Automating Building Codes: RT3 Podcast | OneClick Code

Roofing Technology Think Tank kicked off its first podcast episode of 2022 by sitting down with our Founder and CEO, Garrett Kurtt, and Marketing and PR Director, Jessi West Gunteski. 

RT3 Podcast Host Ryan Groth interviewed Garrett Kurtt about the innovation behind OneClick Code, the only platform to have blazed the trail for data automation of jurisdictional authority for building codes, permit fees, taxes, and manufacturer specifications required for any address nationwide.  

To learn more about how we automated building codes, listen to the episode.

Ryan Groth, RT3 Podcast Host:

Hey everybody. Welcome to the next episode of the RT3 Podcast! Super excited to share a new innovation with you with our special guests. I just want to welcome you! If you have not subscribed yet, subscribe, like, and, share these episodes as well. We have some amazing innovators that join us on these podcasts, and of course, we're gonna have a couple more today. I'll introduce those guests momentarily and they'll introduce themselves. 

If you haven't heard of me, I'm Ryan Groth, founder of Sales Transformation Group (STG for short) and we're a sales training and consulting company helping companies with our platform transform their businesses into high-performing growth-minded sales organizations. I'm also the host of the RT3 Podcast. So excited to be back here. First podcast of 2022! And we have some special guests. 

So, we have Garrett Kurtt, the CEO, and Jessi West Gunteski, the Director of Marketing for OneClick Code. So I want to just let them introduce themselves. Thanks for coming onto this show today, guys. I'm excited for us to hear, and to share with the industry, all that you're doing and the innovations you're bringing to the table. So Garrett, let's start with you. Tell us a little bit about your business and who you are, who Jessi is, and what you guys are up to.

Garrett Kurtt, CEO and Founder of OneClick Code:

Sure. Well, thanks, Ryan. Thanks for having us. My name is Garrett Kurtt. I've been in the roofing insurance restoration industry for the last almost 14 years. The time has flown by. It seems like it was only like three years ago that I started, but it's definitely flown by. Through that, I owned a roofing company - I've managed multiple national roofing companies. So my background really stems from the restoration industry and the technology that came from it really comes from my thought around, you know, what needs to be solved, but hasn't been solved, and that's kind of what our product has evolved into that. 

Jessi West Gunteski has been my right-hand person since the beginning. For the last two and a half years, she has been there as part of the Marketing and PR. I'll let you introduce yourself as well to that.

Jessi West Gunteski, Director of Marketing & PR at OneClick Code:

Awesome. Hey, thanks for having us, Ryan. I really appreciate it. Yeah, so I joined OneClick Code about two and a half years ago running our Marketing and PR department. I, um, my favorite thing is just connecting everyone in the industry together. I've been in marketing for the past 13 years now, in various industries and I'm so excited to be a part of a company that is not only the first to market in our sphere but also changing the industry. It's a really exciting thing to be a part of.

Ryan Groth, RT3 Podcast Host:

Love it. Yeah, it's all about innovation and this industry's moving fast right now. Um, a little later than a lot of other industries, but it's happening. And the early adopters are, um, just continuing to pioneer new things and it's opening up the industry quite a bit. So, Garrett, let's start with what was the big problem? Like, tell me the birthing story, like what happened? Like, what was the big problem you saw that was, this started this. It's two and a half years old. So, let's hear kind of how that started.

Garrett Kurtt, CEO and Founder of OneClick Code:

Sure. So, you know, being in the roofing industry, and being on the insurance side, we're constantly trying to create estimates that are gonna be approved by the insurance companies, but also being accurate in our estimation process in terms of, for profitability. A lot of my background comes from Colorado and the Midwest. Through that, a lot of the estimation came down to building codes and manufacture specifications, and the building codes would differ from city to county. And sometimes it would be a regional department or whatever it may be... it was this always confusing never-ending a question of what's required and what's not required when it comes to building an estimate. I got really frustrated because not only was I curious about this, but then a lot of my fellow professionals in the roofing industry were trying to figure that out, too.

And then we were trying to explain that both in oral arguments, as well as written documentation to the insurance company to have approval because it really came down to profitability and the price. I just kept on hitting my head against the wall over and over and over again, saying the same thing over and over. I'm like, "why hasn't someone figured out how to automate building codes?" So I came up with the idea and we started in Colorado. It became a hit in Colorado. Then we went to the Midwest and then went to Texas, which is a huge market. And then we went nationwide. And during those processes, we really unveiled this automation of building codes that was trying to answer the question of 'can you get a source of truth? Or being able to say, who can verify a building code is required or not, and how can you do it within seconds?

Ryan Groth, RT3 Podcast Host:

So, before this process, what is somebody having to do without this process? What's the contractor's process going to look like - get like a real example.

Garrett Kurtt, CEO and Founder of OneClick Code:

Yeah. It's just painful to think about it actually. So what we would do in the past, if you wanted to do it right, I would need to be able to take the address. I would need to go on Google maps and figure out whether it's in the city or county, based on the jurisdictional, and a lot of times that wasn't even right. So then I would default and call the county first and find out if the address is in the city or the county. And if the county said it was not in theirs, then it must be in that city and then I'd call the city to confirm it. And that's just to be able to find out jurisdiction - and these are metropolitan areas. And then from there, the question I do call the jurisdiction and authority. 

And I would, I would get down to brass tax and try to like figure out, you know, is drip edge required? Is ice and water shield required? Is there any special requirements around the inspection process or, on the permitting side? And I would ask questions and a lot of times I didn't get answers because the person that knew it wasn't available. So there was just all this hidden knowledge. And then you go to the website, and then hopefully it's on the website, but usually it's not. And if it was there, it's probably outdated. So you get a call and confirm with them that the document online is the new and updated document and it just goes on and on. And that's just to be able to figure out a couple of line items that you would put in an estimate. And the thing that you would never really quite figure out is when are they gonna change it? So it's always in the back of your mind, is this the current building code or has it changed? Cause there's always that opportunity to make more money or be more profitable.

Ryan Groth, RT3 Podcast Host:

Yeah, that sounds pretty painful. So you mentioned, well also sounds like you want to do it right. Which is which shows, uh, you know, I'm sure a lot of people don't even think about that. They're just like, ah, just let's do that. You know, let's just kinda put your, let's just wing it. You know, it's not worth all this, but you know, we can get paid and we can get it approved and we get something going and we'll make, see how much we make. I could see how, how that might be a challenge though. You mentioned going from Colorado to Texas and you kind of went to different markets. How did you get to this point where you're able to automate that process? Were you going to the guy that knew that wasn't available and getting all this information once and then, and then getting him to agree to put it into your platform? Like how does that work to automate it? And what's the process of going into new states?

Garrett Kurtt, CEO and Founder of OneClick Code:

Yeah, so we are nationwide now, and I can get into that a little bit more about the technology. We actually create our own software - different than what the customer sees. We actually create our own [data] collecting software, where we actually have people calling and emailing and communicating with the chief building official - that's the person you want to talk to, not a permit technician or the clerk, but the actual chief building official because that person ultimately has the knowledge. So what we would do is we call them, we email them, we get things in writing. So our reports, which we can talk about in a second, have actual documentation from those cities and counties stating what we are saying in our report, which is, 'Hey, you should add ice and water shield... Oh, wait, that's not, should, it's required. Or drip edge. You must, or you are required to add drip edge. And there are other ones that we have too.

Ryan Groth, RT3 Podcast Host:

Insurance companies are paying you to do what basically the chief building officer is telling them that they need to do. Therefore you get much more out of each claim. It's not necessarily much more, but what's right out of each claim.

Jessi West Gunteski, Director of Marketing & PR at OneClick Code:

You're eliminating the back and forth, too. I mean, the contractor and the adjuster oftentimes are fighting over who has the right information. And so if people both have the right information, you're not arguing about it. You're just able to close the claim.

Ryan Groth, RT3 Podcast Host:

Mm-hmm, got it. That's great! So you've had a team just basically prospect and info gather and research, you know, specifically. And then, and then is that something they're gonna need to do more, more than once, you know, to stay current? You mentioned it changing, but I mean, it sounds amazing what you guys have established in there with the software.

Garrett Kurtt, CEO and Founder of OneClick Code:

It's not a static database, so the database is constantly being updated. So there's about 17,000 cities and counties across the United States that we communicate on a regular basis around their building codes. There are about another 4,000 to 5,000 that don't require building codes, but you would had never thought that that was the case. There are actually quite a few counties throughout the U.S. that don't actually require building codes and the cities too. But the 17,000 that we do communicate with, we're communicating with them on a regular basis, and then we're, we're communicating specifically around storms. So we track storms across the country when a storm hits a certain area, there's going to be an influx of contractors and adjusters who are asking the same questions. So we are answering 'em for both sides. And so we'll call and confirm the information that we have, whether it's changed or not within 72 hours of a storm, anywhere in the country.

Ryan Groth, RT3 Podcast Host:

That's awesome. So let's talk about how... give me some case study, like real-time impact in a business. Do you have some examples of how maybe, you know, what kind of time or, you know, and money are we saving with this process? What is, what is it allowing the automation to freeing up people to be able to do, give I'd love to hear some examples of how this is impacting a contractor and essentially making a statement here through a case study of why somebody should investigate an innovation like this or your product.

Garrett Kurtt, CEO and Founder of OneClick Code:

There are certain parts of the sales process, as well as the building process, that are more impactful to use our information, but we can be used throughout the entire process. One of the biggest ones I think is when there is a storm going on, or a contractor, they're trying to estimate correctly and they're meeting this adjuster out on the job site. they want to get everything they can in the estimate upfront. Having our documentation upfront allows more of the items to be in the estimate in the beginning, so it creates less animosity or less issues on the backend. That's one of the biggest things - having the information. Our technology is on our phone. So we have it on iOS, and Android.

You literally type in an address - boom! - it pops up like an amazing Google search that knows you are magically a roofer and it gives you the answers you need right there on the spot.

It's really cool. That is where the biggest impact is. Cause if you think about what happens, if you get things upfront, you don't have to supplement on the backend and wait for the money. Every time you're asking for something, it just delays a few more days, maybe weeks, depending on what that item is. And so if you can get it upfront, you can literally almost invoice on the backend and say, work is done. The invoice goes out, and the insurance company could release it because there's no dispute.

Ryan Groth, RT3 Podcast Host:

So that time of that's the supplementing departments that people are building whole departments and their companies now to, you know, essentially combat with the insurance company to get paid. Right? So this takes the subjectivity out of it and makes it more objective in the process and creates less back and forth on the backend. So it's not gonna help them necessarily sell more work per se. well, it will increase the size of the deal because the estimate will require certain things that will be up to code. Right? So therefore you're, you know, some contractors might be pleasantly surprised what they're able to actually get, right, that maybe they didn't think about before from this process. So they may increase their deal size and then shorten their payment getting paid. Does that sound right?

Garrett Kurtt, CEO and Founder of OneClick Code:

Yeah, it does. Yeah. And it could add a little bit of profitability too.

Jessi West Gunteski, Director of Marketing & PR at OneClick Code:

Yep. And also with getting the jurisdiction right, we're getting the sales tax right. I know that sounds like pennies here or there, but it could be a difference of 4 percent of sales tax of the entire estimate as well.

Ryan Groth, RT3 Podcast Host:

Yeah, and then some of the staff requirements for the supplementation gets pretty expensive, right? Because of the amount of maybe volumes some companies have, or even outsourcing that process. So that reduces the amount of overhead in order to fulfill the work. So you're increasing deal, size, profitability, and shortening getting paid, cause you have an objective automated database pulling in and you know that they're using. Does that sound like that's what it's doing?

Garrett Kurtt, CEO and Founder of OneClick Code:

Yeah. And, and if you think of, if you think about one step further on that is that, you know, we only have so much energy and time during the day. And if we are trying to, you know, say our piece and saying like, Hey, this needs to be done... That energy you put forth, there's a lot of emotional energy. Like, Hey, listen, I'm a contractor. I know what I'm doing. Why are you not believing me? Um, and then, you know, you're, you're basically trying to prove your worth in a way. And it's like, this document helps save that time and save that energy that you could be putting somewhere else. You know, you don't have to put into the arguing or if you wanna call "arguing" or the debating over what is required, was not required. This document sets the truth. It shows what is required versus not.

Ryan Groth, RT3 Podcast Host:

So a contractor can trust this database is not static, but it's moving and evolving because you guys are. So it also covers them... Yeah, that's pretty awesome. So, is this a problem that's being solved in the industry at, at any point? Or are you the first ones?

Garrett Kurtt, CEO and Founder of OneClick Code:

First movers? Yeah. The insurance industry has tried to do something it's, it's called the PLRB, which most people have never heard of, but it has to do with the insurance side they they're failing miserably at it. Um, they're not doing it to the, what we're doing right now. But, that is why we actually have insurance carriers buying from us as well. So we're actually selling to both sides. We want be that Switzerland of data and we wanna be able to provide it from both sides, because both sides have the question that wants to be answered. They just wanna be accurate. So yeah, so we are the first movers right now.

Ryan Groth, RT3 Podcast Host:

Cool. Awesome. Well, I think it's, it's great to, you know, and hear that you guys are innovating and bringing technology. Are you full-time now or still have a roofing business? Garrett?

Garrett Kurtt, CEO and Founder of OneClick Code:

No, I don't. I'm not doing the roofing right now. Haven't been doing for the roofing for the last year and a half actually. I've been doing this full-time.

Ryan Groth, RT3 Podcast Host:

Awesome. It's good to see a founder give all of themselves to a new thing. You know it's gonna be successful. Very, very cool. So, how can people find you guys and, you know, get a demo or a free trial or something like that?

Jessi West Gunteski, Director of Marketing & PR at OneClick Code:

Yeah. So we're on oneclickcode.com. They can visit the website or visit the app store or Google Play store and download the app. So you can use it on your phone or you can use it on your desktop. That is OneClick Code on the app store and Google Play and oneclickcode.com for our website. Cool. And we do offer a 14-day free trial so people can play around, see how it works and they should be getting demo videos and emails to help them along the way.

Ryan Groth, RT3 Podcast Host:

Yeah, that's cool. That's great. Well, uh, it's great to hear some innovations here. What about like, do you guys have any other like any content or should people connect to you guys maybe on LinkedIn or something as well if they wanted to reach out and see you guys posting about your brand and your products?

Jessi West Gunteski, Director of Marketing & PR at OneClick Code:

Yep. We're all over LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, all the good places. We have lots of content coming out on our blog and we have a newsletter as well. That goes out once a month that we fill with amazing content for the industry ways to help your sales growth or things to do during slow season. So we're constantly blogging and trying to help the industry. You can see all of that on our website.

Ryan Groth, RT3 Podcast Host:

Awesome. Oneclickcode.com. Yeah. Well everybody give these guys a holler - Garrett Kurtt and Jessi West Gunteski. This is another episode of innovation brought to you by RT3, the roofing technology think tank. Again, I'm Ryan Groth, host of the podcast and founder of STG sales transformation group. So check us out too if you're in the market for that. Really glad you guys came on and shared. That sounds super exciting and um, sounds like a great opportunity to chase an open space and help a lot of people save time and money and get back to growing their business and giving them a new chance to giving them more time and energy to do that and more money to do that. So this sounds like a great innovation. So thanks for coming on today.

Garrett Kurtt, CEO and Founder of OneClick Code:

Yeah. Thanks a lot. We appreciate it.

Jessi West Gunteski, Director of Marketing & PR at OneClick Code:

Thanks for having us.

Ryan Groth, RT3 Podcast Host:

You're welcome. All right. See you guys.

About RT3 Think Tank

Roofing Technology Think Tank (RT3), is a consortium of thought leaders exploring emerging technology solutions for the roofing industry, striving to inform contractors by bringing together progressive and disruptive solutions that help build the professionalism and appeal of the roofing industry. Learn more on their website https://rt3thinktank.com/. 

About OneClick Code

OneClick Code is a trusted data partner, dedicated to streamlining the code-sourcing process for all parties in the roofing industry while also increasing efficiency and transparency for all stakeholders in construction and restoration. They have the only platform to have blazed the trail for data automation of jurisdictional authority for building codes, permit fees, taxes, and manufacturer specifications required for any address nationwide. OneClick Code has been serving customers in the contracting, insurance, and claim adjusting fields by providing instant access to trusted roofing codes, in the click of a button. Offering unique reports that can be easily shared between all stakeholders in the roofing claims industry, OneClick is adding value to all parties and empowering customers to save time and money on every claim. Welcome to restoration intelligence, automated. To learn more, visit our website www.oneclickcode.com.