In the late 90’s, Michael Risich, Founder & CEO of BOLT ON TECHNOLOGY was teaching Microsoft Office classes for a local community education program. This caught the eye of an auto shop owner taking Michael’s class, and he became very interested in having Michael help with the technology he was using at his shop. After visiting his location and having a typical question & answer session, Michael quickly realized that this industry needed his help. After a couple of weeks, the shop owner introduced Michael to several other owners who all needed assistance as well. It didn’t take long before Michael had multiple solutions ready to assist their businesses. Hence, BOLT ON—a company that solves time and efficiency constraints for the Automotive Repair &Maintenance industry—was born.
Company Providing Facilities to Automotive Industry
BOLT ON TECHNOLOGY designs automotive software solutions that solve the most common struggles facing the Automotive Repair Industry. By providing today’s repair facilities with cutting-edge PC and mobile technology, shops are experiencing considerable increases in productivity, efficiency, and professionalism.
These advantages result well beyond the current standards of speed, accuracy, revenue generation, and customer retention presently available to the industry.
Innovator and Administrator of BOLT ON
After founding BOLT ON, Michael continued to provide services to auto shops, while successfully managing his own continued growth. As CEO, he’s responsible for the overall direction and vision of the company. His passion for solving core business problems through software automation and a set of customized business rules has created a dramatic impact on business performance that provides shops with an un-paralleled opportunity for growth—at a fair price.
Changing the Market’s Perspective towards Technology
Starting with selling products to independent auto repair shops, he found that selling technology to a mature buying population poseda challenge. Most shop owners didn’t grow up with things like broadband internet access and mobile devices.
As so, the BOLT ON team continues to reduce the stress and challenges of selling to this community by making it easier for shops to better understand and be more comfortable with these types of technology.
Building Space in a Market the Clever Way
Providing 100% real time, two-way integration to the Point of Sale software typically in place at most repair facilities, the BOLT ON team is disrupting this space in a rather clever way. They know that no one likes change; they kept their approach simple, and are not eliminating any existing technology. They simply “BOLT ON” to what customers already have in place. “We add our automation and transactions to their existing systems, thus making them better,” says Michael.
Future Perspective
BOLT ON’s motto has been simple—help shops reduce distress and fear that most vehicle owners have. Between auto repair and the dentist, these two industries fight for the number one spot, as the place consumers want to visit least. BOLT ON’s team hopes that their technology can assist shops with educating vehicle owners on the importance of vehicle service.
Being confident at his business approach, Michael asserts, “I am concerned that the real big players have not entered this technical space yet, and that when they recognize how valuable this space is, they will be here in a hurry.”
With such a small fraction of the industry, BOLT ON will continue to grow market share. “We will also continue to partner with other industry companies so that we can reach more of the space,” he adds.
Timing is Everything
Michael knows that the number of new car dealerships has diminished over the last couple of years, and there remains only one clear answer, the aftermarket. “I’m hoping that we will be able to put or fingerprint on what that looks like, as we continue to drive innovation in our space,” says Michael.
With a huge success, due to his innovative attempt in business, Michael advices young entrepreneurs “not to be afraid of failure.” “If you’re going to fail, fail fast, and do what you love.” Michael says he doesn’t feel like he’s working because his job brings him joy.