Podcast Summary: "The Business Consolidation Tactics for SaaS Leaders to Scale Multi-Brand Platforms"

Service Business Mastery for Skilled Trades: HVAC, Plumbing & Electrical Home Service
Hosts: Tersh Blissett & Josh Crouch (Skilled Trades Syndicate)
Guest: Josh McCarter, CEO of EverPro (EverCommerce)
Date: November 19, 2025
Live from: Service World Expo 2025, Las Vegas

Episode Overview

This episode dives into scaling SaaS businesses with a focus on business consolidation and AI-driven innovation in the home services sector. Josh McCarter shares insights from his experience leading EverPro, the home service specialist division of EverCommerce, discussing strategies for integrating acquisitions, adapting AI tools, maintaining agility in large organizations, and fostering empowered teams. The conversation is rich with practical advice for owners and leaders in HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and more, especially those wrestling with rapid technological change and the challenges of multi-brand, multi-platform operations.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Josh McCarter’s Background & Path to Trades SaaS (02:28–03:54)

• Tech Origins: Started in online automotive retail before moving into vertical SaaS (Autobytel, Mindbody).
• Vertical SaaS for SMBs: Built and sold companies focused on software and payments, learning the needs of small/medium businesses.
• Transition to EverPro: Approached by PE firm to lead and scale EverPro, EverCommerce’s home services division.

Quote:
"That really kind of gave me the foundation of working with small and medium businesses... giving them the tools to really grow their business and engage with customers." —Josh McCarter [03:26]

2. EverPro, EverCommerce, and Multi-Brand Structure (04:03–05:15)

• EverCommerce Evolution: From Pay Simple (payments startup) to a conglomerate that acquired 54 companies across healthcare, wellness, and home services.
• Business Unit Focus: Now grouped primarily into EverPro (home services/payments) and EverHealth (health software).

Quote:
"The two that are really the big bets... EverPro... all of the home services and payments." —Josh McCarter [05:00]

3. Consolidation vs. Innovation – Managing Many Brands (05:15–07:51)

• Too Many Brands: 17 acquired companies, 20+ brands created sprawl.
• Strategic Consolidation: Focus now is on consolidation for efficiency and cross-pollination of best practices (e.g., Service Nation’s approach to other verticals).
• Example: Merging feedback/review platforms (Guild Quality vs. Listen360) to streamline product offerings and improve features.

4. Software Adoption Trends in the Trades (08:03–10:52)

• Rapid Maturation: The trades have quickly adopted software—faster than expected, especially compared to other sectors like wellness.
• Choosing the Right Stack: Companies must find software appropriate to their size/stage—and ensure it will scale with them.
• Integrating Operations & Marketing: Modern software increasingly connects these functions for measurable business impact.

Quote:
"One of the worst things to go through is changing software. ...Find something that fits for you now, but that you can grow, that will grow with you." —Josh McCarter [09:43]

5. The AI Revolution – Opportunity & Risk (12:15–14:42, 17:03–18:50)

• Iterative Rapid Change: AI is evolving at unprecedented speed—constant needs for reassessment.
• Customer-Driven Innovation: Staying “plugged in” to both customers and support/sales teams is essential; don’t have programmers create solutions in a silo.
• Examples in AI: Field note transcription (turning messy notes into invoice-ready comments), agent-driven invoice processing, automated follow-ups.
• EverPro’s Leap: Acquisition of ZyraTalk (AI voice/agent solutions) to leapfrog integration of AI across thousands of customers and major home service brands.

Quote:
"AI is never as bad as it's going to be today. The next day, it just keeps getting better." —Josh McCarter [12:15]

6. Keeping Software & FSM Platforms Cutting Edge (11:27–12:15)

• Continuous dialogue with both customer base and internal teams to maintain pace with tech changes.
• Need to proactively upgrade FSMs rather than lag behind.

7. Human Element vs. Automation: Safeguards and Training (18:50–20:20)

• Oversight Required: Early AI rollouts need “babysitting”—review conversations, ensure correctness, watch for oddities (see the AI agent "singing" story).
• Critical for Customer Experience: Always provide a “human eject button” if the AI can’t meet customer needs.

Memorable Moment:
Ter recounts an AI agent unexpectedly breaking into song during a customer call, emphasizing the need for ongoing human monitoring for quality control [22:54–24:44].

8. Data Integrity & Real Business Impact (25:31–27:37)

• Auditing is Crucial: If call data or conversion rates are manipulated or inaccurately processed, leadership can make costly decisions.
• Delegation Over Automation: Not everything can (or should) be automated—sometimes you need to assign and audit data and process quality.

Quote:
"Being a CFO, CEO of a big company—if you don’t have good data, you’re going to make bad decisions. And those bad decisions could cost millions." —Josh Crouch [27:28]

9. Platform Strategy: In-House vs. Ecosystem Products (29:23–30:26)

• EverPro continues supporting integrations with external FSMs (ServiceTitan, Jobber, etc.) alongside deeper native integrations, aiming to compete while expanding reach, not locking customers in.

10. Leadership & Culture in Multi-Brand Scaling (33:08–38:38)

• Vision First: Lay out a compelling vision and clear strategy so merged brands/teams see their role.
• Remote/Hybrid Challenge: Building engagement and culture across acquired, distributed teams is critical.
• Values: Speed of execution and accountability are core; not everyone will fit, but those who do can accelerate innovation.
• Communicate Transparently & Repeatedly: Keep reiterating vision and priorities to get everyone aligned.

Quote:
"If they don’t connect with the vision... and then they don’t see themselves in the strategy or within the priorities, then they are going to disconnect." —Josh McCarter [33:48]

11. Leadership Lessons & Empowerment (36:26–39:47)

• Lead from the Front: Show up, communicate, and set the tone.
• Empowerment Leadership: Give people responsibility, encourage calculated risk-taking, support their learning from failure.
• Solicit Ideas from the Frontline: Best ideas often come from customer-facing staff or customers themselves.

Quote:
"What I like is a word called empowerment leadership. It’s really about empowering your team to make decisions and to execute and to be okay to fail... pivot and learn and then go back and execute again." —Josh McCarter [38:03]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "I mean, if you don't have any of that [AI] going on in your business, where do you start as a business that's as large as we are?" —Josh McCarter [00:00]
• "Within EverPro... yes, it got to a point where it was a little bit too sprawled and now we’re bringing it back together a bit more, you know, tight and focused." —Josh McCarter [05:34]
• "Usually what I find is, is that you've got to stay plugged in with your customers... and with your team.” —Josh McCarter [12:23]
• "At the beginning, you have to babysit it... and you have to go through and test that thing for a week... you have to have an eject button." —Josh McCarter [19:19]
• Memorable Moment: The AI voice agent ("Sarah") began singing to a caller—showcasing both the risks of deploying AI and the importance of ongoing checks. [22:54–24:44]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:28–03:54 – Josh McCarter’s background, transition into trades software
• 04:03–05:15 – EverPro, EverCommerce structure and history
• 05:15–07:51 – Brand consolidation, cross-pollination, product examples
• 08:03–10:52 – Trades software adoption trends; choosing the right software stack
• 12:15–14:42 – Innovating with AI, need for customer-driven product development
• 17:03–18:50 – Pivoting a large SaaS company, embedding AI, ZyraTalk acquisition
• 18:50–20:20 – Human oversight in automation, AI agent monitoring
• 22:54–24:44 – AI voice agent "singing" story—a cautionary AI tale
• 25:31–27:37 – Data accuracy, impact on decision-making and KPIs
• 29:23–30:26 – Open platform vs. closed ecosystem strategy
• 33:08–38:38 – Leadership approach, setting vision, building culture, empowerment

Wrap-Up & Connection

• Learn More: Visit everprosolutions.com for EverPro’s products and updates.
• Leadership Takeaway: Empower frontline employees, invest in continuous learning, and make data integrity a core focus.

Final Thought

This episode provides a valuable roadmap for leaders navigating consolidation, technology adoption, and cultural integration in fast-changing, multi-brand service organizations. With practical stories (and a few AI mishaps!), it emphasizes the importance of customer focus, adaptability, leadership transparency, and empowering teams amid digital transformation.