Crystal Wise
Jesse Smith
Jesse Smith is a technology guy. He always has been, he says.
Not the kind you might see on TV, the guy writing code locked in a dark room and drinking Red Bull.
“That's a different world than what I do, but I love the creativity aspect,” he says while on a tour of his work at a home in southwest Fort Worth. “I love the challenge of finding unique components to fit a particular design element or incorporate for a different feel or layout, like a traditional or modern or contemporary or transitional home. And then the planning that goes into that.”
Smith is the owner of Wyred AV, founded by him in 2014.
Wyred AV is a custom integration firm. It focuses on technology that enhances people's lives through the convenience and the connectivity of what technology offers. The business’s core client base is luxury residences.
“We sell all the hardware,” he says. “So, every technology aspect in this home that you see, we hand chose and installed it for the homeowner, and then we configure it and make it work.”
The curation of technology could include, but not limited to, the doorbell, speakers, lighting controls, security cameras, TV and video, automation of shades, garage doors and door locks, and pool controllers.
The homeowners are able to control the functions for each through an app called Control4.
“We bring it all together without making it feel like, you know, a sports bar or a tech geek haven,” he says.
Wyred AV is based in Colleyville and services all of Fort Worth and Dallas.
Where did you get started in this business? I really started cutting my teeth in 2005. But I did it part time for two years prior to that. So, 22 years would be kind of my foray into the industry.
How did you start Wyred AV? I had been subcontracting and working for two companies, kind of exclusively. And I had a vision for doing things differently than what a lot of companies did. So, in 2014 I made the leap of faith to restructure, rebrand, and start out on a new path to improve on where I thought the industry could go.
What has been the secret to success? We have our proven process. And a lot of companies in this industry can sometimes get in trouble because they're too far outside of the lines, and then you get instability, or you get systems that don't always work or have reliability issues or become service nightmares. An easy way to explain that would be they cut too many corners. We really try our best to ensure that we're always staying within the bounds of what we know and can guarantee our work.
“And then a lot of it is relationship-based. We build relationships with our customers. We have some clients that are third-generation customers. The grandparents have used us, the parents have used us, and now their kids are graduating college, getting married, building homes, and we're still servicing their systems. So service is extremely important to maintaining good relationships with our customers. Anybody can install something, but still being around after the initial sale is where a lot of our industry drops the ball. We have a very high retention rate with our customers. Industry-wide, it's actually pretty low.
“And even just things like, we have a spot on our customer sheets for dog names. So, that's Sarge. [He points outside to a German shepherd.] Because we're in our customers' homes, we have to be pet people, and we're the ones invading our customers' lives.”