By Paul McLaughlin
I like to joke that I’ve never had a “real job” because I launched APP Tech, straight out of college with a buddy of mine, Peter. At the time — this was 2003 — I knew I wanted to build software, and didn’t really care what the industry was, but Peter’s father owned a group of transportation companies in the Philadelphia area, and so that’s where we started.
This post will cover a few key lessons I’ve learned in the decades since. Peter left the company in 2005 to dedicate himself full-time to his father’s business (we’re still great friends), and I feel extremely blessed to have helped grow this company from these humble beginnings into a successful software business with an amazing team and hundreds of customers across North America.
More than 20 years ago, my APP Tech co-founder and I started with a simple goal: build meaningful, customer-focused solutions that solve real-world challenges. Simple enough on paper, but from the start, our journey at APP Tech has been a continuous learning opportunity, and no doubt that will continue.
Our first software deliverables were a handful of products designed for a single customer in a single industry. From these early projects, our team and our vision grew, and we’ve learned valuable lessons about listening, adapting, and, above all, the importance of building strong, trusting relationships. Here are a few of those lessons.
1. Embrace outsiders: There’s power in new and diverse perspectives
When my co-founder, Peter, and I started our company, we were winging it. Fresh out of college and with zero industry experience, we had one client, Peter’s father’s transportation company. We knew how to build software and we knew how to ask good questions, that was pretty much all we had going for us.
But after only 18 months in business, we landed a contract to build a claims-management solution for Greater Houston Transportation (GHT). At that time, GHT was the second-largest taxicab company in the U.S. This was a major win, and our industry-outsider status turned out to be a critical factor in closing the deal.
We were at a trade show and met a guy named Raymond Turner — a big, tall Texan with a cowboy hat and swagger. He had worked in tech before, but was a newcomer in the claims world. When he walked by our booth, he saw what we were doing and said something like, “This industry is backwards. It’s out of date, and you have a fresh take on this. That’s going to be really good for us.”
He saw that the transportation industry had become insular, in a way, and was in a rut — confined by the way things were done in the past.
Outsiders see things differently, and can draw new conclusions from the same old facts. They notice opportunities that aren’t obvious to people who have spent too long looking at the same problems and solutions.
Entering the claims industry without conventional experience, our team had a fresh approach, which was to focus on the incidents that lead to claims, rather than starting with claims themselves.
As an outsider himself, Raymond Turner saw the value of our fresh perspective, and he hired APP Tech for GHT. After that deal, we managed to land Total Transit in Phoenix, and APP Tech was off to the races.
Valuing the outsider mindset has since become a defining feature of our work at APP Tech, even shaping our hiring practices to favor diverse backgrounds, passion, and potential over narrow industry expertise. We’ve come to learn that this approach drives innovation and keeps the team focused on real-world problem-solving.
2. Adaptability and intention are key: Find what works, adjust, and focus
APP Tech launched with a suite of three software products — vehicle fleet management, HR compliance, and claims management — all built for the transportation industry. But over our first few years in business, we discovered that the need for our claims management solution cut across industries, and there was ample opportunity in retail, property management, construction, and other fields. We didn’t come to this realization on our own, we heard it from our clients and prospective clients first.
At the time, we were hesitant to pull the plug on our other software offerings, but the writing on the wall became clear: Claims management was worthy of our undivided attention. This was the idea worth building our business on.
APP Tech’s “incident-first” claims management approach, developed from an outsider’s perspective, resonated with clients by offering a unique and practical solution that traditional claims systems overlooked. So, we shifted the team to focus on that one product, IMS, which would later become our flagship offering, Cloud Claims.
We went deep on functionality, user experience, and real-world use cases, ultimately delivering a claims-management system that was distinctive, flexible, and highly reliable — across various industries.
This shift from a diversified product lineup to a specialized focus allowed the team to build a pinpointed solution for a widespread need. Many enterprise solutions attempt to cover too many bases, which often leaves them “a jack of all trades, master of none.” We listened to the voice of the customer, pivoted, and found our niche.
3. Get out there: Customer relationships are your greatest asset
The most impactful interaction I ever had with a client came at a trade show. In 2007, I was manning our booth and having a conversation with a prospect. I saw one of our customers, LaMonte Jackson from Total Transit, walk up and kind of stop. He could hear my conversation, and at some point, he stepped in and addressed the prospect. He said something like, “We work with these guys and they are fantastic.” Then he went on to give us a ringing endorsement.
When the prospect eventually left, I thanked LaMonte for his words, and he just looked at me and shook his head. “No, man. It’s all good,” he said. “You guys are great to work with.” And he reached over and he patted my chest. It kind of shocked me. “Never lose this, man. Never lose that right there.”
This meant so much to me, because I really respect LaMonte. He’s a wise man, and he showed me that he really appreciated not just what we accomplished together, but the relationship we built while doing it. It touched me in a way that has affected my life. Sometimes you feel like you’re working so hard, and sacrificing, and you don’t know if the work is good enough, and you don’t know whether anybody really cares or notices. But to get that kind of feedback from a customer, where it’s all about what’s in your heart, that’s better than any compliment you could give me on our software.
And it gave me encouragement to just stay true to that path, not to lose that heart.
Customer relationships are at the core of APP Tech’s approach. We make it a point to have frequent interactions and on-site visits with our clients — and yes, we still go to trade shows! Because face-to-face time provides unique moments, insights into client needs, and lets us see the real-world impact of our work. Being there in person reinforces our commitment to listening and adapting to serve our clients better. It’s critical, especially in industries where clients prioritize trust and personal connections.
