October 17, 2025 • 7 mins
In this episode, Chris and Lacy dig deep into GearShare’s leap into AI-driven cross-rentals, explore how the new affiliate program benefits industry professionals, and spotlight how smart automation is reshaping gear management and revenue. From subscription rewards to GearSpotting® AI, learn what’s next for the future of live event equipment logistics.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:19):
All right, Lacey, this one's gotme genuinely excited.
We're talking about gear share, and honestly, it's wild how far
the whole rental process has come.
So let's go straight in this gear spotting AI.
It's not just another search bar, is it?
No not at all, which I'll admit was like super confusing to me
at first. I mean every platform claims
(00:40):
they have AI search, but gear spotting kind of just gets what
you want. You can type in.
I don't know, I need a massive line array for say 10,000 people
at a festival and it just fills in the blanks for you even if
you don't have every spec figured out.
Exactly, back in the day, OK dating myself here but a lot of
us would just call shop after shop.
(01:01):
Hey, got any MA 2 lighting consoles this weekend?
Then wait, try another vendor and spend a literal afternoon
repeating that until something connected.
It was a bit of a nightmare, especially if you were after a
piece of kit that everyone wanted.
Now with gear spotting, you Chuck in a vague request and it
sort of reads between the lines,matches your intent to the
actual kit, even if your terminology's fuzzy or you
(01:23):
forget a crucial spec. Makes you wonder what we were
even doing all that time, right?Seriously, the way it feels,
it's almost like there's someonereading your mind on the other
side, sifting through everythingout there and just cutting the
whole back and forth out. Plus the more you use it the
smarter it gets, which is kind of freaky but also like yes
(01:45):
please. Yeah, and then you've got Gear
Sync. I love this bit.
It basically handles your listings for you, does all the
organization, and keeps your inventory spotless all in the
background. You sync your file or inventory
list and done. Everything's mapped to their
master database. Nothing falls through the
cracks. It's important because the
(02:05):
harder this process is, the better the chance your team will
fail to update. It's so hands off, which I wish
existed when I was running around festivals checking if we
actually had what the company wanted or if I typed the model
number wrong. Having it all fed in, cleaned up
and like searchable. My past self is jealous.
(02:26):
It's genuinely A lifesaver. I'm still wrapping my head
around how much this could have cut down on pointless busy work.
You sing, can forget, it's all current.
Nothing's outdated, nothing's lost in translation.
It's all backstage as they put it, which is spot on.
Anyway, all This is why I tell the young techs they've got it
easy these days, but in the bestway.
(02:46):
OK, so let's talk about dollars because this platform isn't just
about saving headaches, it's literally about making rental
companies more money. And the more these rigs grow,
the bigger the problem. Like these, Smarter Cross
rentals are changing the game for so many rental houses and
production companies. They really are, and I think
more than ever people are realizing all that idle gear in
(03:07):
the warehouse. It's basically just money
sitting on a shelf with gearshare, hooking vendors up
instantly with people who need that exact bit of gear.
You're seeing stuff like PA companies in North America
looking at an opportunity to double their utilization rates
during what used to be off months.
That couldn't happen before, or not this quickly for sure.
And it isn't just one country, right?
(03:29):
I read a bit where vendors up inCanada were suddenly getting new
clients just from the matching stuff Gearshare does.
It takes all that who do you know nonsense out of the
equation and makes it so much easier to break in with someone
new or even just move the gear you already have.
That's it. You don't need some huge network
or a fancy Rolodex anymore. The platform just finds the
(03:51):
match. All those calls, emails,
WhatsApp chains, you can skip them.
And then you're actually squeezing more revenue out of
the same bit of equipment year round.
I mean, you know this Laci, you used to juggle festival
logistics. Oh my gosh yes.
Before trying to coordinate who had what, especially when things
(04:11):
got crazy close to Showtime chaos.
I remember spending late nights waiting for callbacks and then
racing around just to grab stuffsomeone's cousin said they might
have in a garage. Wish I had something like
Gearshare honestly. Now you punch it in, get a
match, and you're done. I almost don't trust it because
it feels too easy, but I also wish we'd had this 10 years ago.
(04:34):
And Laci, we haven't even touched on The Dirty word for
every rental company of any size, CapEx, you know the oxygen
your inventory needs to be able to service your customers
growing demands. It's become almost impossible to
have enough. Even the largest companies
struggle. Yeah, fortunately I've never
been on the finance side, but I have definitely heard no a few
(04:54):
times. When someone wanted a specific
brand, if I couldn't convince them to use what we had, they
went somewhere else. Gearshare basically let's
companies share inventory like Airbnb does with houses.
I am probably oversimplifying this though, right?
Ha, don't worry, I get it. But seriously, platforms like
this are really changing bottom lines, not just for the huge
(05:15):
firms, but for the two guys and a dream operators too.
That's sort of the piece a lot of people miss.
Technology like this doesn't just make efficient, it actually
unlocks revenue and connects youto gigs you'd never have found
anyway. Let's get into the nuts and
bolts of this affiliate program being offered.
This could be a big earner if you're active in the industry.
(05:36):
Laci, have you seen how simple they've made this?
I did. It's like you sign up at their
website, you get your own discount code and then just
share it with your network. If someone saves using your
code, bam, you get rewarded either cash or credits depending
on the plan. Yeah, and the reward system's
straightforward, which I appreciate.
(05:56):
So for each plan, if you bring in a new subscriber, you get a
one time cash bounty, 50 bucks for basic, 150 for standard, 300
for premium. And if you're already a gear
share customer, larger rewards come as subscriber credits
towards your own renewal, which is handy but quick heads up it's
(06:16):
only on prepaid annual Subs so no big cash for month to month
is sadly. And remember, you've got to use
your unique code for them to track it.
Plus any public posts or promotions need the gear share
stamp of approval first. Basically, don't blast it
everywhere without checking right?
And they're only counting qualified referrals, not randoms
(06:37):
or anything shady. So bring folks who are genuinely
in the business. But I love that the program is
open to reps, vendors, engineers, even current gear
share customers. Pretty much anyone with a solid
network in the live events game.So if you want in, you just
apply, wait for your discount link, and then start sharing it
out. That's it.
(06:57):
I mean, it's simple, transparent, and honestly kind
of rewarding. See what I did there?
I see what you did, and yes, you're absolutely right.
So if you're listening and you've got that contact list
burning a hole in your phone, why not give it a go?
Anyway, that's all for this week's Future Tech Spotlight,
Lacey. Always a pleasure.
(07:18):
Yeah, Chris, this was a fun one.See you next time.
Everybody keep those gigs comingand we'll catch you on the next
Geezers of Gear Future Tech. See ya.
Goodbye all, take care and we'llsee you soon.
Want. The school
All right, Lacey, this one's gotme genuinely excited.
We're talking about gear share, and honestly, it's wild how far
the whole rental process has come.
So let's go straight in this gear spotting AI.
It's not just another search bar, is it?
No not at all, which I'll admit was like super confusing to me
at first. I mean every platform claims
(00:40):
they have AI search, but gear spotting kind of just gets what
you want. You can type in.
I don't know, I need a massive line array for say 10,000 people
at a festival and it just fills in the blanks for you even if
you don't have every spec figured out.
Exactly, back in the day, OK dating myself here but a lot of
us would just call shop after shop.
(01:01):
Hey, got any MA 2 lighting consoles this weekend?
Then wait, try another vendor and spend a literal afternoon
repeating that until something connected.
It was a bit of a nightmare, especially if you were after a
piece of kit that everyone wanted.
Now with gear spotting, you Chuck in a vague request and it
sort of reads between the lines,matches your intent to the
actual kit, even if your terminology's fuzzy or you
(01:23):
forget a crucial spec. Makes you wonder what we were
even doing all that time, right?Seriously, the way it feels,
it's almost like there's someonereading your mind on the other
side, sifting through everythingout there and just cutting the
whole back and forth out. Plus the more you use it the
smarter it gets, which is kind of freaky but also like yes
(01:45):
please. Yeah, and then you've got Gear
Sync. I love this bit.
It basically handles your listings for you, does all the
organization, and keeps your inventory spotless all in the
background. You sync your file or inventory
list and done. Everything's mapped to their
master database. Nothing falls through the
cracks. It's important because the
(02:05):
harder this process is, the better the chance your team will
fail to update. It's so hands off, which I wish
existed when I was running around festivals checking if we
actually had what the company wanted or if I typed the model
number wrong. Having it all fed in, cleaned up
and like searchable. My past self is jealous.
(02:26):
It's genuinely A lifesaver. I'm still wrapping my head
around how much this could have cut down on pointless busy work.
You sing, can forget, it's all current.
Nothing's outdated, nothing's lost in translation.
It's all backstage as they put it, which is spot on.
Anyway, all This is why I tell the young techs they've got it
easy these days, but in the bestway.
(02:46):
OK, so let's talk about dollars because this platform isn't just
about saving headaches, it's literally about making rental
companies more money. And the more these rigs grow,
the bigger the problem. Like these, Smarter Cross
rentals are changing the game for so many rental houses and
production companies. They really are, and I think
more than ever people are realizing all that idle gear in
(03:07):
the warehouse. It's basically just money
sitting on a shelf with gearshare, hooking vendors up
instantly with people who need that exact bit of gear.
You're seeing stuff like PA companies in North America
looking at an opportunity to double their utilization rates
during what used to be off months.
That couldn't happen before, or not this quickly for sure.
And it isn't just one country, right?
(03:29):
I read a bit where vendors up inCanada were suddenly getting new
clients just from the matching stuff Gearshare does.
It takes all that who do you know nonsense out of the
equation and makes it so much easier to break in with someone
new or even just move the gear you already have.
That's it. You don't need some huge network
or a fancy Rolodex anymore. The platform just finds the
(03:51):
match. All those calls, emails,
WhatsApp chains, you can skip them.
And then you're actually squeezing more revenue out of
the same bit of equipment year round.
I mean, you know this Laci, you used to juggle festival
logistics. Oh my gosh yes.
Before trying to coordinate who had what, especially when things
(04:11):
got crazy close to Showtime chaos.
I remember spending late nights waiting for callbacks and then
racing around just to grab stuffsomeone's cousin said they might
have in a garage. Wish I had something like
Gearshare honestly. Now you punch it in, get a
match, and you're done. I almost don't trust it because
it feels too easy, but I also wish we'd had this 10 years ago.
(04:34):
And Laci, we haven't even touched on The Dirty word for
every rental company of any size, CapEx, you know the oxygen
your inventory needs to be able to service your customers
growing demands. It's become almost impossible to
have enough. Even the largest companies
struggle. Yeah, fortunately I've never
been on the finance side, but I have definitely heard no a few
(04:54):
times. When someone wanted a specific
brand, if I couldn't convince them to use what we had, they
went somewhere else. Gearshare basically let's
companies share inventory like Airbnb does with houses.
I am probably oversimplifying this though, right?
Ha, don't worry, I get it. But seriously, platforms like
this are really changing bottom lines, not just for the huge
(05:15):
firms, but for the two guys and a dream operators too.
That's sort of the piece a lot of people miss.
Technology like this doesn't just make efficient, it actually
unlocks revenue and connects youto gigs you'd never have found
anyway. Let's get into the nuts and
bolts of this affiliate program being offered.
This could be a big earner if you're active in the industry.
(05:36):
Laci, have you seen how simple they've made this?
I did. It's like you sign up at their
website, you get your own discount code and then just
share it with your network. If someone saves using your
code, bam, you get rewarded either cash or credits depending
on the plan. Yeah, and the reward system's
straightforward, which I appreciate.
(05:56):
So for each plan, if you bring in a new subscriber, you get a
one time cash bounty, 50 bucks for basic, 150 for standard, 300
for premium. And if you're already a gear
share customer, larger rewards come as subscriber credits
towards your own renewal, which is handy but quick heads up it's
(06:16):
only on prepaid annual Subs so no big cash for month to month
is sadly. And remember, you've got to use
your unique code for them to track it.
Plus any public posts or promotions need the gear share
stamp of approval first. Basically, don't blast it
everywhere without checking right?
And they're only counting qualified referrals, not randoms
(06:37):
or anything shady. So bring folks who are genuinely
in the business. But I love that the program is
open to reps, vendors, engineers, even current gear
share customers. Pretty much anyone with a solid
network in the live events game.So if you want in, you just
apply, wait for your discount link, and then start sharing it
out. That's it.
(06:57):
I mean, it's simple, transparent, and honestly kind
of rewarding. See what I did there?
I see what you did, and yes, you're absolutely right.
So if you're listening and you've got that contact list
burning a hole in your phone, why not give it a go?
Anyway, that's all for this week's Future Tech Spotlight,
Lacey. Always a pleasure.
(07:18):
Yeah, Chris, this was a fun one.See you next time.
Everybody keep those gigs comingand we'll catch you on the next
Geezers of Gear Future Tech. See ya.
Goodbye all, take care and we'llsee you soon.
Want. The school
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