"Together Talks" # 146: Crafty Crow and Founder, Linda Mutricy

In this post, we cover our interview for our "Together Talks" campaign, with Crafty Crow and Founder, Linda (Ge) Mutricy. Done-for-you sales order and invoice processing for small companies in the retailer supply chain. They work with various data sources like emails, PDFs, EDI, API, and integrate all of that information into your ERP and WMS. No new software for you to learn. It just works... like magic. Orders processed instantly, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

"Together Talks" feature # 146: Crafty Crow presented by KLS - Dedicated Logistic Services for Excellence -Driven Businesses In The USA

Story of how it was created?

I’m a software engineer consultant, specializing in workflow integrations and automations for CPG operations teams. I can automate any workflow, but mostly am working on the manual data entry / admin tasks in wholesale order management.?

The backstory starts with my first job – I started in financial operations at Citibank. I did daily reporting for all hedge funds clients, and it was a lengthy, manual process of copying and reformatting data from one place to another, mostly emails, spreadsheets, and business systems. There weren’t any developers to automate this work, so I decided to learn how to code and automate it myself on my nights and weekends.

It was incredible how tasks that took hours for me were now done in 2 minutes. I couldn’t help but think that if one of the biggest banks in the world still had manual operations work like this, smaller companies were facing this, too. I pivoted into tech and made my way to Flexport, doing operations workflow automation for the customs brokerage. It was very much the same problem of data coming in from different data sources like emails, spreadsheets, API, etc. I even built EDI capabilities from scratch there, no third-party EDI vendors involved.?

After leaving Flexport, I felt that I’d see similar operations problems in different environments, and CPG was interesting to me, since I’ve always loved trying new products. I love working side-by-side with operators in the day-to-day, and I always learn a lot about how and why they run their business a certain way.

What separates your company from competition?

What I do has two main substitutes: business process outsourcing, where you hire and train a contractor to click through your SOPs manually, and software integrations – companies who offer out-of-the-box integrations, or no-code / low-code software tools out there for operations teams.?

I’d say that I have the best of both worlds: outsourced service and software. The software I build for clients runs 24/7, custom to their SOPs. Instead of selling a tool, I’m selling the outcome: the essential work gets done, on-time (oftentimes instantly), and without errors.?

And you don’t even need to learn a new software – it just runs in the background, like magic. In fact, I’d say that no-code and low-code tools are so popular among operations teams because most out-of-the-box software today just doesn’t address the gaps and fit their needs. Nobody really wants to learn an entirely different skillset just to do their own job correctly. They do it because they feel like they have to.

What have been the biggest challenges?

When I first started, I didn’t realize that something can be both painful to a company, and important to solve, but not urgent enough to change the status quo. Inertia is a big reason to not try something new, even if you have a million painful little workarounds! Now when I evaluate opportunities, I also ask, “Will people be motivated to work with me to solve these problems?”

Reflect on a goal you set and how it made you feel to accomplish it?

When I started this, I knew how to code at a high level, but I didn't work in the nitty-gritty. I worked with a team of software engineers who helped me bring my ideas to life. Being a solopreneur, I now had to do both the selling and the building.?

For my first paying customer, I sold them a solution that we designed together, and built it myself. It has completely transformed their workflow – they went from a few hours a day manually keying purchase orders into Quickbooks, to now five or six minutes of order review at the end of each day.

It’s been a very steep learning curve for me. I've gotten into the weeds of setting up my own server, troubleshooting and debugging. It’s also been super rewarding, not only to see how my work has transformed other people, but also how it’s transformed myself – and my ideas of what I am capable of.

What type of company makes a good fit?

I’m looking for companies in a growth phase, who are selling through multiple channels. They may be in ecommerce, selling via distributors, and selling directly to retail, hospitality, or foodservice.?

They’ve had some manual processes set up already, but anticipate a lot of order volume in the near-future. Their current processes can’t scale with their current team.

Talk about the concerns you had making this transition?

I've always been very entrepreneurial. I was an “intrapreneur” at my previous employers, always looking to innovate and for ways to make things better.?

I always knew that I wanted to start my own business – but I was less clear on the timing. After the pandemic, I realized that life was short, you can’t just wait for tomorrow or 10 years down the road. And if I don’t take a chance on myself right now at this stage in my life, it will never feel like it's the right time. That's why I decided to take the leap.

How have you dealt with being the face of the company?

It’s a whole new level of responsibility. The buck stops with me. When something happens, or if something breaks, then I'm the one who has to fix it. And if I'm not out there promoting myself, no one is out there promoting me. I've always been a very “take ownership” type of person, but this is a whole new level compared to being a salaried, corporate employee.

What have you learned from being an entrepreneur?

Entrepreneurship is about optimism. I’ve hung out with a bunch of entrepreneurs, and a lot of them on the surface seem like pessimists, because they’ve worked through setback after setback, and at a certain point, you start to expect more to come. But at the heart of it, I see an optimist in everyone. An optimist is someone who says, “I'm not going to accept the state of the world and how things are done today at face value. I can work to bring in a future that I want, and change the world for the better.”

As an entrepreneur, I have to practice the skill of seeing potential in things and in people that are not obvious to everyone else. I think, “I want to help you reach your potential. I hope you see my potential, too, and I hope you can see that we can do great things together.”

That's been my big thing, believing in other people.

How have you grown during this period of time?

I’ve done a ton of mindset management. You have to see the long-term and be optimistic towards that. It has been a balance of knowing when to be patient versus impatient. Remaining patient with the progress, working at a sustainable, consistent pace so that you don't burn out, and celebrating the wins as they happen. And of course, being impatient with taking action and making sure that no one’s ever waiting on me.

It's just hard to see how much progress you’ve made when you're deep in the day-to-day. Having this mindset of zooming in, zooming out.

And, one more thing – I want to make sure that I enjoy the ride, and to accept everything that happens. I’ll be grateful for it looking back, so why don’t I apply the gratitude in foresight? The next challenge isn’t going to kill me, and so I can take away some of that mental turmoil. Whatever happens, I’m going to be better, smarter, stronger for it.

What aspect of entrepreneurship do you appreciate the most?

Learning and growing, as a generalist. Being able to try things out for myself – what works and doesn’t work for my own style. There isn’t a standard playbook that you follow, step-by-step. Sometimes I’m surprised along the way about what I liked and disliked doing through trial and error.?

At a meta level, looking at my own learning process and reviewing what went well, and what didn’t go so well. How can I learn better? How can I learn faster next time?

Share a mistake and what you learned from that experience?

When I was figuring out my market, I had prematurely written off some company types or profiles based on a few discovery calls. It didn't seem like these companies had the problem that I was looking to solve at that time, so I pivoted to a very different market segment.

After doing a lot of networking, I’ve been getting inbound interest from that first market segment I’d written off. It’s not a lasting mistake, but it did cost me some time.

If I’d gone a bit deeper, talked to a few more people or had asked better questions, maybe I could have discovered that there was a big need for the kind of work that I do. You're feeling around in the dark and what you find might not be encouraging, but maybe what you’re looking for is actually close by. There’s no need to go off in a completely different direction when you pivot.

What is your why?

I am motivated by my own personal experiences, before and after automating my manual admin and data entry work. Work is something that you and your team are doing for at least 40 hours a week – why not get good at it? Why not find ways to enjoy it?

Can you make each role in your team something that your employees feel good about doing, where they’re able to fully use their talents?

The kind of work that I automate or integrate, it is necessary work. You can't have a business without sales orders, for example. But is it work that needs to be done by a human? Is it work that needs to be done in a 9-to-5, or can you do it in a way that is accurate, done 24/7, and where the data has already been checked systematically and logically by a bunch of different tests? In freeing up this time, a teammate might be able to work on things that make the most of their abilities.

Do you have a moment that brings you the most joy?

There's been a lot of serendipity in signing my clients – one of them came inbound to me via an intro. They are literally my dream client. I would never have, at this point, reached out to them, because they're just a lot bigger than I thought my target market was. I have exactly the skillset they need to solve the problems that have been so painful to them in their business for so long.

It felt good to have this ‘click’ into place. I’ve been a huge fan of their product line for four years now and now I can help contribute to their growth with the skillset that I have.

How do you manage being a solopreneur?

It’s so important to have a community. You can’t necessarily talk to your friends who are working salaried jobs – they just can’t relate to your wins and your struggles.?

If you’re able to find friends who are similarly pursuing entrepreneurship, it’s so important to commiserate and build each other up.

Piece of Advice

You’re always going to be scared to get to that next level. You can’t focus on getting rid of fear, because it will never go away.?

Instead, I’ve found it helpful to focus on why I want to do it anyway. Why is it so important to me, that I’m willing to do this despite my fear? That reason why will always outshine the fear that still exists.

Everyone always asks, “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?” As helpful as it is for brainstorming, the reversal is even stronger. “What would you do if you knew, without a doubt, that you were going to fail? What would still be worth trying?”?

And surprisingly, these types of situations work out enough times, because most other people don’t get past their fear of failure to try.

In Closing

KLS wants to thank Crafty Crow?and Founder, Linda (Ge) Mutricy, for today's "Together Talks" feature. Follow along for their journey with their social handles below!

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