Automate or Bust: Trade Show All-In, Gim Command Live & When AI Makes Scrap Fast

Matt opens the week with a closing runway feeling — Automate is on the horizon and there's a lot to do. He walks through Develop's most ambitious trade show setup yet: a 10x30 booth with a 10x20 LED wall, live HMI demos where attendees can actually run a machine, and a complete website overhaul cutting everything that isn't hyper-focused on automation. The website nearly tripled in traffic over the last six weeks — partly explained by an A3 and FANUC SI certification press release going out around the same time.

Michael's week is defined by one thing: Gim Command going live internally. The custom AI-built ERP has already replaced multiple SaaS subscriptions, moved all task and Kanban management out of Notion, and has Claude embedded directly into the system for user-level queries. He's 100-plus hours in, spending $3–4K a month on AI credits, and describes the experience as "transformative" — while Matt remains skeptical and reminds him that every software project he's ever seen runs long. Meanwhile, CoolantClear goes viral again with a million-view Instagram reel — and breaks the supply chain. The AI-caused Tumble Blast product ID deletion from last week wiped out Google Shopping ad learning worth tens of thousands in spend. Michael's reflection: AI is like automation — you can make a lot of parts fast, or you can make a lot of scrap fast.

The episode closes with a substantive exchange on CI discipline — Matt's WIP-cap system, budgeted CI pools, and why letting small improvements die on the vine is often the right call — and a fractional CFO update: two weeks in, already identifying changes, and told to stop asking for permission.