Tony Summerville of Fleetio

February 16, 2022 thetechtribune

An exclusive Tech Tribune Q&A with Tony Summerville (founder and CEO) of Fleetio, which was honored in our:

Tell us the origin story of Fleetio – what problem were you trying to solve and why?

The seed of the idea came from knowing the operations at my dad’s business, an electrical supply and distribution company. I knew they struggled to manage their small fleet of vehicles. I saw a huge opportunity with cloud-based software, mobile devices, and new technologies to enable people to better manage their own fleets. To validate the idea, I met with a lot of other local businesses to learn how they were managing theirs. I learned that many of them struggled with the same challenges: tracking vehicle maintenance and service history, inspecting vehicles, understanding fuel spend, total cost of ownership, etc.

Our company mission became to help organizations track, analyze, and improve their fleet operations. The vision for Fleetio was to create a software platform that simplified the solutions to these issues, while organizing fleet information to optimize and prolong fleet usage, saving our customers money and time.

What was the biggest hurdle you encountered in your journey?

The biggest hurdle is just getting started. It’s easy to have an idea and not take action on it. I think one of the biggest challenges for me was to actually start working on a problem and the business. While I didn’t have all of the answers when I first started, this actually allowed me to learn along the way what the market actually needed. Once I started, I inevitably built momentum to work towards a solution as I built the software. Oftentimes, the biggest challenge is going from thinking about something to actually doing it and taking the first step.

What does the future hold for Fleetio?

I believe we’ve barely scratched the surface of what we can accomplish. As fleet management continues to evolve with new technology, we believe maintenance will be more complex and important, and we are continuously advancing Fleetio’s features to accommodate these changes. We plan to continue building and improving our core platform while serving our customers all over the world.

What are your thoughts on the local tech startup scene in Birmingham?

I’m encouraged by the local tech startup scene. It has definitely improved over the years with various tech businesses starting and scaling in Birmingham to differing levels of success.

While the tech startup scene is promising here, I believe there is still room for growth to create more density of technology companies and workers in the Birmingham region.

We have many local initiatives in place that focus on recruiting, fostering, and retaining tech startups. Birmingham was built on the shoulders of many great entrepreneurs, and the culture of fostering new businesses has remained strong over the past 100+ years.

What’s your best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?

I would encourage aspiring entrepreneurs to simply get started. There is never a perfect time, especially in the early days. Focus on your customers and building your product. Keep your head down, and avoid anything else that is a distraction from those two priorities.