Why ‘Reading a Room’ is Actually the Best Tech Skill I Have

When I tell people I went from running a boutique catering and events company to founding a software automation company, I usually get the same slightly confused look. "How did you make that jump?"

While it sounds like a drastic change, and potentially a massive culture shock, it was actually a lot easier of a transition than one might think. My day to day does look completely different now, but the actual mechanics of running a company and serving clients say stayed the same.

Business is just business.

When I started my first company, I remember someone said ‘if you know how to run a successful business, you can run any business’. I thought that was a bit naive but now years later, I realize the truth in that comment. You should absolutely have an expert leading the execution (chef in the kitchen, software engineer writing your code), but selling, team culture, accounting, analyzing costs and customer service are all the same. Whether you are walking a couple through the logistics of planning a backyard, lake front wedding or scoping a new hire training automation, the core of what you are doing remains the same.

You need to understand the vision and have clear, detailed contracts. You have to send out invoices on time and ensure they are paid. If you don't understand your margins, you can’t price properly and ensure a profitable, sustainable business. Dealing with scope creep is the exact same headache whether a client is trying to add a last-minute cocktail hour or a last-minute software feature. The basics of running a business don’t change.

The hospitality superpower translates perfectly.

In the hospitality, your entire job is anticipating a need before the guest even realizes they have it. You learn how to quickly ‘read a room’, noticing when the next course is taking too long, if a guest looks lost, or that bottleneck forming at the bar.

It turns out, that is the exact same skill you need to run a good business.

When we build an automation, we are often meeting with department heads, not necessarily the person who does the task we are automating. We listen to what they say they want, but need to understand the underlying workflow bottlenecks they might be too close to see. There can also be some resistance within an organization. The anticipation of sticking points and the questions that will arise allows us to create a more seamless experience.

It’s just new jargon.

I will admit, I had to learn a new language. I had to swap out my kitchen shorthands for API webhooks, cloud architecture, and a whole lot of acronyms. Once you get past the new vocabulary, the heart of the work feels incredibly familiar. In events, if a vendor is late or something goes sideways in the kitchen, you fix it on the fly so the client never feels the friction. Custom software is the exact same way.

Pivoting into tech didn’t mean abandoning the last decade of my career. The tools changed, but the actual mission is exactly what it has always been: building the invisible, behind-the-scenes systems that make everything run beautifully.