July 8, 2025 • 25 mins
Thuy Adomitis didn’t plan on joining the auto industry—until a grueling 14-hour car-buying ordeal sparked a career that’s now reshaping how dealerships communicate. In this episode, Thuy shares her journey from that fateful purchase to leading sales at Mia Labs, where she’s helping dealers replace “Franken-systems” with AI agents that never sleep and never miss a call.
The conversation dives into how Mia’s voice AI is transforming dealership operations by handling everything from inbound sales inquiries to service scheduling and parts availability checks. Thuy explains how this technology not only reduces customer acquisition costs but also boosts lifetime value by keeping customers engaged throughout their ownership journey. Plus, she offers insights into the future of AI in automotive retail and how it can empower staff to focus on high-value tasks.
Takeaways
0:00 – Intro with Paul J Daly, Kyle Mountsier, and Michael Cirillo
3:21 – Thuy recounts her 14-hour car-buying experience that led her into the auto industry
8:31 – The inception of Mia Labs and its mission to streamline dealership communication
11:23 – Addressing the "Franken-system" problem in dealerships with integrated AI solutions
15:12 – Enhancing customer retention and reducing acquisition costs through AI-driven communication
21:34 – Future developments at Mia Labs, including AI applications in parts departments
Connect with Thuy Adomitis at https://www.linkedin.com/in/thuy-adomitis
Learn more about Mia Labs at https://www.mia.inc
⭐️ Love the podcast? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your LinkedIn or Instagram handle so we can thank you personally!
We have a daily email!
✉️ Sign up for our free and fun-to-read daily email for a quick shot of relevant news in automotive retail, media, and pop culture.
🎧 Like and follow our other podcasts:
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Paul J Daly (00:00):
Gentlemen, summertime is here.
Unknown (00:08):
This is Auto Collabs.
Michael Cirillo (00:10):
Summertime never leaves where I am.
Paul J Daly (00:12):
That's a lie. Yes, summertime and then you have ice
storms,
Michael Cirillo (00:17):
that's true, that's true, and everything
shuts down. They're like, wasthat a snowflake and that
everything shuts down.
Paul J Daly (00:24):
I know summertime
Kyle Mountsier (00:26):
up, up in the north in where Paul's at in
summertime, everybody like, it'slike 72 and people are in like,
thong Speedos. They're like,
Paul J Daly (00:38):
listen, I think the ratio of thong Speedos, to
people up here is probably only,only lower in Alberta, Canada. I
don't think you could buy one ifyou
Unknown (00:50):
wanted to, thank goodness, but, but on
Paul J Daly (00:52):
that note, like, come on. Like, how are we
supposed to talk about this? Sono, but the reality is, like,
what people the the hot the thelevel of hotness that people
feel when it's 72 is equivalentto the level of coldness people
feel at 72 and where Michaellives, where people are pulling
out Ugg boots and scarves andhas right but the beginning of
the summer season is my one ofmy favorite seasons, because I
(01:15):
know I have, like, 10 weeksbefore it snows, and we can do a
lot of things in those 10 weeks.
That was a bad joke. That was abadge on the boat. And you know
are going on the boat, but theboating season is very short.
Here, I will give you that true.
I'm determined to take you outon the boat sometime this
summer.
Kyle Mountsier (01:32):
Let's do it all right, this, this, this boat and
weather conversation has nothingto do with the fact that we're
going to be hanging out todaywith tweet with Mia labs, and
I'm excited about thisconversation. We got to meet her
at ASOTU CON just briefly, andwe've gotten to know the team
there, but I can't wait to dig alittle bit in understand what
makes her tick, what makes herteam tick, all that type of
(01:52):
stuff. So hey, you know,whatever your weather is, we
hope you enjoy this conversationwith
Paul J Daly (02:01):
tweet. Thank you so much for joining us today. It
was awesome to be with some ofyour team, I will say, at ASOTU
CON. And I did receive one ofthe very highest quality pieces
of swag I have ever gotten in mylife, legit, like Kyle. I
mentioned it to Kyle. I waslike, did you see this thing?
Like, it was amazing. So I don'tknow if you had something to do
with that. Or if, oh, Scott
Thuy Adomitis (02:22):
trailer, who's another VP of sales at Mia, is T
zone, like, You're, like, ourchief merch officer. So if this
AI thing, don't work out, we'regonna create a new like, street
wear brand. It
Kyle Mountsier (02:33):
was really great, perfect. I'm telling you,
a good, a good piece of merchcan't hurt anyone, like
everybody can bring pens, right?
But to bring a real qualityprice of merch,
Thuy Adomitis (02:45):
that's, you feel that hoodie, Kyle. It's got some
Paul J Daly (02:48):
weight to it. It's got a little bit of weight. My
kids and my wife are like, Liza,going on the boat with us.
Kyle Mountsier (02:55):
Would be a great boat. See, everybody's jealous
of the of the hoodie. Now,that's
Thuy Adomitis (02:59):
the thing. Well, let me know. I'm happy to ship
out a few for your families.
There you go.
Michael Cirillo (03:04):
Oh, thank you.
Look at that
Paul J Daly (03:06):
one question. One question that we always like to
ask first time guests on theshow is just like the cliffs
notes of how you ended up in theauto industry, because it's
always a wild ride, and it'snever one, it's very rarely one
that people expected. So how didyou get here?
Thuy Adomitis (03:21):
Definitely not linear, right? Never, like most
of us, I stumbled into theindustry completely by accident,
right? Got married in 2000 movedfrom Michigan to LA, had no job,
and actually purchased my veryfirst car by myself as an adult,
because both my parents wereretirees from General Motors. So
(03:42):
growing up, we just went down toa lot, picked out a car and
brought home. There was noinvolved, right? So it took me
14 hours to buy that car. Like,in person, in person. Well, back
in 2000
Paul J Daly (03:56):
that's a special one. That's like, they need to
bring you three meals. Well, I
Thuy Adomitis (04:00):
ordered to get out of that situation, I said,
my husband and I are gonna gohave dinner and we'll be back.
And they just, like, dideverything they could. I'm like,
I'm out of here. I'm starving,right? So I go, we go. We
actually did go to dinner. And Isaid, we're done. We're going
home after this. And he's like,tweet, please. Can you just shut
up? I want this car. So we wentback, he signs all of his
(04:23):
paperwork, and I'm not feelinggood about this at all, right?
And I get back, I find carsdirect.com, online, I do a
little research. And this iswhen you could see, like, the
transaction pricing. I don'tknow if you knew this is
Kyle Mountsier (04:37):
back. Oh yeah, that's early days of cars. Yeah,
on
Thuy Adomitis (04:41):
are the interwebs for dealer, right? Dealers
didn't even have their websites.
Some did, or some didn't. So Itake a peek, and I find out that
we paid way too much, and that
Kyle Mountsier (04:52):
that's like, that's a terrible moment. That's
how that's the worst feeling,especially after 14 hours,
Thuy Adomitis (04:57):
15 hours, lot of heartburn. Right? But with my
husband got his truck, I'm superhappy with it. But then I
started poking around thewebsite and like, Oh, they're
hiring. I don't have a job,right? So I went down there, and
I've been in sales for many,many years. So I got hired on
right away, and that was myfirst entry into the car
(05:19):
business. And I'm curious, likea five year old, right? So I ask
a lot of questions I want tolearn at every step. And my
dealer friends were so giving ofthe information and making sure
that I was going to besuccessful as well. So I locked
arms with a couple of really bigstores here in Southern
(05:40):
California, and we just crankedout a ton of cards.
Paul J Daly (05:43):
Amazing. What
Kyle Mountsier (05:44):
is interesting there, though, is like, it's,
and this is the, this is theproblem, you know, you getting
into the car business wasbecause you had a bad
experience, right? That therewas a one off, maybe dealer that
wasn't doing things right, thatwasn't caring for you, maybe
some something about that 14hour experience just wasn't
right. You overpaid for the car.
But then you get in theindustry, and you look around,
(06:05):
you're like, No, all thesepeople, they're doing great
we're gonna do great businesstogether, and they're gonna
serve the people well,
Thuy Adomitis (06:13):
right, right? But I took some of those learnings
and catapulted myself to makesure I was successful, because I
shared that story, right? Sowhen I was telling them how I
was going to sell them a car,they bought everything. Because
at that time, getting an out thedoor price from somebody was
like, like, really difficult,right, from a sales person at a
dealership. I just gave it tothem, because I had a sales
(06:34):
manager up my back. Every singleday, I had like, 300 leads I had
to get through and answereverybody right and smile and
dial. Still
Kyle Mountsier (06:44):
hard to get that, though, it's still hard to
get the out the door. I know you
Thuy Adomitis (06:49):
want buddy. You need an out the door. I could do
it for you. Let's go. I'm ready.
I got you
Paul J Daly (07:00):
amazing. How many people under 35 Do you think
understand what a 10 key is?
Thuy Adomitis (07:06):
Nobody, and I have to Paul you funny you make
that joke, because I have tostop making these old lady jokes
anymore, right? Like, Rod lookslike Sanford and sons. I got
everybody's like, what's aSanford and Son? Right?
Paul J Daly (07:19):
Yeah, I wish I could show you I care. I'm not
allowed to anymore, but I alwaysthought that'd be great to maybe
I'll do this now that we havevibe coding, code an app that
makes the sound of a 10 key thatyou can operate it like a 10
key, and as you're doing it, itstill makes the sound.
Thuy Adomitis (07:36):
Isn't that amazing idea. Is an
Paul J Daly (07:39):
amazing idea.
Kyle's like, I gotta go. I'llprobably do that tonight. The
kids will be watching TV. Whatare you doing building a 10 Kia,
only people over 35 will evenhave a chance at understanding.
Wait, you have to wait that longfor it to print out on the
receipt. Yes, yeah, and yes, thered ink is getting a little low,
(08:01):
right?
Kyle Mountsier (08:04):
Oh, that sounds absolutely amazing. Ink out. So
how do you go? So obviously,you've been through a few
different places within thewithin the auto industry, seeing
some of the progression and techand consumer you know, both
consumer tools of true car andthen dealer tools. What? What
led you to the place you're atnow, being in an environment
(08:28):
where AI is kind of the all day,every day.
Thuy Adomitis (08:32):
You know, it's proliferating, right? This thing
is break neck speed. So comingfrom the consumer side, and I've
just been working with dealersfor 20 plus years, but once I
was introduced to ourtechnology, the top of my head
popped off, and I started tothink about the different
communications and issues I hadwhen I was selling cars even and
(08:53):
myself as a consumer. And timeis a non renewable resource, we
don't get that back. So I'malways about making sure I
maximize my dealers time all thetime, right? So, and that is,
we're going to do this bydeploying ai, ai agents,
multiple agents, at the store.
So when I saw the tech Kyle, itwas like, it's over. Goodbye to
(09:16):
my legacy type products, goodbyeto all of the third party lead
sources. I see future with AIand dealer, but you're still
going to need me as asalesperson, right? That's
right. You unravel, unravel,some of that technology,
language and how it applies atdealerships.
Kyle Mountsier (09:40):
You know, I love how you said, like multiple
agents, because I think I getthis question all the time,
because I love tech, and peopleacross the industry, especially
Daly, I know they know that Ilove tech, they will ask the
question, what's the best AI,right now, that's like the way
they ask the question, right?
And I think that. Right, what,what? People that are still
(10:00):
learning what AI is. It's notlike saying what's the best CDP,
or what's the best CRM, orwhat's the best AI, is a
category in which hundreds of1000s of applications, right?
You have to say, For what, forwhat? What's the best AI for
(10:21):
what? And so you're saying,deploying AI agents across
multiple places within thedealership, when you're thinking
about, like, these things thatyou're thinking, I'm gonna
unravel this and, like, put itback together from your position
in sales. But also, you know,sales goes close to product a
lot. How are you thinking abouta gentle AI within the business
(10:46):
sectors of the dealership?
Thuy Adomitis (10:52):
So there's four or five different departments,
right? Let me unpack this. Letme back the train up a little
bit. So over several years, usas an industry building out all
of these tools. We've built aFranken system. We've plugged
all this stuff into our DMS andCRMs, just to try to get to this
panacea of a universal one,throat to choke product, have we
(11:15):
not
Paul J Daly (11:17):
ranking system is like, I want to create a content
series around Franken system.
Kyle Mountsier (11:21):
Now, that sounds amazing.
Thuy Adomitis (11:23):
I trademarked that, and so no, just
Paul J Daly (11:26):
kidding, Kyle is over there registering the
domain
Kyle Mountsier (11:28):
problem. Well, you're over here saying stuff
like, time is a non renewalresource. I'm like, and it was
writing that book next. Youknow, it's gonna be great.
Thuy Adomitis (11:37):
We've built frankensystems, right as an
industry, right? And we'retrying to get to this one throat
to choke. So at Mia, we seecommunications at every single
point in the dealership. Soyou've got the sales department.
Those guys struggle with so muchvolume that is coming through
the internet, through the frontdoor, the phone is ringing off
the hook. And we got great salespeople, right, but they are
(11:58):
buried, right? And so we need todeploy agents to help them do
that upper funnel of work withlike nurturing, and that is
answering basic questions like,What is the gross vehicle weight
rating of the f1? 50, dulyRight? Or, you know, 250 duly
right. Things of those naturesAI can do right now. We're in
(12:18):
June, 2025 let's not let's thistask. Stuff should be done by
machine, and we do itbeautifully through voice AI,
but not just through voice Kyle,right? We're gonna have text,
chat, email, all agents insales, in service, in parts,
(12:42):
maybe even help out F and I
Kyle Mountsier (12:44):
accounting, accounting,
Thuy Adomitis (12:47):
where's my plates at? I need to cancel this or I
have questions on my paperwork.
Yep, we're get we're going to beclose. And because the Franken
system that we built, all ofthese data silos, right? You got
a chat platform on your website.
You've got a texting platform inyour CRM. None of those talk to
(13:09):
each other, right? So we'recreating all these data silos,
and dealers have are a treasuretrove of data.
Kyle Mountsier (13:16):
Well, when you think about the Franken systems,
I it actually, as you're sayingthat I'm going, Okay, what is a
website, a chat tool, a phonesystem, a CRM, a DMS, and any
level of technology in the storeoutside of maybe a just a
reporting tool? What do all ofthose have in common? And
(13:39):
they're trying to increase therelational equity that we have
interpersonally, right? So,whether that be employee to
employee, employee to customer,you know, customer to customer,
whatever that may be, we'retrying to increase the
relational equity, which allcomes down to what's the biggest
reason why, why relationshipsthe two biggest reasons why
(14:01):
relationships fail,communication and money, or
communication and communicationabout money, right? So which are
major things in our stores? Soif we can solve the
communication gap acrossmultiple systems, we start to
solve the relational gap, whichis where, you know, a client is
made, and not just transactionalcustomers. We want to I had
Paul J Daly (14:21):
popcorn. I'd be eating it right now. That was a
really great exchange. Yeah,
Thuy Adomitis (14:26):
that was awesome.
Kyle. I appreciate that. Thatinsight also. And there was a
word that you said in there. Iwas like, shit. Did I write that
down? It was good
Paul J Daly (14:34):
recording. We're recording this. If you're
recording recording
Thuy Adomitis (14:38):
this, yeah, I'll play it back, and I'm gonna
steal that. You guys are gonnasteal my Franken system. I'm
gonna steal Kyle's word. All ofthose data points, right? Is a
treasure trove of data, andideally it should be in one
space, right? We shouldn't haveall of these different
communications in differentareas over time. As long as the
(15:01):
dealer stays on our system,we're going to remember every
single conversation. And so it'sgoing to be, Hey Kyle, back for
your 10,000 mile service. How'sthe family doing? It's really
we're well.
Kyle Mountsier (15:12):
And I think that that's that's an important part.
I love that you call that outtoo, because a lot of people and
this is tough in our industry,right? We're trying to solve the
thing that's right now and andthat's important. I have too
many calls. I have too manyleads. I'm not able to follow up
well with these things. I'm notable to answer questions quick
enough for customers, not ableto get the data out of the
systems quick enough as acustomer. All of those things
(15:34):
can be solved today, but whatyou just said is actually
foresight into picking a partneror an AI tool or agent that is
going to learn my business overtime and be a loyal part of my
organization. Actually, two,three, year 357, years down the
(15:55):
line, when loyalty becomesimportant with that interaction
as
Thuy Adomitis (15:58):
well. So what do you think happens when we have
all of this data
Kyle Mountsier (16:03):
magic, I don't know, high fives, yeah, high
fives, pizza for life, you
Paul J Daly (16:13):
know, good swag
Thuy Adomitis (16:16):
to another tool, almost like another platform,
right? So if we can do proactiveoutbound. I know many dealer
groups are playing this longgame, right? We nurture the
lead. AI is going to help themsell the car by handling
inbound, doing outbound, voice,text, chat, all of that data is
going into one place, right? Andso over time, we're going to
outreach to that customer whenit's time for service, right? So
(16:39):
this stops the defection to yourJiffy lubes of the world, keep
them within your ecosphere oflike, buy the car, service the
car, bring back the car to totrade in and buy another
vehicle, and we're going tostart back all over again. And
what that does with that type ofloyalty is reduce your CAC and
your your marketing dollarsdiminish over time, right? That
(17:03):
is the long game. Yeah, all ofthat data,
Kyle Mountsier (17:06):
yeah, I think, yeah. And we talk a lot in cost
per car sold, right? PBR and,and I this, the thing that I
think that dealers need to learnhow to measure is LTV to CAC,
right, which is what SaaScompanies measure all the time,
Paul J Daly (17:27):
right? Tell it to everybody what that means. So
Kyle Mountsier (17:29):
LTV lifetime value to CAC, customer
acquisition costs. And so if youcan measure a differential on
LTV to CAC, and drive thatnumber really high, right where
you have a high LTV to low CAC,all of the sudden, retent. You
(17:49):
know what retention looks like?
You know what a low cost, costof customer acquisition and and
I think I'm just going to throwthis out there, because the PE
money and the VC money aroundsoftware right now is so high
because software is able tomeasure those type of metrics.
If we were able to do that as anindustry, I think, I think, and
(18:12):
we were able to achieve similarnumbers as software can on cost
of acquisition, right, which canbe in the in the ones and twos
of dollars. If we could do thatas an industry, the already
insane multiples on dealershipbuy sells would be even crazier,
because there'd be net new moneycoming into the industry. So,
(18:35):
like, that's actually what,that's the long, long game of
what you're
Thuy Adomitis (18:41):
talking Exactly, right? And every dealer and
dealer group is chasing that. Ofcourse, you're going to have
some short term thinkers thatare looking to gross every
single deal, right? That's fine,but you've got some long tail
players who are going to do thisright at the very beginning.
They're gonna spend a lot ofmoney, they're gonna acquire
that customer, but over time,without any defection. They're
(19:01):
gold, right? So as they comeback in over and over again that
CAC from five years ago, so backto your point of LTV versus CAC,
Kyle Mountsier (19:13):
yep. So all of a sudden, you've got a retained
customer that you acquired andno longer is a part of your net
new cost of acquisition, and youstart to drive down your cost of
acquisition over time to where,I mean, imagine if a dealership
could be in that like 50 to $70cost per acquisition. I think
it's possible. I think it'swild. You think it's possible?
(19:35):
There's no reason why it isn't.
Thuy Adomitis (19:37):
But with with those types of numbers, the blue
sky. Is there something beyondblue sky for dealership,
valuation, valuation,stratospheric money, right? And
Kyle Mountsier (19:49):
the money's out there, the money's out there.
But that's what AI enables,because then you release people
Paul J Daly (19:56):
to do the people only things you.
Thuy Adomitis (20:00):
People only stuff the higher value work, right? I
don't want to take anybody's jobas not here. We are not here to
take anybody's job. We want tomake them way more efficient.
There's top of funnel customersand there's bottom funnel
customers, right? So the bottomfunnel customers need way more
assistance, a little bit deeperdive into the vehicle, the F and
(20:21):
I piece, but let me tell themabout the car, right? Let ai do
that. How, how late are youclosed? We built online
schedulers, and the adoptionrate is dismal. Oh, it's
terrible. Yeah, it's terrible,because the experience is
terrible. And I still call in tobook my service appointments,
because every time I do theseclick arounds, there's like 55
(20:43):
clicks before I even have Yeah,
Paul J Daly (20:45):
and I have time for another. Industries have figured
it out really. I mean literally,I can schedule a carpet install.
I can schedule my airconditioning maintenance. I can
schedule all this stuff, likeHome Services.
Kyle Mountsier (20:59):
I ordered a pizza. You still can't, you
still can't schedule a doctor'sappointment. Though, get that.
They haven't figured it outeither. So at least, you know,
we're at least ahead of oneindustry. You
Paul J Daly (21:15):
can schedule telemedicine, though,
Kyle Mountsier (21:17):
that's true.
That's true. Yeah, that's true.
So what are you excited aboutover the next year? Because I we
just gave you a whole productteam that you gotta reassign
building LTV to CAC ratios intoyour measurement metrics for
your AI tool. What else are youexcited
Thuy Adomitis (21:34):
about so and the parts department, right? Those
poor guys so busy. Gotta put myglasses on, go to the typing
machine and see if that part is
Kyle Mountsier (21:45):
available. Often forgot about when it comes to
tech, yeah, that
Thuy Adomitis (21:49):
store selling millions of dollars in parts
every single month. So that teamis massive, right? But they
shouldn't be answering the phoneto verify Part Availability. I
know there's a little bit moreinvolved in that, but to share,
getting a deeper integrationinto the parts catalog or
inventory the last eight digitneed
Paul J Daly (22:07):
to meet our friend Kaylee filio. We had her on the
show not too long ago. I'd love
Thuy Adomitis (22:12):
to meet her. I'd love to meet her, but I'm super
excited and bullish on thatproduct that we should be
delivering by the end of theyear. Hey, very,
Paul J Daly (22:21):
very nice. It's we.
Kyle Mountsier (22:24):
It's been fun talking to you. We. I'm just
excited because I'm all nerdedout. Found a new sparring
partner.
Paul J Daly (22:37):
Yeah,
Unknown (22:39):
awesome. Well, thank you so much. It's been a
pleasure, and thanks for joiningus. Great. Joining us. Great to
be here. Great to be here.
Paul J Daly (22:48):
All right, I'm dead serious. I think I need to
develop the 10 key app that thatwe concepted and fleshed out a
little bit in that episode.
That's why, you know you'rearound a real baller, right?
When you can develop an idea inperson. No, the 10. Michael, do
you know what a 10 key app?
Michael Cirillo (23:05):
I don't, but I love the point where, when the
guest, who's the expert in thatfield, kind of validates when we
have a good idea, they're like,Well, that sounds like a good
idea. And we're like, we'resmart.
Kyle Mountsier (23:17):
Jason, my favorite part, and you guys know
this about me. I am just so muchabout this retention flywheel
and the fact that AI is beingleveraged to reduce customer
acquisition costs, to thinkabout building long term
loyalty. It's not just aboutlike, oh, just that one call
that we had to handle, or thatone task that we had to handle,
(23:38):
that this is a string of con ofevents that that capture
customers, life cycle, overtime, and understand and relate
back, especially in an industrywith as it's turning the high
turnover, but we still have ahigh turnover industry in the
sales and service departments.
We get the opportunity now tohave a an employee type that
spans turnover and thatincreases customer loyalty over
(24:02):
time.
Michael Cirillo (24:05):
Oh, I like that.
Paul J Daly (24:07):
You know? I just feel like, and we'll, we'll see
if this happens. But when youmeet somebody and you vibe like
that, I feel like, twee is goingto be a part of a lot of amazing
conversations. And I'm glad wejust had the first one so we can
get to the second one. So onbehalf of com out Sierra,
Michael Cirillo and myself,thanks for coming along from the
ride. Look on the App Storecoming up for Paul J Daly's 10
(24:29):
key extravaganza app, becauseit's going to happen. Thank you
so much for listening to AutoCollabs.
Unknown (24:35):
Sign up for our free and fun to read daily email for
a free shot of relevant news andautomotive retail media and pop
culture. You can get itnow@asotu.com that's asotu.com
if you love this podcast, pleaseleave us a review and share it
with a friend. Thanks again forlistening. We'll see you next
time you.
(25:06):
Welcome to Annika last.
Gentlemen, summertime is here.
Unknown (00:08):
This is Auto Collabs.
Michael Cirillo (00:10):
Summertime never leaves where I am.
Paul J Daly (00:12):
That's a lie. Yes, summertime and then you have ice
storms,
Michael Cirillo (00:17):
that's true, that's true, and everything
shuts down. They're like, wasthat a snowflake and that
everything shuts down.
Paul J Daly (00:24):
I know summertime
Kyle Mountsier (00:26):
up, up in the north in where Paul's at in
summertime, everybody like, it'slike 72 and people are in like,
thong Speedos. They're like,
Paul J Daly (00:38):
listen, I think the ratio of thong Speedos, to
people up here is probably only,only lower in Alberta, Canada. I
don't think you could buy one ifyou
Unknown (00:50):
wanted to, thank goodness, but, but on
Paul J Daly (00:52):
that note, like, come on. Like, how are we
supposed to talk about this? Sono, but the reality is, like,
what people the the hot the thelevel of hotness that people
feel when it's 72 is equivalentto the level of coldness people
feel at 72 and where Michaellives, where people are pulling
out Ugg boots and scarves andhas right but the beginning of
the summer season is my one ofmy favorite seasons, because I
(01:15):
know I have, like, 10 weeksbefore it snows, and we can do a
lot of things in those 10 weeks.
That was a bad joke. That was abadge on the boat. And you know
are going on the boat, but theboating season is very short.
Here, I will give you that true.
I'm determined to take you outon the boat sometime this
summer.
Kyle Mountsier (01:32):
Let's do it all right, this, this, this boat and
weather conversation has nothingto do with the fact that we're
going to be hanging out todaywith tweet with Mia labs, and
I'm excited about thisconversation. We got to meet her
at ASOTU CON just briefly, andwe've gotten to know the team
there, but I can't wait to dig alittle bit in understand what
makes her tick, what makes herteam tick, all that type of
(01:52):
stuff. So hey, you know,whatever your weather is, we
hope you enjoy this conversationwith
Paul J Daly (02:01):
tweet. Thank you so much for joining us today. It
was awesome to be with some ofyour team, I will say, at ASOTU
CON. And I did receive one ofthe very highest quality pieces
of swag I have ever gotten in mylife, legit, like Kyle. I
mentioned it to Kyle. I waslike, did you see this thing?
Like, it was amazing. So I don'tknow if you had something to do
with that. Or if, oh, Scott
Thuy Adomitis (02:22):
trailer, who's another VP of sales at Mia, is T
zone, like, You're, like, ourchief merch officer. So if this
AI thing, don't work out, we'regonna create a new like, street
wear brand. It
Kyle Mountsier (02:33):
was really great, perfect. I'm telling you,
a good, a good piece of merchcan't hurt anyone, like
everybody can bring pens, right?
But to bring a real qualityprice of merch,
Thuy Adomitis (02:45):
that's, you feel that hoodie, Kyle. It's got some
Paul J Daly (02:48):
weight to it. It's got a little bit of weight. My
kids and my wife are like, Liza,going on the boat with us.
Kyle Mountsier (02:55):
Would be a great boat. See, everybody's jealous
of the of the hoodie. Now,that's
Thuy Adomitis (02:59):
the thing. Well, let me know. I'm happy to ship
out a few for your families.
There you go.
Michael Cirillo (03:04):
Oh, thank you.
Look at that
Paul J Daly (03:06):
one question. One question that we always like to
ask first time guests on theshow is just like the cliffs
notes of how you ended up in theauto industry, because it's
always a wild ride, and it'snever one, it's very rarely one
that people expected. So how didyou get here?
Thuy Adomitis (03:21):
Definitely not linear, right? Never, like most
of us, I stumbled into theindustry completely by accident,
right? Got married in 2000 movedfrom Michigan to LA, had no job,
and actually purchased my veryfirst car by myself as an adult,
because both my parents wereretirees from General Motors. So
(03:42):
growing up, we just went down toa lot, picked out a car and
brought home. There was noinvolved, right? So it took me
14 hours to buy that car. Like,in person, in person. Well, back
in 2000
Paul J Daly (03:56):
that's a special one. That's like, they need to
bring you three meals. Well, I
Thuy Adomitis (04:00):
ordered to get out of that situation, I said,
my husband and I are gonna gohave dinner and we'll be back.
And they just, like, dideverything they could. I'm like,
I'm out of here. I'm starving,right? So I go, we go. We
actually did go to dinner. And Isaid, we're done. We're going
home after this. And he's like,tweet, please. Can you just shut
up? I want this car. So we wentback, he signs all of his
(04:23):
paperwork, and I'm not feelinggood about this at all, right?
And I get back, I find carsdirect.com, online, I do a
little research. And this iswhen you could see, like, the
transaction pricing. I don'tknow if you knew this is
Kyle Mountsier (04:37):
back. Oh yeah, that's early days of cars. Yeah,
on
Thuy Adomitis (04:41):
are the interwebs for dealer, right? Dealers
didn't even have their websites.
Some did, or some didn't. So Itake a peek, and I find out that
we paid way too much, and that
Kyle Mountsier (04:52):
that's like, that's a terrible moment. That's
how that's the worst feeling,especially after 14 hours,
Thuy Adomitis (04:57):
15 hours, lot of heartburn. Right? But with my
husband got his truck, I'm superhappy with it. But then I
started poking around thewebsite and like, Oh, they're
hiring. I don't have a job,right? So I went down there, and
I've been in sales for many,many years. So I got hired on
right away, and that was myfirst entry into the car
(05:19):
business. And I'm curious, likea five year old, right? So I ask
a lot of questions I want tolearn at every step. And my
dealer friends were so giving ofthe information and making sure
that I was going to besuccessful as well. So I locked
arms with a couple of really bigstores here in Southern
(05:40):
California, and we just crankedout a ton of cards.
Paul J Daly (05:43):
Amazing. What
Kyle Mountsier (05:44):
is interesting there, though, is like, it's,
and this is the, this is theproblem, you know, you getting
into the car business wasbecause you had a bad
experience, right? That therewas a one off, maybe dealer that
wasn't doing things right, thatwasn't caring for you, maybe
some something about that 14hour experience just wasn't
right. You overpaid for the car.
But then you get in theindustry, and you look around,
(06:05):
you're like, No, all thesepeople, they're doing great
we're gonna do great businesstogether, and they're gonna
serve the people well,
Thuy Adomitis (06:13):
right, right? But I took some of those learnings
and catapulted myself to makesure I was successful, because I
shared that story, right? Sowhen I was telling them how I
was going to sell them a car,they bought everything. Because
at that time, getting an out thedoor price from somebody was
like, like, really difficult,right, from a sales person at a
dealership. I just gave it tothem, because I had a sales
(06:34):
manager up my back. Every singleday, I had like, 300 leads I had
to get through and answereverybody right and smile and
dial. Still
Kyle Mountsier (06:44):
hard to get that, though, it's still hard to
get the out the door. I know you
Thuy Adomitis (06:49):
want buddy. You need an out the door. I could do
it for you. Let's go. I'm ready.
I got you
Paul J Daly (07:00):
amazing. How many people under 35 Do you think
understand what a 10 key is?
Thuy Adomitis (07:06):
Nobody, and I have to Paul you funny you make
that joke, because I have tostop making these old lady jokes
anymore, right? Like, Rod lookslike Sanford and sons. I got
everybody's like, what's aSanford and Son? Right?
Paul J Daly (07:19):
Yeah, I wish I could show you I care. I'm not
allowed to anymore, but I alwaysthought that'd be great to maybe
I'll do this now that we havevibe coding, code an app that
makes the sound of a 10 key thatyou can operate it like a 10
key, and as you're doing it, itstill makes the sound.
Thuy Adomitis (07:36):
Isn't that amazing idea. Is an
Paul J Daly (07:39):
amazing idea.
Kyle's like, I gotta go. I'llprobably do that tonight. The
kids will be watching TV. Whatare you doing building a 10 Kia,
only people over 35 will evenhave a chance at understanding.
Wait, you have to wait that longfor it to print out on the
receipt. Yes, yeah, and yes, thered ink is getting a little low,
(08:01):
right?
Kyle Mountsier (08:04):
Oh, that sounds absolutely amazing. Ink out. So
how do you go? So obviously,you've been through a few
different places within thewithin the auto industry, seeing
some of the progression and techand consumer you know, both
consumer tools of true car andthen dealer tools. What? What
led you to the place you're atnow, being in an environment
(08:28):
where AI is kind of the all day,every day.
Thuy Adomitis (08:32):
You know, it's proliferating, right? This thing
is break neck speed. So comingfrom the consumer side, and I've
just been working with dealersfor 20 plus years, but once I
was introduced to ourtechnology, the top of my head
popped off, and I started tothink about the different
communications and issues I hadwhen I was selling cars even and
(08:53):
myself as a consumer. And timeis a non renewable resource, we
don't get that back. So I'malways about making sure I
maximize my dealers time all thetime, right? So, and that is,
we're going to do this bydeploying ai, ai agents,
multiple agents, at the store.
So when I saw the tech Kyle, itwas like, it's over. Goodbye to
(09:16):
my legacy type products, goodbyeto all of the third party lead
sources. I see future with AIand dealer, but you're still
going to need me as asalesperson, right? That's
right. You unravel, unravel,some of that technology,
language and how it applies atdealerships.
Kyle Mountsier (09:40):
You know, I love how you said, like multiple
agents, because I think I getthis question all the time,
because I love tech, and peopleacross the industry, especially
Daly, I know they know that Ilove tech, they will ask the
question, what's the best AI,right now, that's like the way
they ask the question, right?
And I think that. Right, what,what? People that are still
(10:00):
learning what AI is. It's notlike saying what's the best CDP,
or what's the best CRM, orwhat's the best AI, is a
category in which hundreds of1000s of applications, right?
You have to say, For what, forwhat? What's the best AI for
(10:21):
what? And so you're saying,deploying AI agents across
multiple places within thedealership, when you're thinking
about, like, these things thatyou're thinking, I'm gonna
unravel this and, like, put itback together from your position
in sales. But also, you know,sales goes close to product a
lot. How are you thinking abouta gentle AI within the business
(10:46):
sectors of the dealership?
Thuy Adomitis (10:52):
So there's four or five different departments,
right? Let me unpack this. Letme back the train up a little
bit. So over several years, usas an industry building out all
of these tools. We've built aFranken system. We've plugged
all this stuff into our DMS andCRMs, just to try to get to this
panacea of a universal one,throat to choke product, have we
(11:15):
not
Paul J Daly (11:17):
ranking system is like, I want to create a content
series around Franken system.
Kyle Mountsier (11:21):
Now, that sounds amazing.
Thuy Adomitis (11:23):
I trademarked that, and so no, just
Paul J Daly (11:26):
kidding, Kyle is over there registering the
domain
Kyle Mountsier (11:28):
problem. Well, you're over here saying stuff
like, time is a non renewalresource. I'm like, and it was
writing that book next. Youknow, it's gonna be great.
Thuy Adomitis (11:37):
We've built frankensystems, right as an
industry, right? And we'retrying to get to this one throat
to choke. So at Mia, we seecommunications at every single
point in the dealership. Soyou've got the sales department.
Those guys struggle with so muchvolume that is coming through
the internet, through the frontdoor, the phone is ringing off
the hook. And we got great salespeople, right, but they are
(11:58):
buried, right? And so we need todeploy agents to help them do
that upper funnel of work withlike nurturing, and that is
answering basic questions like,What is the gross vehicle weight
rating of the f1? 50, dulyRight? Or, you know, 250 duly
right. Things of those naturesAI can do right now. We're in
(12:18):
June, 2025 let's not let's thistask. Stuff should be done by
machine, and we do itbeautifully through voice AI,
but not just through voice Kyle,right? We're gonna have text,
chat, email, all agents insales, in service, in parts,
(12:42):
maybe even help out F and I
Kyle Mountsier (12:44):
accounting, accounting,
Thuy Adomitis (12:47):
where's my plates at? I need to cancel this or I
have questions on my paperwork.
Yep, we're get we're going to beclose. And because the Franken
system that we built, all ofthese data silos, right? You got
a chat platform on your website.
You've got a texting platform inyour CRM. None of those talk to
(13:09):
each other, right? So we'recreating all these data silos,
and dealers have are a treasuretrove of data.
Kyle Mountsier (13:16):
Well, when you think about the Franken systems,
I it actually, as you're sayingthat I'm going, Okay, what is a
website, a chat tool, a phonesystem, a CRM, a DMS, and any
level of technology in the storeoutside of maybe a just a
reporting tool? What do all ofthose have in common? And
(13:39):
they're trying to increase therelational equity that we have
interpersonally, right? So,whether that be employee to
employee, employee to customer,you know, customer to customer,
whatever that may be, we'retrying to increase the
relational equity, which allcomes down to what's the biggest
reason why, why relationshipsthe two biggest reasons why
(14:01):
relationships fail,communication and money, or
communication and communicationabout money, right? So which are
major things in our stores? Soif we can solve the
communication gap acrossmultiple systems, we start to
solve the relational gap, whichis where, you know, a client is
made, and not just transactionalcustomers. We want to I had
Paul J Daly (14:21):
popcorn. I'd be eating it right now. That was a
really great exchange. Yeah,
Thuy Adomitis (14:26):
that was awesome.
Kyle. I appreciate that. Thatinsight also. And there was a
word that you said in there. Iwas like, shit. Did I write that
down? It was good
Paul J Daly (14:34):
recording. We're recording this. If you're
recording recording
Thuy Adomitis (14:38):
this, yeah, I'll play it back, and I'm gonna
steal that. You guys are gonnasteal my Franken system. I'm
gonna steal Kyle's word. All ofthose data points, right? Is a
treasure trove of data, andideally it should be in one
space, right? We shouldn't haveall of these different
communications in differentareas over time. As long as the
(15:01):
dealer stays on our system,we're going to remember every
single conversation. And so it'sgoing to be, Hey Kyle, back for
your 10,000 mile service. How'sthe family doing? It's really
we're well.
Kyle Mountsier (15:12):
And I think that that's that's an important part.
I love that you call that outtoo, because a lot of people and
this is tough in our industry,right? We're trying to solve the
thing that's right now and andthat's important. I have too
many calls. I have too manyleads. I'm not able to follow up
well with these things. I'm notable to answer questions quick
enough for customers, not ableto get the data out of the
systems quick enough as acustomer. All of those things
(15:34):
can be solved today, but whatyou just said is actually
foresight into picking a partneror an AI tool or agent that is
going to learn my business overtime and be a loyal part of my
organization. Actually, two,three, year 357, years down the
(15:55):
line, when loyalty becomesimportant with that interaction
as
Thuy Adomitis (15:58):
well. So what do you think happens when we have
all of this data
Kyle Mountsier (16:03):
magic, I don't know, high fives, yeah, high
fives, pizza for life, you
Paul J Daly (16:13):
know, good swag
Thuy Adomitis (16:16):
to another tool, almost like another platform,
right? So if we can do proactiveoutbound. I know many dealer
groups are playing this longgame, right? We nurture the
lead. AI is going to help themsell the car by handling
inbound, doing outbound, voice,text, chat, all of that data is
going into one place, right? Andso over time, we're going to
outreach to that customer whenit's time for service, right? So
(16:39):
this stops the defection to yourJiffy lubes of the world, keep
them within your ecosphere oflike, buy the car, service the
car, bring back the car to totrade in and buy another
vehicle, and we're going tostart back all over again. And
what that does with that type ofloyalty is reduce your CAC and
your your marketing dollarsdiminish over time, right? That
(17:03):
is the long game. Yeah, all ofthat data,
Kyle Mountsier (17:06):
yeah, I think, yeah. And we talk a lot in cost
per car sold, right? PBR and,and I this, the thing that I
think that dealers need to learnhow to measure is LTV to CAC,
right, which is what SaaScompanies measure all the time,
Paul J Daly (17:27):
right? Tell it to everybody what that means. So
Kyle Mountsier (17:29):
LTV lifetime value to CAC, customer
acquisition costs. And so if youcan measure a differential on
LTV to CAC, and drive thatnumber really high, right where
you have a high LTV to low CAC,all of the sudden, retent. You
(17:49):
know what retention looks like?
You know what a low cost, costof customer acquisition and and
I think I'm just going to throwthis out there, because the PE
money and the VC money aroundsoftware right now is so high
because software is able tomeasure those type of metrics.
If we were able to do that as anindustry, I think, I think, and
(18:12):
we were able to achieve similarnumbers as software can on cost
of acquisition, right, which canbe in the in the ones and twos
of dollars. If we could do thatas an industry, the already
insane multiples on dealershipbuy sells would be even crazier,
because there'd be net new moneycoming into the industry. So,
(18:35):
like, that's actually what,that's the long, long game of
what you're
Thuy Adomitis (18:41):
talking Exactly, right? And every dealer and
dealer group is chasing that. Ofcourse, you're going to have
some short term thinkers thatare looking to gross every
single deal, right? That's fine,but you've got some long tail
players who are going to do thisright at the very beginning.
They're gonna spend a lot ofmoney, they're gonna acquire
that customer, but over time,without any defection. They're
(19:01):
gold, right? So as they comeback in over and over again that
CAC from five years ago, so backto your point of LTV versus CAC,
Kyle Mountsier (19:13):
yep. So all of a sudden, you've got a retained
customer that you acquired andno longer is a part of your net
new cost of acquisition, and youstart to drive down your cost of
acquisition over time to where,I mean, imagine if a dealership
could be in that like 50 to $70cost per acquisition. I think
it's possible. I think it'swild. You think it's possible?
(19:35):
There's no reason why it isn't.
Thuy Adomitis (19:37):
But with with those types of numbers, the blue
sky. Is there something beyondblue sky for dealership,
valuation, valuation,stratospheric money, right? And
Kyle Mountsier (19:49):
the money's out there, the money's out there.
But that's what AI enables,because then you release people
Paul J Daly (19:56):
to do the people only things you.
Thuy Adomitis (20:00):
People only stuff the higher value work, right? I
don't want to take anybody's jobas not here. We are not here to
take anybody's job. We want tomake them way more efficient.
There's top of funnel customersand there's bottom funnel
customers, right? So the bottomfunnel customers need way more
assistance, a little bit deeperdive into the vehicle, the F and
(20:21):
I piece, but let me tell themabout the car, right? Let ai do
that. How, how late are youclosed? We built online
schedulers, and the adoptionrate is dismal. Oh, it's
terrible. Yeah, it's terrible,because the experience is
terrible. And I still call in tobook my service appointments,
because every time I do theseclick arounds, there's like 55
(20:43):
clicks before I even have Yeah,
Paul J Daly (20:45):
and I have time for another. Industries have figured
it out really. I mean literally,I can schedule a carpet install.
I can schedule my airconditioning maintenance. I can
schedule all this stuff, likeHome Services.
Kyle Mountsier (20:59):
I ordered a pizza. You still can't, you
still can't schedule a doctor'sappointment. Though, get that.
They haven't figured it outeither. So at least, you know,
we're at least ahead of oneindustry. You
Paul J Daly (21:15):
can schedule telemedicine, though,
Kyle Mountsier (21:17):
that's true.
That's true. Yeah, that's true.
So what are you excited aboutover the next year? Because I we
just gave you a whole productteam that you gotta reassign
building LTV to CAC ratios intoyour measurement metrics for
your AI tool. What else are youexcited
Thuy Adomitis (21:34):
about so and the parts department, right? Those
poor guys so busy. Gotta put myglasses on, go to the typing
machine and see if that part is
Kyle Mountsier (21:45):
available. Often forgot about when it comes to
tech, yeah, that
Thuy Adomitis (21:49):
store selling millions of dollars in parts
every single month. So that teamis massive, right? But they
shouldn't be answering the phoneto verify Part Availability. I
know there's a little bit moreinvolved in that, but to share,
getting a deeper integrationinto the parts catalog or
inventory the last eight digitneed
Paul J Daly (22:07):
to meet our friend Kaylee filio. We had her on the
show not too long ago. I'd love
Thuy Adomitis (22:12):
to meet her. I'd love to meet her, but I'm super
excited and bullish on thatproduct that we should be
delivering by the end of theyear. Hey, very,
Paul J Daly (22:21):
very nice. It's we.
Kyle Mountsier (22:24):
It's been fun talking to you. We. I'm just
excited because I'm all nerdedout. Found a new sparring
partner.
Paul J Daly (22:37):
Yeah,
Unknown (22:39):
awesome. Well, thank you so much. It's been a
pleasure, and thanks for joiningus. Great. Joining us. Great to
be here. Great to be here.
Paul J Daly (22:48):
All right, I'm dead serious. I think I need to
develop the 10 key app that thatwe concepted and fleshed out a
little bit in that episode.
That's why, you know you'rearound a real baller, right?
When you can develop an idea inperson. No, the 10. Michael, do
you know what a 10 key app?
Michael Cirillo (23:05):
I don't, but I love the point where, when the
guest, who's the expert in thatfield, kind of validates when we
have a good idea, they're like,Well, that sounds like a good
idea. And we're like, we'resmart.
Kyle Mountsier (23:17):
Jason, my favorite part, and you guys know
this about me. I am just so muchabout this retention flywheel
and the fact that AI is beingleveraged to reduce customer
acquisition costs, to thinkabout building long term
loyalty. It's not just aboutlike, oh, just that one call
that we had to handle, or thatone task that we had to handle,
(23:38):
that this is a string of con ofevents that that capture
customers, life cycle, overtime, and understand and relate
back, especially in an industrywith as it's turning the high
turnover, but we still have ahigh turnover industry in the
sales and service departments.
We get the opportunity now tohave a an employee type that
spans turnover and thatincreases customer loyalty over
(24:02):
time.
Michael Cirillo (24:05):
Oh, I like that.
Paul J Daly (24:07):
You know? I just feel like, and we'll, we'll see
if this happens. But when youmeet somebody and you vibe like
that, I feel like, twee is goingto be a part of a lot of amazing
conversations. And I'm glad wejust had the first one so we can
get to the second one. So onbehalf of com out Sierra,
Michael Cirillo and myself,thanks for coming along from the
ride. Look on the App Storecoming up for Paul J Daly's 10
(24:29):
key extravaganza app, becauseit's going to happen. Thank you
so much for listening to AutoCollabs.
Unknown (24:35):
Sign up for our free and fun to read daily email for
a free shot of relevant news andautomotive retail media and pop
culture. You can get itnow@asotu.com that's asotu.com
if you love this podcast, pleaseleave us a review and share it
with a friend. Thanks again forlistening. We'll see you next
time you.
(25:06):
Welcome to Annika last.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.