to Spectrum, and also Kojo was one of them towards the end. That’s how I found Kojo”

What Was Your Experience Like Implementing Kojo at Stetner Electric

“Having grown our operations so much and so quickly we realized our traditional processes just wouldn’t work at scale. I felt the pain points that the industry is feeling nationwide. Being able to track materials and tools was one of those pain points. I knew there had to be a better way on the horizon.” As the organization’s Implementation Manager, she managed and onboarded new software. She soon realized Kojo wasn’t like other construction solutions. “As soon as Robin, our Customer Success Manager, showed me what [Kojo] can do, my mind was blown with possibilities,” she shared. “I knew that [Kojo] would not only save us time, but change how material was purchased across the industry.”

What Industry Trends Are You Seeing Now?

With extensive experience at various levels of the electrical industry, Lauren has seen some growing trends among these trade contractors in recent years. There are two that stand out the most to her.

‍Increased Investment In Prefab

“Prefab is something we’re seeing a lot more trade contractors use even more than they have before. It's why many are now searching for a solution to see what’s going on in their prefab shops.”

Increase In Mergers & Acquisitions

“We’re also seeing a lot of mergers and acquisitions in the industry. That’s where transparency becomes a challenge. Knowing what’s happening in a single office and job site can be a challenge, let alone multiple offices in different cities. Thankfully, we can help with both prefab and those larger transitions.”

What Made You Decide To Join Kojo?

“Working at [Kojo] has given me a chance to utilize the experience I gained working for an electrical trade contractor, make an impact across the industry, expand my understanding of the SaaS world, and work for a company with culture and values I align with.”

Lauren’s experience with implementing software across her team, and her abundant curiosity and compassion make her an ideal customer success manager. Since starting at Kojo in September 2021, she has been an instrumental member of the CS team. She’s helped introduce Kojo to companies similar to the family-owned organization where she started along with large-scale MEP contractors across North America.

What’s Your Advice To Trade Contractors Everywhere?

Lauren’s advice for trade contractors battling with today’s industry challenges: “Be open to change. Our most successful trade contractors have shared this quality. Even the largest trade contractors that we’ve worked with that have operated a certain way for years have been open to change and have seen a positive impact on their operations because of that.”

‍Learn more about Kojo, our product, and our team of experts like Lauren here.