October 21, 2025 • 19 mins
What if getting paid didn’t depend on business hours, paper checks, or a lucky round of phone tag? In this episode of The Grit Blueprint Podcast, I sit down with Erik Bornstein, Founder and CEO of TOOLBX, to explore how technology is transforming the lumber and building materials industry.
From sweeping job sites at 16 to leading one of Toronto’s top luxury homebuilding firms, Erik’s journey from contractor to tech founder gives him a rare perspective on what the construction world really needs: speed, transparency, and smarter workflows.
Topics we cover:
• Digital AR portal for quotes, orders, invoices, statements, and payments
• ERP-integrated pricing and workflows for clean data end to end
• Faster billing cycles for cost‑plus builders and reduced DSO
• 24/7 access with after‑hours payments and text‑to‑pay
• Seasonal lists and curated carts to drive upsell and loyalty
• Product discovery with account‑specific pricing to cut phone tag
• Easy onboarding, preferred pricing for co‑op dealers, under six weeks
• Competing with big‑box pro portals through speed and relevance
• In‑house engineering velocity for rapid features and integrations
Be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast platforms or YouTube and follow the Grit Blueprint podcast to catch more stories and insights from the building industry.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Erik Bornstein (00:00):
We just create a digital toolbox so you can
order, you can quote, and youcan pay your bills really
quickly digitally.
We're fully integrated with allthe major ERP systems.
So quotes ordering andmessaging all verticalized in
one platform.
Stefanie Couch (00:14):
There is a lot of competition out there and
they have billions of dollars tospend on technology.
So this levels the playingfield and people can use this as
leverage.
Erik Bornstein (00:22):
We're really here to arm the dealer with a
world-class technology team.
We have over 30 engineers onstaff.
We've recruited some of thebest engineers from Shopify,
Facebook, Uber, and Amazon allworking towards the same goal.
I don't get excited when wejust sell a dealer software.
I get excited when they come upto me a month later and say,
(00:43):
we've reduced our DSO by 20%.
Thank you.
Stefanie Couch (00:47):
I spent a lot of time when I was young running
my dad's lumberyard in the car,meeting people at gas stations,
getting checks.
It would have been nice to belike, just put that into
Toolbox.
Welcome to the Grit BlueprintPodcast, the playbook for
building unmistakable brandsthat grow, lead, and last in the
built world.
(01:08):
I'm Stephanie Couch, thefounder of Grit Blueprint, and
I'm a lifelong building industryinsider.
I was raised here, built mycareer here, and now my team and
I help others win here.
The truth is, you can be thebest option in your space and
still lose to someone else whosimply shows up better and more
(01:30):
consistently.
Each week on the GripBlueprint, I'm going to show you
how to stand out, earn trust,and turn your brand into a
competitive advantage thatlasts.
If you're ready to be seen,known, chosen, and become
unmistakable, you're in theright place.
Let's get started.
Welcome to the Grip BlueprintPodcast.
(01:53):
I am your host, StephanieCouch, and today I am here with
Eric Bornstein from Toolbox.
You're the CEO of an amazingtech platform that's taking our
building industry by storm inthe best way.
Welcome to the show.
Erik Bornstein (02:06):
Thanks for having me, Steph.
Super excited to be here.
Stefanie Couch (02:08):
Yeah, and we are actually accelerating a big
partnership that you juststarted with Do It Best Group
LBM.
This week they announced thatyou guys are here at Market
partnering with them to helptheir LBM dealers use technology
to get paid quicker, to do allof the things that the pro wants
in a lumber business.
Erik Bornstein (02:27):
Yeah, I mean, do it best has been a great
journey so far.
And uh we're super excited towork with the different
executives, particularly on thelumber side and also some of the
dealers that we're alreadyworking with.
Do it best doesn't bringanybody in easy.
So we really had to execute ona few members' platforms before
they even considered us, andwe're just super excited to
(02:48):
bring a lot of value to thedealers.
Stefanie Couch (02:50):
Absolutely.
You and your team are here, andit's really cool for me to see
because I love technology in ourindustry, but sometimes it
feels like the people who comeup with this technology, they
don't understand our business,but that is not you because
you've got chops, you have 15years of experience as a
contractor.
So tell me a little bit abouthow you got started there and
(03:12):
what led you to create Toolbox.
Erik Bornstein (03:14):
Yeah.
So I mean, I startedconstruction when I was
literally 16 years old, sweepingjob sites and worked my way up
as a framer, as a site super, asa project manager, and
eventually uh became an owner inmy own construction business.
And we scaled up that companyvery much like a startup.
So we grew it to about ahundred employees in less than a
(03:35):
five-year period.
And we were doing, you know,single family customs, five
million up to about 20 million.
Yeah.
And um, you know, the thepartners and I were doing a lot
of the project managementourselves.
We had a lot of employees, wehad site people, but it was
literally a moment where when Icame in, I was working at my
desk, and I just had a stack ofinvoices on my desk.
(03:58):
And for me to save time, Ineeded to eat.
And so I whipped out my phone,I opened up Uber Eats, and I'm
like, wait a second, like, whycan't I do this type of thing
with my lumber yard?
Why can't I go in and pay mybills really quickly?
Why can't I go get my receipts?
And my accounting team wasalways asking me to call my
suppliers to get my receiptsfaster.
(04:20):
So that was really the premiseof the word toolbox.
Hey, can we just create adigital toolbox so you can
order, you can quote, and youcan pay your bills really
quickly digitally?
Stefanie Couch (04:31):
Yeah, and you absolutely have solved the
problem that a lot of dealershave had, which is getting paid
as fast as you possibly can.
Yeah.
It's very important.
But you were also mentioningearlier to me that it's not just
the dealer that benefits fromthat, because a lot of people
are cost plus contractors.
So, how does that actuallyaffect the contractor when they
can get paid easier by doingtoolboxes AR programs?
Erik Bornstein (04:55):
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, it allows the pro toget paid faster.
So the faster the pro can getinvoices from their supplier or
their trade, the faster they canget paid.
You know, typically we werecost plus, so we would our
percentages were based on howmuch we build.
Uh, every builder's a littlebit different, but but typically
you want to get those billingpackages out every single month,
(05:16):
especially for a custom home.
And if you're getting invoicesin at the end of the month or
even a little bit late, it'sgonna miss that billing package.
That's the reason why a lot ofthe AR uh extends past 30 days,
is not necessarily because thebuilder doesn't want to pay,
it's that we didn't get theinvoices in time fast enough.
We couldn't invoice our clientsfast enough, and now you're
(05:39):
you're dealing with like 45 daysbefore the package comes in.
Stefanie Couch (05:43):
Yeah, everybody bleeds when that happens.
It's not fun for anyone.
Erik Bornstein (05:46):
Yeah.
Stefanie Couch (05:46):
Well, I want to go back and double-click on
something you said earlier.
So you're talking about yourdays in the construction world.
You've done a lot of differentthings, but you mentioned $20
million custom homes.
That's hard for a lot of peopleto fathom.
And I've gotten the chance towalk with some of my customers
that do a lot of custom homefurnishing, some very large
homes.
What is a $20 million home looklike?
(06:07):
And what was this maybe just alittle detail on it where you
were building?
Erik Bornstein (06:12):
Yeah, so uh we were building in Toronto,
Canada.
Uh we became one of the largestcustom home builders and really
became one of the best.
And, you know, this is just avalue that that we we take into
toolbox is just being very muchcustomer driven.
It was a mix of luck at thesame time where we really
approached all the toparchitects.
We were already doing a bunchof big projects under our belt.
(06:33):
And we said to the architects,we're really willing to do
whatever it takes to get the jobdone, whether it's responding
to calls at two in the morning,like we were literally doing
that.
And, you know, it's just thedetails.
I'm very detail-orientedperson.
We're talking like full marbleslabs, everything custom when it
comes to the millwork, 12-footceilings, 12-foot doors,
(06:55):
extended soffits, extendedcasings, skylights that are all
built out of custom fabricatedmetal, Vetrosca type type
windows that are over a milliondollars.
So very high-end suppliers,very high-end products, and
high-end trades as well.
Stefanie Couch (07:10):
Yeah.
And like you said, what thecustomer thinks about what
you're doing is all that mattersthere because their opinion is
what is going to get the jobdone.
How long does a job like thattake from start to finish to
finish a $20 million home?
Erik Bornstein (07:23):
Yeah, I mean, it really depends on how organized
the homeowner is when it comesto their product selections.
And what we used to do is weused to build out a what we
called a like a tender checklistwhere the homeowner, we give
them all the dates that theyhave to have everything selected
by.
So we were really organized asa home builder and we were one
of the early adopters of projectmanagement software, which
(07:45):
helped a lot.
But making sure that theselections were done very
quickly, making sure we kept thearchitects and the designer
accountable as well, which isn'talways uh the case or the
easiest, um, but really allowedthe the jobs to go quicker.
So anywhere between, I wouldsay, 15 months on the low end to
upwards of 24 months on thehigher end.
Stefanie Couch (08:07):
Yeah, but for a home that big with that much
detail, it's still pretty quick.
Erik Bornstein (08:10):
Yeah.
Stefanie Couch (08:11):
Well, I want you to tell me a little bit about
exactly what Toolbox is and whatit does, because there's a lot
of softwares out there, there'sa lot of different tech words.
But because you're serving ourindustry and you understand it,
I know you built a solution thatsolved a lot of your problems.
So tell me exactly what thistool does.
Erik Bornstein (08:28):
I'd say that the biggest feature of our tool is
an AR customer account portalfor builders.
So we create a profile on theLumber Yards website where the
builder can log in, they can gettheir pricing, they can see all
their invoices, they can seetheir statements, they can see
their pricing with theirordering and their quoting, and
they can pay all their billsonline.
Um, on the flip side, we give atool to the dealer, and it's
(08:51):
really a credit and ARcollection tool where they can
collect money a lot faster fromtheir customers.
Stefanie Couch (08:56):
Yeah, and like we said, cash flow is king.
It's how a business, especiallya smaller business, lives and
dies.
What about some of the otherthings?
So I know that there's a lot ofoptions with pros want special
pricing, especially job pricing,custom pricing on things.
How does that work in yourplatform?
Erik Bornstein (09:12):
Yep.
So we're fully integrated withall the major ERP systems.
A credit account customerdoesn't have to be a builder, it
could be a credit accountcustomer, can log in.
They can get their specificpricing, they could build quotes
with their pricing, they cansend it to their customers.
They can also place orders withtheir specific pricing.
So quotes, ordering andmessaging all verticalized in
(09:32):
one platform.
Stefanie Couch (09:33):
Yeah, and I like to work uh on the weekends and
sometimes at weird hours, whichmany people in the building
world do.
It gives them the opportunityto do that on their own time
when they have the moment toactually go on and do it.
So if that's 11 p.m.
or 5 a.m.
where that lumber yard isclosed, they can still do that.
Erik Bornstein (09:52):
26% of payments are happening on our platform
after hours.
Wow.
Which is a pretty remarkablestatistic that if you don't have
24-7 availability, you're justgonna be reducing the time that
you're getting paid.
Stefanie Couch (10:07):
Yeah.
And a lot of times it is thatthey're just super busy.
You have all the intention ofcalling or or running the check
by or whatever you're doing, butyou just don't get time.
And then you turn around andit's 501, and no one's there to
answer the phone.
So I'd still rather have mymoney.
So I think it's a really greatidea.
I spent a lot of time when Iwas young uh and running my
dad's lumberyard in the car,meeting people at gas stations,
(10:28):
getting checks.
Uh, it would have been nice tobe like, just put that into
toolbox.
Erik Bornstein (10:32):
Absolutely.
And I'll I'll give you anotherexample.
And, you know, one of thereasons we started Toolbox, um,
when we were scaling up ourcustom home business, we were
growing our credit accounts atour lumberyard.
And, you know, we had 30 sitesgoing on at any given time.
And it just so happened likethat week we had like five or
six projects all getting lumberat the same time.
(10:52):
So we were hitting our creditlimit really quickly.
And I kind of got a call from asales rep and he's like, or
actually, it was my site super,and he's like, Hey, the lumber
yard's not sending the productbecause we've hit the max on the
account.
And I had to call his managerand say, Listen, like, I'm in a
customer meeting, I can't likephysically pay you right now.
(11:14):
And he's like, Well, I justneed a check.
And I'm like, Well, how do Iget a check to you that quickly?
I've got trades on site.
Yeah.
And I was like, if there was away that I can go in and pay
online, this would just be gamechanging.
And so that was another sort ofinspiration to the platform
that we've created today.
Stefanie Couch (11:31):
This episode of the Grit Blueprint Podcast was
sponsored by Do It Best Group.
Do It Best Group is the largestco-op in the world, and they
help independent hardware andlumber yards all over North
America win.
Do It Best offers services,products, and people that can
help you win long term.
They are the champion ofindependence.
(11:53):
So, what are some of the otherbig problems that this is
solving for the pro or for thedealer?
Erik Bornstein (11:59):
Yeah, so I'll start with the dealer
collection.
So we can automate thecollection process where they
can send out automated textreminders, they can send out
text messages to pay, which is ahuge increase in easability
with the way they pay.
So text-based payments, ACHcredit card, we can add
(12:21):
convenience fees if they want.
On the builder side, it's theability to pay 24-7, seven days
a week, save all your creditcard or ACH information.
That's nice.
So you could just literallyclick a button.
Uh, you don't have to be onyour phone remembering, you
know, routing numbers and andmaking making mistakes.
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah.
Stefanie Couch (12:39):
Okay, what else does it solve?
Erik Bornstein (12:41):
So it also solves the ability to um, you
know, place orders after hours,get full visibility on uh
reordering of material andcreating lists.
So I'll give you an example.
When when I was building, um, Imicromanaged a lot, not
something I do in in the toolboxbusiness, but I would always
like send my team reminders likewinter's coming, you got to
(13:04):
make sure you've got some extratarps.
It's gonna be really cold.
You got to get these differentproducts.
And so I was always sendingreminders of, hey, this is gonna
happen.
Are you prepared?
Do you have the right materialson site?
With toolbox, where you know,the dealer is able to create
lists for their builders.
Hey, you know, we've fall iscoming or winter's coming, you
can follow the seasons.
(13:24):
Here's our specific list ofproducts that you can order to
get your job site prepared.
So kind of taking the dealerand turning them into a bit of a
consultant in terms of, hey,this is what you need and really
helping the builder, it's justgoing to create a lot more
loyalty for that dealer.
Stefanie Couch (13:42):
Yeah.
And I think the ability to helppeople upsell their contractors
in a way they want to beupsold, they often don't know
about products.
They don't know what's outthere, they don't know what
would be a good available optionto upsell.
So you're helping people dothat.
This sounds like a greatproduct for the pro, but what
does it do for the dealer?
Erik Bornstein (14:00):
The dealer should be getting um more quotes
more often.
Uh, the amount of like net newquotes that they they've gotten,
whether it's a house package ora material list, the ability to
be discovered on the productsthat that you carry.
I'll give you an example.
When we were building, therewere two types of air barriers.
(14:21):
There was Tyvek and Typar.
You know, now builders andtrades and contractors, even
homeowners, they go to IBS everyyear and they go and see all
the thousands of products thatare out there, whether it's new
windows, new doors, newhardware, new air barriers, new
exterior wood systems.
How does a builder know thatthis is what you carry?
So we help getting all thatproduct online and we take it a
(14:46):
step further where then thebuilder can actually see their
pricing associated with that.
So instead of always callingthe sales rep, and you know, a
lot of the times the sales repisn't fully up to speed as well.
So just having all that at yourfingertips can really
accelerate the back and forthcommunication that leads to
slow, slow jobs.
Stefanie Couch (15:04):
Yeah.
And then also that customerservice that really is world
class, that's how you keepbuilders coming back for years
to come.
Erik Bornstein (15:10):
Absolutely.
You're really educatingbuilders on what's out there,
what's in the market.
Um, how do you install thesethings?
Um there's just a big lack ofknowledge that that is just
getting lost because of all theselections that are out there.
Stefanie Couch (15:25):
Yeah, certainly.
Sometimes technology can seemoverwhelming to people who are
already busy and already have alot of systems.
One of the things that I wantto go back to and just mention
is you are completely integratedwith ERPs.
You have a great out-of-the-boxsolution that works with all of
the major ERPs.
Can you tell me just a littlebit more about that?
Erik Bornstein (15:45):
Yep.
So we integrate with all themajor ERPs.
Because we work with so manydealers, we've gotten to know a
lot of the nuances and differentum sort of workflows within
their business.
And we've created the systemaround those workflows and made
it pretty seamless to integrate.
Stefanie Couch (16:03):
So you're here with do it best.
You guys have a partnership fordo it best dealers that are out
there listening to this.
How do they get started?
And what kind of work are youdoing with do it best that you
might want to talk about alreadythat's working?
Erik Bornstein (16:16):
Yeah.
So we just make it really easyto work together.
We're at the show, we're doingdemos.
You know, it really comes downto what do you want out of the
part?
Like, what do you want out ofthe software?
Um, you know, do you just wantto get bills paid or do you want
to get into the quoting and theordering as well?
We can we can provide both.
So with do it best, you getpreferred pricing.
(16:38):
We've we've really tried hardto make it a lot more
affordable, especially for asmaller dealer.
We make it so you don't have tohire a huge team.
You can use internal teammembers to to operate the
system.
And we've made the systemreally easy to use and easy to
onboard.
We have a whole onboardingteam.
We can typically get dealersonboarded in in less than six
(16:58):
weeks.
And then we also guide themthrough um how to get their
customers adopted.
So I don't get excited when wejust sell a dealer software.
I get excited when they come upto me a month later and say,
we've reduced our DSO by 20%.
Thank you.
That just makes us feel greatabout what we're doing and
(17:19):
really helping the independentand the dealer compete against,
you know, the big box and thebig players out there.
Stefanie Couch (17:25):
Yeah, and there is a lot of competition out
there, and they have billions ofdollars to spend on technology.
So this levels the playingfield, and people can use this
as leverage to optimize thingsthat people are already asking
for that the pro needs and thebig box may already have.
So one of the things that wetalked about is a lot of people
don't realize that some of thepeople have a pro portal.
(17:45):
Can you talk a little bit aboutthat?
Erik Bornstein (17:47):
We consider ourselves kind of like the
outsourced RD team.
So we're we're always seeingwhat's out there.
We look at BFS, we look at QXO,we look at Home Depot's Pro
Portal, uh, we look at Lowe's.
You know, all these companiesare going after the
independence.
Yeah.
And so we're really here to armthe dealer with a world-class
(18:08):
technology team.
We have over 30 engineers onstaff.
Everything is built in-house.
We don't outsource anything.
We have some of the, you know,we've recruited some of the best
engineers from Shopify,Facebook, Uber, um, and Amazon,
all working towards the samegoal.
And uh, I think that's reallyour superpower, just how fast we
(18:29):
can build new features, howfast we can integrate.
And and we just we understandthe builder and we understand
the supplier.
And we love visiting thesuppliers as well.
We learn something every time.
Stefanie Couch (18:39):
Absolutely.
Well, I'm excited for whatyou're doing in the industry.
I love innovation andtechnology when it works and
when it's simple, it's evenbetter.
And what your offering is.
So thank you so much fortelling me all about this.
And I'm excited to be a part ofa small part of your blast into
the market here at Do It Best.
And we're gonna talk tomorrowat another event about this.
And I know that these dealersare gonna be excited once they
(19:01):
see what this can do.
So thank you so much forspending some time with me and
joining me on the gritblueprint.
Erik Bornstein (19:06):
Yeah, thanks so much for having me, Stephanie.
It's been a pleasure.
Stefanie Couch (19:08):
Absolutely.
Thank you for listening to theGrit Blueprint podcast.
If this episode helped youthink a little differently about
how to show up, share it withsomeone in your building world
who needs it.
If you're ready to turnvisibility into growth, then
head to gritblueprint.com tolearn more and book a call to
talk to us about your growthstrategy.
(19:30):
Until next time, stayunmistakable.
We just create a digital toolbox so you can
order, you can quote, and youcan pay your bills really
quickly digitally.
We're fully integrated with allthe major ERP systems.
So quotes ordering andmessaging all verticalized in
one platform.
Stefanie Couch (00:14):
There is a lot of competition out there and
they have billions of dollars tospend on technology.
So this levels the playingfield and people can use this as
leverage.
Erik Bornstein (00:22):
We're really here to arm the dealer with a
world-class technology team.
We have over 30 engineers onstaff.
We've recruited some of thebest engineers from Shopify,
Facebook, Uber, and Amazon allworking towards the same goal.
I don't get excited when wejust sell a dealer software.
I get excited when they come upto me a month later and say,
(00:43):
we've reduced our DSO by 20%.
Thank you.
Stefanie Couch (00:47):
I spent a lot of time when I was young running
my dad's lumberyard in the car,meeting people at gas stations,
getting checks.
It would have been nice to belike, just put that into
Toolbox.
Welcome to the Grit BlueprintPodcast, the playbook for
building unmistakable brandsthat grow, lead, and last in the
built world.
(01:08):
I'm Stephanie Couch, thefounder of Grit Blueprint, and
I'm a lifelong building industryinsider.
I was raised here, built mycareer here, and now my team and
I help others win here.
The truth is, you can be thebest option in your space and
still lose to someone else whosimply shows up better and more
(01:30):
consistently.
Each week on the GripBlueprint, I'm going to show you
how to stand out, earn trust,and turn your brand into a
competitive advantage thatlasts.
If you're ready to be seen,known, chosen, and become
unmistakable, you're in theright place.
Let's get started.
Welcome to the Grip BlueprintPodcast.
(01:53):
I am your host, StephanieCouch, and today I am here with
Eric Bornstein from Toolbox.
You're the CEO of an amazingtech platform that's taking our
building industry by storm inthe best way.
Welcome to the show.
Erik Bornstein (02:06):
Thanks for having me, Steph.
Super excited to be here.
Stefanie Couch (02:08):
Yeah, and we are actually accelerating a big
partnership that you juststarted with Do It Best Group
LBM.
This week they announced thatyou guys are here at Market
partnering with them to helptheir LBM dealers use technology
to get paid quicker, to do allof the things that the pro wants
in a lumber business.
Erik Bornstein (02:27):
Yeah, I mean, do it best has been a great
journey so far.
And uh we're super excited towork with the different
executives, particularly on thelumber side and also some of the
dealers that we're alreadyworking with.
Do it best doesn't bringanybody in easy.
So we really had to execute ona few members' platforms before
they even considered us, andwe're just super excited to
(02:48):
bring a lot of value to thedealers.
Stefanie Couch (02:50):
Absolutely.
You and your team are here, andit's really cool for me to see
because I love technology in ourindustry, but sometimes it
feels like the people who comeup with this technology, they
don't understand our business,but that is not you because
you've got chops, you have 15years of experience as a
contractor.
So tell me a little bit abouthow you got started there and
(03:12):
what led you to create Toolbox.
Erik Bornstein (03:14):
Yeah.
So I mean, I startedconstruction when I was
literally 16 years old, sweepingjob sites and worked my way up
as a framer, as a site super, asa project manager, and
eventually uh became an owner inmy own construction business.
And we scaled up that companyvery much like a startup.
So we grew it to about ahundred employees in less than a
(03:35):
five-year period.
And we were doing, you know,single family customs, five
million up to about 20 million.
Yeah.
And um, you know, the thepartners and I were doing a lot
of the project managementourselves.
We had a lot of employees, wehad site people, but it was
literally a moment where when Icame in, I was working at my
desk, and I just had a stack ofinvoices on my desk.
(03:58):
And for me to save time, Ineeded to eat.
And so I whipped out my phone,I opened up Uber Eats, and I'm
like, wait a second, like, whycan't I do this type of thing
with my lumber yard?
Why can't I go in and pay mybills really quickly?
Why can't I go get my receipts?
And my accounting team wasalways asking me to call my
suppliers to get my receiptsfaster.
(04:20):
So that was really the premiseof the word toolbox.
Hey, can we just create adigital toolbox so you can
order, you can quote, and youcan pay your bills really
quickly digitally?
Stefanie Couch (04:31):
Yeah, and you absolutely have solved the
problem that a lot of dealershave had, which is getting paid
as fast as you possibly can.
Yeah.
It's very important.
But you were also mentioningearlier to me that it's not just
the dealer that benefits fromthat, because a lot of people
are cost plus contractors.
So, how does that actuallyaffect the contractor when they
can get paid easier by doingtoolboxes AR programs?
Erik Bornstein (04:55):
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, it allows the pro toget paid faster.
So the faster the pro can getinvoices from their supplier or
their trade, the faster they canget paid.
You know, typically we werecost plus, so we would our
percentages were based on howmuch we build.
Uh, every builder's a littlebit different, but but typically
you want to get those billingpackages out every single month,
(05:16):
especially for a custom home.
And if you're getting invoicesin at the end of the month or
even a little bit late, it'sgonna miss that billing package.
That's the reason why a lot ofthe AR uh extends past 30 days,
is not necessarily because thebuilder doesn't want to pay,
it's that we didn't get theinvoices in time fast enough.
We couldn't invoice our clientsfast enough, and now you're
(05:39):
you're dealing with like 45 daysbefore the package comes in.
Stefanie Couch (05:43):
Yeah, everybody bleeds when that happens.
It's not fun for anyone.
Erik Bornstein (05:46):
Yeah.
Stefanie Couch (05:46):
Well, I want to go back and double-click on
something you said earlier.
So you're talking about yourdays in the construction world.
You've done a lot of differentthings, but you mentioned $20
million custom homes.
That's hard for a lot of peopleto fathom.
And I've gotten the chance towalk with some of my customers
that do a lot of custom homefurnishing, some very large
homes.
What is a $20 million home looklike?
(06:07):
And what was this maybe just alittle detail on it where you
were building?
Erik Bornstein (06:12):
Yeah, so uh we were building in Toronto,
Canada.
Uh we became one of the largestcustom home builders and really
became one of the best.
And, you know, this is just avalue that that we we take into
toolbox is just being very muchcustomer driven.
It was a mix of luck at thesame time where we really
approached all the toparchitects.
We were already doing a bunchof big projects under our belt.
(06:33):
And we said to the architects,we're really willing to do
whatever it takes to get the jobdone, whether it's responding
to calls at two in the morning,like we were literally doing
that.
And, you know, it's just thedetails.
I'm very detail-orientedperson.
We're talking like full marbleslabs, everything custom when it
comes to the millwork, 12-footceilings, 12-foot doors,
(06:55):
extended soffits, extendedcasings, skylights that are all
built out of custom fabricatedmetal, Vetrosca type type
windows that are over a milliondollars.
So very high-end suppliers,very high-end products, and
high-end trades as well.
Stefanie Couch (07:10):
Yeah.
And like you said, what thecustomer thinks about what
you're doing is all that mattersthere because their opinion is
what is going to get the jobdone.
How long does a job like thattake from start to finish to
finish a $20 million home?
Erik Bornstein (07:23):
Yeah, I mean, it really depends on how organized
the homeowner is when it comesto their product selections.
And what we used to do is weused to build out a what we
called a like a tender checklistwhere the homeowner, we give
them all the dates that theyhave to have everything selected
by.
So we were really organized asa home builder and we were one
of the early adopters of projectmanagement software, which
(07:45):
helped a lot.
But making sure that theselections were done very
quickly, making sure we kept thearchitects and the designer
accountable as well, which isn'talways uh the case or the
easiest, um, but really allowedthe the jobs to go quicker.
So anywhere between, I wouldsay, 15 months on the low end to
upwards of 24 months on thehigher end.
Stefanie Couch (08:07):
Yeah, but for a home that big with that much
detail, it's still pretty quick.
Erik Bornstein (08:10):
Yeah.
Stefanie Couch (08:11):
Well, I want you to tell me a little bit about
exactly what Toolbox is and whatit does, because there's a lot
of softwares out there, there'sa lot of different tech words.
But because you're serving ourindustry and you understand it,
I know you built a solution thatsolved a lot of your problems.
So tell me exactly what thistool does.
Erik Bornstein (08:28):
I'd say that the biggest feature of our tool is
an AR customer account portalfor builders.
So we create a profile on theLumber Yards website where the
builder can log in, they can gettheir pricing, they can see all
their invoices, they can seetheir statements, they can see
their pricing with theirordering and their quoting, and
they can pay all their billsonline.
Um, on the flip side, we give atool to the dealer, and it's
(08:51):
really a credit and ARcollection tool where they can
collect money a lot faster fromtheir customers.
Stefanie Couch (08:56):
Yeah, and like we said, cash flow is king.
It's how a business, especiallya smaller business, lives and
dies.
What about some of the otherthings?
So I know that there's a lot ofoptions with pros want special
pricing, especially job pricing,custom pricing on things.
How does that work in yourplatform?
Erik Bornstein (09:12):
Yep.
So we're fully integrated withall the major ERP systems.
A credit account customerdoesn't have to be a builder, it
could be a credit accountcustomer, can log in.
They can get their specificpricing, they could build quotes
with their pricing, they cansend it to their customers.
They can also place orders withtheir specific pricing.
So quotes, ordering andmessaging all verticalized in
(09:32):
one platform.
Stefanie Couch (09:33):
Yeah, and I like to work uh on the weekends and
sometimes at weird hours, whichmany people in the building
world do.
It gives them the opportunityto do that on their own time
when they have the moment toactually go on and do it.
So if that's 11 p.m.
or 5 a.m.
where that lumber yard isclosed, they can still do that.
Erik Bornstein (09:52):
26% of payments are happening on our platform
after hours.
Wow.
Which is a pretty remarkablestatistic that if you don't have
24-7 availability, you're justgonna be reducing the time that
you're getting paid.
Stefanie Couch (10:07):
Yeah.
And a lot of times it is thatthey're just super busy.
You have all the intention ofcalling or or running the check
by or whatever you're doing, butyou just don't get time.
And then you turn around andit's 501, and no one's there to
answer the phone.
So I'd still rather have mymoney.
So I think it's a really greatidea.
I spent a lot of time when Iwas young uh and running my
dad's lumberyard in the car,meeting people at gas stations,
(10:28):
getting checks.
Uh, it would have been nice tobe like, just put that into
toolbox.
Erik Bornstein (10:32):
Absolutely.
And I'll I'll give you anotherexample.
And, you know, one of thereasons we started Toolbox, um,
when we were scaling up ourcustom home business, we were
growing our credit accounts atour lumberyard.
And, you know, we had 30 sitesgoing on at any given time.
And it just so happened likethat week we had like five or
six projects all getting lumberat the same time.
(10:52):
So we were hitting our creditlimit really quickly.
And I kind of got a call from asales rep and he's like, or
actually, it was my site super,and he's like, Hey, the lumber
yard's not sending the productbecause we've hit the max on the
account.
And I had to call his managerand say, Listen, like, I'm in a
customer meeting, I can't likephysically pay you right now.
(11:14):
And he's like, Well, I justneed a check.
And I'm like, Well, how do Iget a check to you that quickly?
I've got trades on site.
Yeah.
And I was like, if there was away that I can go in and pay
online, this would just be gamechanging.
And so that was another sort ofinspiration to the platform
that we've created today.
Stefanie Couch (11:31):
This episode of the Grit Blueprint Podcast was
sponsored by Do It Best Group.
Do It Best Group is the largestco-op in the world, and they
help independent hardware andlumber yards all over North
America win.
Do It Best offers services,products, and people that can
help you win long term.
They are the champion ofindependence.
(11:53):
So, what are some of the otherbig problems that this is
solving for the pro or for thedealer?
Erik Bornstein (11:59):
Yeah, so I'll start with the dealer
collection.
So we can automate thecollection process where they
can send out automated textreminders, they can send out
text messages to pay, which is ahuge increase in easability
with the way they pay.
So text-based payments, ACHcredit card, we can add
(12:21):
convenience fees if they want.
On the builder side, it's theability to pay 24-7, seven days
a week, save all your creditcard or ACH information.
That's nice.
So you could just literallyclick a button.
Uh, you don't have to be onyour phone remembering, you
know, routing numbers and andmaking making mistakes.
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah.
Stefanie Couch (12:39):
Okay, what else does it solve?
Erik Bornstein (12:41):
So it also solves the ability to um, you
know, place orders after hours,get full visibility on uh
reordering of material andcreating lists.
So I'll give you an example.
When when I was building, um, Imicromanaged a lot, not
something I do in in the toolboxbusiness, but I would always
like send my team reminders likewinter's coming, you got to
(13:04):
make sure you've got some extratarps.
It's gonna be really cold.
You got to get these differentproducts.
And so I was always sendingreminders of, hey, this is gonna
happen.
Are you prepared?
Do you have the right materialson site?
With toolbox, where you know,the dealer is able to create
lists for their builders.
Hey, you know, we've fall iscoming or winter's coming, you
can follow the seasons.
(13:24):
Here's our specific list ofproducts that you can order to
get your job site prepared.
So kind of taking the dealerand turning them into a bit of a
consultant in terms of, hey,this is what you need and really
helping the builder, it's justgoing to create a lot more
loyalty for that dealer.
Stefanie Couch (13:42):
Yeah.
And I think the ability to helppeople upsell their contractors
in a way they want to beupsold, they often don't know
about products.
They don't know what's outthere, they don't know what
would be a good available optionto upsell.
So you're helping people dothat.
This sounds like a greatproduct for the pro, but what
does it do for the dealer?
Erik Bornstein (14:00):
The dealer should be getting um more quotes
more often.
Uh, the amount of like net newquotes that they they've gotten,
whether it's a house package ora material list, the ability to
be discovered on the productsthat that you carry.
I'll give you an example.
When we were building, therewere two types of air barriers.
(14:21):
There was Tyvek and Typar.
You know, now builders andtrades and contractors, even
homeowners, they go to IBS everyyear and they go and see all
the thousands of products thatare out there, whether it's new
windows, new doors, newhardware, new air barriers, new
exterior wood systems.
How does a builder know thatthis is what you carry?
So we help getting all thatproduct online and we take it a
(14:46):
step further where then thebuilder can actually see their
pricing associated with that.
So instead of always callingthe sales rep, and you know, a
lot of the times the sales repisn't fully up to speed as well.
So just having all that at yourfingertips can really
accelerate the back and forthcommunication that leads to
slow, slow jobs.
Stefanie Couch (15:04):
Yeah.
And then also that customerservice that really is world
class, that's how you keepbuilders coming back for years
to come.
Erik Bornstein (15:10):
Absolutely.
You're really educatingbuilders on what's out there,
what's in the market.
Um, how do you install thesethings?
Um there's just a big lack ofknowledge that that is just
getting lost because of all theselections that are out there.
Stefanie Couch (15:25):
Yeah, certainly.
Sometimes technology can seemoverwhelming to people who are
already busy and already have alot of systems.
One of the things that I wantto go back to and just mention
is you are completely integratedwith ERPs.
You have a great out-of-the-boxsolution that works with all of
the major ERPs.
Can you tell me just a littlebit more about that?
Erik Bornstein (15:45):
Yep.
So we integrate with all themajor ERPs.
Because we work with so manydealers, we've gotten to know a
lot of the nuances and differentum sort of workflows within
their business.
And we've created the systemaround those workflows and made
it pretty seamless to integrate.
Stefanie Couch (16:03):
So you're here with do it best.
You guys have a partnership fordo it best dealers that are out
there listening to this.
How do they get started?
And what kind of work are youdoing with do it best that you
might want to talk about alreadythat's working?
Erik Bornstein (16:16):
Yeah.
So we just make it really easyto work together.
We're at the show, we're doingdemos.
You know, it really comes downto what do you want out of the
part?
Like, what do you want out ofthe software?
Um, you know, do you just wantto get bills paid or do you want
to get into the quoting and theordering as well?
We can we can provide both.
So with do it best, you getpreferred pricing.
(16:38):
We've we've really tried hardto make it a lot more
affordable, especially for asmaller dealer.
We make it so you don't have tohire a huge team.
You can use internal teammembers to to operate the
system.
And we've made the systemreally easy to use and easy to
onboard.
We have a whole onboardingteam.
We can typically get dealersonboarded in in less than six
(16:58):
weeks.
And then we also guide themthrough um how to get their
customers adopted.
So I don't get excited when wejust sell a dealer software.
I get excited when they come upto me a month later and say,
we've reduced our DSO by 20%.
Thank you.
That just makes us feel greatabout what we're doing and
(17:19):
really helping the independentand the dealer compete against,
you know, the big box and thebig players out there.
Stefanie Couch (17:25):
Yeah, and there is a lot of competition out
there, and they have billions ofdollars to spend on technology.
So this levels the playingfield, and people can use this
as leverage to optimize thingsthat people are already asking
for that the pro needs and thebig box may already have.
So one of the things that wetalked about is a lot of people
don't realize that some of thepeople have a pro portal.
(17:45):
Can you talk a little bit aboutthat?
Erik Bornstein (17:47):
We consider ourselves kind of like the
outsourced RD team.
So we're we're always seeingwhat's out there.
We look at BFS, we look at QXO,we look at Home Depot's Pro
Portal, uh, we look at Lowe's.
You know, all these companiesare going after the
independence.
Yeah.
And so we're really here to armthe dealer with a world-class
(18:08):
technology team.
We have over 30 engineers onstaff.
Everything is built in-house.
We don't outsource anything.
We have some of the, you know,we've recruited some of the best
engineers from Shopify,Facebook, Uber, um, and Amazon,
all working towards the samegoal.
And uh, I think that's reallyour superpower, just how fast we
(18:29):
can build new features, howfast we can integrate.
And and we just we understandthe builder and we understand
the supplier.
And we love visiting thesuppliers as well.
We learn something every time.
Stefanie Couch (18:39):
Absolutely.
Well, I'm excited for whatyou're doing in the industry.
I love innovation andtechnology when it works and
when it's simple, it's evenbetter.
And what your offering is.
So thank you so much fortelling me all about this.
And I'm excited to be a part ofa small part of your blast into
the market here at Do It Best.
And we're gonna talk tomorrowat another event about this.
And I know that these dealersare gonna be excited once they
(19:01):
see what this can do.
So thank you so much forspending some time with me and
joining me on the gritblueprint.
Erik Bornstein (19:06):
Yeah, thanks so much for having me, Stephanie.
It's been a pleasure.
Stefanie Couch (19:08):
Absolutely.
Thank you for listening to theGrit Blueprint podcast.
If this episode helped youthink a little differently about
how to show up, share it withsomeone in your building world
who needs it.
If you're ready to turnvisibility into growth, then
head to gritblueprint.com tolearn more and book a call to
talk to us about your growthstrategy.
(19:30):
Until next time, stayunmistakable.
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