How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I didn't have some lightning-bolt "genius founder moment." Honestly, I built this business because my life had fallen apart physically. My back was screwed, my shoulders were wrecked, I was in constant pain for years. I don't like saying I was depressed, but I was damn close. I felt stuck, and I knew if I didn't change something fast, I'd just stay miserable.

There was this guy I knew from college who always had a new business every two months, so one day I just called him and asked, "What the hell are you doing now?" He showed me this software platform, and the second I saw it I thought, I have no idea how I'm going to make money with this… but I know it's going to be huge. That part was instinct — instant. I knew it was my path even before I knew what the business was.

The only reason I recognized the opportunity is because I'd helped my parents run their Airbnbs. I saw firsthand how their entire business ran on software — they were completely dependent on it, and it made their life a million times easier. So I thought, "If this works for them, I can build something similar for home service businesses." Recurring revenue, low ticket, predictable — it just made sense.

I wasn't solving a problem no one else was solving — I just approached it in a way nobody else had the balls or the humility to try. Everybody in the marketing space was out here charging contractors $2–3K per month for garbage results. We came in and said, "Give us $297. We'll prove we're legit first. If you like us, then we'll earn a bigger check later."

We didn't reinvent the wheel — we just dropped the ego, dropped the price, and built trust first. And that one decision is the reason we have the momentum we have today.

Tell us about yourself and StoneSystems

My name's Kai. I was born and raised on the island of Hawaii, and honestly, I didn't grow up dreaming of being some "software founder." I got into this industry because I called up a buddy from college and asked what the hell he was working on. He showed me his software business, and I thought, screw it, I'll try it too.

The reason I ended up working with home service companies is even more random — one of my friends owned a construction company. I asked him what problems he dealt with every day, and then I reverse engineered how to fix those problems with software. That's literally how StoneSystems was born. Nothing glamorous — just listening, solving, and selling.

What we do now is simple: we help contractors run their entire business with AI, automation, and better systems. We help them make more money, follow up with leads instantly, get more reviews, run payments, book more jobs — all the unsexy stuff that actually grows a business.

Low ticket → high ticket. Trust first → big checks later.

I think the thing I'm most proud of is how fast we got to a million-dollar run rate. That still blows my mind. Not because of the number, but because of the speed. I genuinely believe money loves speed — and the only reason we scaled like this is because we took insane amounts of raw action when everyone else was still "planning."

Have you ever had to pivot?

My biggest pivot didn't come from some business strategy session or mastermind. It came from being in the darkest place of my life. I was waking up every day in pain. I had just graduated college, I was living with my mom, I was broke, and I honestly didn't see a path forward.

And then one day, I'm sitting there scrolling, feeling sorry for myself, and I see this dumb TikTok. It wasn't deep. It wasn't motivational. It was just this simple line:

"What would happen if you dedicated yourself to something for one full year?"

For whatever reason, that hit me at the exact moment I needed it. Something in me snapped. I just thought, Alright. Let's see. That was the pivot. Not a plan. Not a strategy. Just a decision made out of desperation and hope at the same time.

I told myself, "You get one year. No quitting. No excuses. If you fail, you fail. If you win, you win. But you're giving it one full year." And that promise to myself is literally what started everything.

Sometimes the biggest pivots come from the lowest points.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

In the online world, everyone is obsessed with these hyper-polished, cinematic ads — crazy editing, B-roll, sound effects, transitions, drone shots, you name it. Every "expert" told me that's what I needed.

So of course, I did the exact opposite.

Our best-performing ads — by a mile — are literally just me standing in front of a whiteboard with zero edits. No cuts. No music. No B-roll. No teleprompter. Just me talking off the top of my head, telling contractors exactly what the hell we do, how we do it, and why every other agency keeps letting them down.

Those raw, unedited videos outperformed every polished, expensive-style ad by 10x. Contractors didn't want the Hollywood version of me — they wanted the guy who actually knows what he's talking about, speaking to them like a human being.

My bet was that honesty beats polish — especially with blue-collar guys who can smell bullshit from a mile away. And I was right.

The simplest ads we've ever made turned into the most profitable ads of our entire business. Just a whiteboard, a camera, and zero bullshit.