In this episode of Think Like an Owner, Alex Bridgeman sits down with Didi Azaria to explore how firsthand experience in the trades led to building one of the leading automation platforms for home service businesses. Didi shares his journey from working as a locksmith in Los Angeles to founding a business intelligence company that scaled to hundreds of millions in ARR, and eventually launching Workiz. The conversation dives into how friction in communication, scheduling, and payments quietly kills service businesses and how AI driven automation is reshaping the industry. Didi also explains why he believes traditional CRMs should not exist and how a vision of "automate everything but the wrench" is guiding the future of home services.

They discuss:

Didi's path from technician to tech founder and the lessons learned from building his first company
Why most leaders fail by trying to do everything and how defining your true strengths changes outcomes
Eliminating CRM friction through AI dispatchers, automation, and invisible systems
Turning home services into subscription style businesses with service agreements and upsells
Using strategy as a filter to say no to feature requests and stay aligned with long term vision
How AI driven tools like Workiz Genius are increasing revenue by improving communication and capture

This episode is a must listen for operators and software founders who want to understand how automation, vision, and disciplined strategy can transform traditional service industries.

Links:

Workiz - https://www.workiz.com/

Didi on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adiazaria/

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:00:29) - Didi's career background

(00:02:57) - Pivoting from locksmithing into software

(00:06:25) - What are your strongest skills?

(00:07:42) - "CRMs shouldn't exist"

(00:09:37) - Founding ideas behind Workiz

(00:13:43) - What are ambitious home service business owners asking for from Workiz?

(00:18:02) - Balancing feature requests and keeping the broader vision of the company aligned

(00:19:59) - What excites you about the business for 2026?

(00:23:01) - What does the organizational structure look like for home service businesses 3-5 years from now?

(00:26:51) - What excites you the most for the future?