Today on the IC-DISC Show we're talking with Gordon Driscoll. Having spent his early career at Goldman Sachs investing tens of millions into metals companies, he kept noticing they were running their operations on Excel spreadsheets and software from the 1980s. That gap became Green Spark, a cloud-based platform now in over 900 scrap metal recycling locations.

In this conversation, Gordon talks about what it took to break into an industry where relationships go back generations, why he thinks most business owners are thinking about software wrong, and how his team earned credibility by acting more like a partner than a vendor. He also shares a customer story that stuck with me about a scale operator who got his first lunch break in six years.

Whether you're in scrap or not, Gordon's thinking on sustainable growth, earning the right to disrupt, and treating technology as a competitive advantage rather than a cost center is worth your time.

Show highlights

• Why a Goldman Sachs investment banker left finance to build software for scrap yards
• The massive technology gap Gordon kept seeing in companies handling tens of millions in materials
• How Green Spark grew to 900+ locations by acting like a partner, not just a vendor
• The customer story about a scale operator getting his first lunch break in six years
• Why Gordon believes you have to earn the right to disrupt an industry, and what that looks like in practice
• The mindset shift from treating software as a cost center to using it as a competitive advantage

Links

• LinkedIn - Gordon Driscoll
• About IC-DISC Alliance
• About Green Spark Software

Show notes: https://exportadvisors.com/podcast/072-software-as-a-competitive-advantage-with-gordon-driscoll/