Ep. 143 - Food For Less: The Walmart Grocery Secret

Walmart didn’t become a grocery powerhouse by accident. A big part of that story starts in Northwest Arkansas with a family-run grocery operation, Food For Less, and a relationship built on trust with Sam Walton and the early Walmart leadership team. We talk through how placing Food For Less stores beside Walmart locations created a real “learning lab” for grocery, helped shape the Supercenter model, and proved what can happen when partners share ideas instead of treating each other like competition. 

Then we jump forward to the next transformation: technology. Roger Thomas, CEO of Peak Tech Labs, walks us through the waves that reshaped business, from the internet boom to the Great Recession’s sudden demand for video conferencing, and why infrastructure IT only feels “boring” until it breaks. We get practical about what businesses need now: Unified Communications as a Service, resilient connectivity, and cloud-first systems that support how teams actually work today. 

The most urgent topic is AI. We dig into organizational AI and why private AI and secure AI are becoming essential for companies handling sensitive data like healthcare records, education information, government data, and proprietary strategy. We also explore cloud physical security, where cameras, access control, and modern monitoring are moving into the IT lane fast. If you’re building in retail, serving Walmart suppliers, or leading a growing company that wants a real competitive edge, this conversation offers both history and a clear path forward. 

If this helped you think differently about partnerships, AI, or business technology strategy, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review so more builders can find us.

Transcript

Welcome And Listener Thanks

SPEAKER_03 0:07

Well, hello everyone, and welcome to Doing Business in Bentonville. I'm Andy Wilson and welcome back. And before we get into our phenomenal podcast today, I want to say to all of our viewers, thank you, thank you, thank you, because you have made us such a great year last year. You know, because of you, we are now in over 100 countries. Because of you, we have over 2,000 views a day. Thank you for that. It means so much. Continue to uh reach out to me on LinkedIn. Have any questions? You know I will answer those. So reach out. Let's communicate, but keep sharing about uh doing business in Ventonville and tell your friends. Okay, we're gonna get straight away into my guest today. I'm so excited today to for you to welcome a friend of mine, a new friend of mine, actually, Roger Thomas. Welcome. Thank you very much for having me. Excited to be here. Wow. I'm I am so glad we met.

SPEAKER_01 1:01

Well, if we hadn't been at your uh business in Bittenville doing business in Bittenville event, uh we I don't know if we would have met.

SPEAKER_03 1:09

You know, you know, it's a small world, isn't it? It comes. You know, it really is. And you're gonna understand how we know each other here in just a moment, uh, because we're gonna talk about it. But uh, Roger, you know, one of the things that um I was so impressed with you about is uh your knowledge around what we're gonna talk about in your company, and uh you've taught me already a lot, and then the future of that, we're gonna get into that. But also, you took me down memory road a bit with Walmart, and I will tell you, I love the history of Walmart, and so this is what we're gonna do, everyone. And I'll let Roger tell the story, but without his story that he's gonna tell, Walmart would not be Walmart today. Yes, I'm saying it. That's pretty big, that's pretty big. It would not be, it would not be Walmart. All right, so let's get into this. Okay, so let me I say that just just a bit more. Um Sam's vision in Walmart was so broad, you know, he never he he he he never really talked about uh how big he wanted to be, but he talked about wanting to be a great company, Roger. You know that. And one of the things he did early on, he hired this guy named David Glass. David had a food background. When he came to Walmart, um I always said that, and there's a lot of stories, David and I having conversations, but I always said he was probably the smartest man in the room, you know, when we'd have a talk. So we're gonna go back a bit of history for you that you probably don't know about Walmart. So Roger's gonna tell the story about his family company called Food for Less.

SPEAKER_01 3:02

Yeah, and you know, the the thing is that it's my wife's family company, but I've been married to my wife's family for 40 years. That's why I called it yours. Uh this year. Congratulations on you. Thank you very much.

The Phillips Family Grocery Roots

SPEAKER_03 3:16

Talk about Food for Less and ties all together to the Walmart.

Food For Less Beside Walmart

SPEAKER_01 3:22

Well, um, you know, the the thing is the Phillips family, uh, who my mother-in-law, uh Carolyn Phillips, uh was her maiden name, uh, anyway, they they had Phillips grocery stores and they had Phillips food centers uh throughout uh Northwest Arkansas, even over, I think to Berryville. I'm I mean, you know, they they were running, and this we're talking about uh in the 50s, uh the 60s, you know, and and they had their grocery stores. Family-run stores. And and it and the thing that, and again, I didn't even know this until I married into the family, and at the ripe old age of 21 years old. So we uh and I know that twenty well, I don't know anything, but the thing is is that 21 back then was a little older than 21 is today. And it's just that's just natural evolution of aging. But um anyway, when I uh married into the family uh by that time, the Phillips uh family uh already owned the franchise uh rights to Food for Less uh in I believe Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri, uh I believe were the the three states um that uh they had. And and I say that because Food for Less is still alive and well in different states. I mean, you know, you know, they have uh I don't and and they may even be alive and well uh if you locate, I haven't seen them around uh us, but anyway, but anyway, but uh but Harlan Phillips, who is my wife's great uncle, um and Sam Walton were buddies. I mean, you know, we're talking way back, you know, buddies uh in the 60s and 70s. And I think you knew Harlan, uh yeah, and you knew his son John. Right. And and they uh uh again, based on the the information that I had as a young guy, and still to hear the stories today, you know, pretty much Harlan and John ran uh Food for Less. Uh and again, all the family members, like my uh there were four brothers, you know, there was Harlan, uh, there was uh Kenneth Phillips, uh there was Doyle Phillips, who is my wife's grandpa. Uh, and then there was another one that ended up moving out of the business, uh moved up to Kansas or something. Yeah, that's how it goes, you know. But um, but then from there, you have all their kids, you know, you have all their grandkids. I I mean this was a truly uh family-ran uh enterprise. Uh, and what they did uh from such uh meager means, uh what there's always a I I usually think there's always a combination of reasons why things work. Usually there's not just one reason why something worked, there's usually a combination of reasons. Well, the the Phillips family was 100% in. I mean, they they lived, breathed, and eat this uh this enterprise, this food for less uh their franchises. But then the relationship with Harlan and Sam, where where the conversation occurred sometime. Hey, uh from Sam to Harlan, hey Harlan, you know, what we got a merchandise store. What if we just put your Food for Less stores beside it? Um uh and uh they did that. That's right. Uh they did it. And and so the initial uh again, the information that I know of, and and what is just public knowledge to everybody, is uh the folks that are probably uh 50, maybe 45 to 50 years old or older, they remember in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri, where there was a Walmart merchandising store, there would be a food for less store beside it. And they were separate. They they were they were there was space between their buildings. That's correct. But but they were they were right there. So what a great idea. You know what I mean? Anyway, so um I was uh I got married into the family in 86, and I I think that's a uh that that might have been an another reason that uh uh sheri liked me because I had no idea. You know what I mean? I had no idea about this situation. Yeah. I I didn't know that that they were involved in you know, 33. And hey, by the way, Food for Less was one of the first warehouse grocery stores. Okay, okay, so so I mean this was uh I think there was a mega market back in in the 80s that there was a warehouse grocery. It was the first time that anyone had even thought about uh you know bagging their own groceries, you know, and and doing that sort of thing. Um, but uh but I I say that because if I recall, I shouldn't have said that about food for less, because Harlan Phillips, who was I mean, in our family, you know, Harlan is he's our guy. You know, I mean he he is he's he's the he's the he's at the top.

SPEAKER_02 7:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:53

Um and he he the one thing that he loved to do, as brilliant as he was, and as as ethical and honorable as he was, he loved to bag groceries. Okay, do you do you do you remember that? I don't know if you remember that or not, Andy.

SPEAKER_03 8:05

Oh yeah, I yeah, I I lived in Bentonville at the time and yeah, and Walmart, and we went over to Food for Less.

SPEAKER_01 8:12

Well, you would you'd have this very well-to-do, elderly, handsome gentleman at the end of the cash register bagging groceries, and that's what he liked to do. Uh, but of course, of course, you know, he and John uh from from again from from what I know ran the place. But but Harlan backed a lot of groceries.

SPEAKER_02 8:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:30

But anyway, so when uh when I that was 86 when I married into the family, and I believe, Andy, that 88, it was only a couple of years later, I believe, when the Super Center came into existence. And and uh like uh we always when Sherry and I travel and we get on, you know, we we land somewhere. Where are you from? We're from Bentonville, oh Walmart, you you know, that sort of thing. Hold on, time out, yeah, you know, hey, before before you say anything. You know, we we always remind them uh about what you know with Walmart. Hey, chances are whoever your favorite nonprofit is, Walmart probably is at the top of the giving list. I mean, so before we start, you know, uh, but uh anyway, oh, you know, well, you know, this happens, you know, when when uh they run out mom and pop organizations and that sort of thing, I go, well, you know, we're living proof uh that that's not the case. Um, because um as I was learning about the family and the business and what was going on at such a young age, the only thing that I heard from the Phillipses uh is how ethical and great the Walton family was to do business with. Yeah. I mean, that's that's all I know. Uh so uh that that leads us to always say, hey, if it ain't at Walmart, we don't need it. Uh you know, uh, but you know, the the thing is that with Food for Less, the way that they ran the company, uh, and again, um uh I think 30, a little over 30 stores, which is a big deal.

SPEAKER_02 9:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:59

Uh anyway, uh we we were living in Memphis at the time, uh, Sherry and I uh were, and so they were having a big Food for Less picnic in Jacksonville, Arkansas. Uh so we drive to Jacksonville, because this is gonna be this is like in the summer of 86, man. I was gonna meet everybody, and I did meet everybody, but uh any anyway, but but that type uh to to be that large of a company, to have company picnics, you know, in a park uh in Jacksonville, you know, center to whatever while it's all happening, uh it was always uh the most uh for me um being uh coming into this culture, coming into and and now it's all I am. I mean, it is me, you know. I mean, it's uh uh what my businesses have done. And uh, but anyway, for for that, what was very assuring, uh, was very trusting, um, uh again, uh very ethical, and uh everything uh that I ever sought was 100% uh on top the table.

Learning Food And Doing It Right

SPEAKER_03 10:58

Right, you know? Right. You know, one of the things um first of all, is is any great relationship, it starts with trust.

SPEAKER_00 11:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 11:07

And you could tell, and and at the time I was this young regional vice president at Walmart uh in '86, and now I'm beginning to hear Sam talk about uh his strategy, his vision. And then as I mentioned at the top of the show, David Glass uh showed up and David was back my food was background. So we began to talk internally about the future. And I remember clearly when Sam talked about Food for Us and he said Food for Us would be a great laboratory for us to learn food. And then the conversation shifted over time and talked about there's a limited growth for discount stores selling general merchandise. It's a unlimited growth if we add food. You know, and so we began to have conversations inside the organization about the future uh of food being added. And I remember clearly, clearly, Sam said in a meeting, he Mr. Sam said, he said, now look, if we do this thing with food for less, he said, we're gonna do it right. We're gonna we're gonna pay them for what it's worth. We're going not to hurt them, we're gonna help them. And he was very adamant about telling all of us officers sitting in the room, you know, we'd go out and and fight competition, but he was real clear that Food for Less was not a competitor. They were gonna be a partner. Right. And that's what happened. That's what happened. Exactly what happened. Walmart, Food for Less joined, like you said, around 30 stores, and it became for Walmart a way to learn food.

SPEAKER_01 13:04

Yeah. And and they were learning from the best. I mean exactly, exactly. And Sam said that. Right. Oh, yeah. Sam said that. Because I mean, this is a family uh, again, who had already uh been in the business for 30 years. I mean, they had they had see they had seen it all come up from the supermarket. Again, I'm I'm imbarable. I mean, you know, which for your listeners, Bariable is a very small rural community. Yeah, but they had a grocery store there. Um, and then they had a grocery store, of course. I I'm pretty sure that Rogers, Arkansas uh was one of was one of the anchor uh Phillips grocery stores. It was, yeah. Yeah, yeah. And then of course the Food for Less uh opportunity came and then and then that happened.

SPEAKER_03 13:44

Any great idea, any great vision begins, and it's you know, successful begins with just two multiple or more than two or at least two entities coming together around a shared vision, around trust, and let's work together and learn together. And I remember clearly when when that transition took place that that we had every Friday at the at the officer meeting where we talked sales, there was a representative from Food for Less sitting in the room, sharing the numbers, yeah, sharing ideas, and listening to us talk about the the general merchant side side and and and the culture of Walmart and how we work together, how we travel to the stores and listen to the customers. Yeah. Food for Less did that really well, yeah, as you said. And so that integration worked 100%. And now, as you know, as a as a as a viewer and a listener doing BBB, doing uh listen to DBB, look at what happened. Roger, I want you to I want you to say this for someone that uh uh at the time that I got to just listen in and and to this this this partnership, I want to tell you thank you, I want to say to you, thank you for the family for making this happen on the family side. Because it wouldn't have worked if it didn't happen on both sides. Right. And it happened on both sides, and as I mentioned, it's a lot of trust there. And you could tell, you could tell, tell it now if you now you look at while what's happened in Walmart. It's it's really similar to when um we we did the Hoppermart experiment in in Texas. Yeah, and we learned the big box, the big box was too large, and we learned from it though. It was another experiment, or into dot's drugs, or Helen's crafts, all these experiments that Walmart did because of Sam's vision, some of them, many of them worked, some of them didn't work. Yeah, this one worked. The food worked, yeah, and um, so it's what a great beginning.

SPEAKER_01 16:00

Yeah, and and the food, and the thing that's just so uh rewarding for everyone is that is the food works so well.

SPEAKER_02 16:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:06

Uh I I mean, um, well, you know, uh when I hear of other competitive uh food sources, okay, um H E Beef, absolutely terrific, Kroger, absolutely terrific. When you talk about 3,600 Walmart Super Centers and the size of their groceries uh and the grocery section of a uh I would challenge anybody to take that on. I mean, you know what I'm saying? I I mean to think to think how uh great Walmart food services performs uh in such a competitive market uh with those other uh world-class uh grocers. Right. Um I I again I I don't think there's anyone better uh than uh I mean there might be some as good as, but there's there's nobody better.

SPEAKER_03 16:55

That's the first topic I wanted to talk to you about because I found this interesting. Thank you for sharing that. It means a lot. Now you have a company called Peak Tech Labs. Correct. And um so so you're the CEO, senior advisor, broker of that company, correct? Correct. What is Peak Tech Labs?

Internet Boom And Supplier Growth

Recession Shift To Video Conferencing

SPEAKER_01 17:18

Well, uh what I'd like to do if it's okay is just step back before Peak Tech Labs because our story from a technology from a tech provider perspective in Northwest Arkansas is a Walmart story as well. Oh, share that, please. You know? Um, so I did, uh I got Sherry, who's from Bentonville, to move to Memphis with me all through our 20s for 10 years. Hey, and I always say I had to get her out before I could make more money than her, I had to get her out of Memphis. She she was in her 20s in commercial real estate. Again, she came from this Phillips family that was built on entrepreneurs and business. I mean, these kids have been working in the grocery store since they were 14. I mean, they were they were when they were 18, 21, they're they're veterans, you know. Uh but anyway, but we moved back to Memphis in in 1995 with a tech firm uh with our own tech firm because my my background is uh is it's funny because it's uh uh young uh young people uh don't understand there was actually tech firms before the internet. Okay, there really was. You know, we we did tech, you know, before there was even internet. But uh but anyway, that was our situation. But we moved to uh northwest Arkansas. We we were starting our family, uh, and uh we were 30 and we moved from Memphis uh and inside the city limits to uh Bella Vista, Hiawasse. Okay, uh to a house we had never seen before that we were just gonna rent. We sold our house in Memphis in like a day, and here we are. But um anyway, um we were very fortunate, and again, it still comes back to Sherry's family. Uh I had in small business what not many people get in small business. I I had I had entrepreneurs behind me that knew how to help me and coach me on how to make our own tech firm work. Okay. I had their contacts that they had uh here in northwest Arkansas. So I'm I'm moving from Memphis here, cold turkey, with our with hey, with a six-week-old baby and a brand new business. Uh, and and I have the the people that we just talked about. Uh I have them uh whispering in my ear, sending uh uh uh paging me, maybe beeping me, um, you know, telling me, hey, you need to go talk to these people, you need to go talk to these people, that sort of thing. Um, so we started building the business, and the Walmart supplier was a big part of that of building that business, okay? Um, when people say, hey, what do you do? And you I know you've heard this before too. We all hear this in Northwest Arkansas. What do you do in Northwest Arkansas? Do you work for Walmart? We all work for Walmart, okay? Either you work for Walmart directly, you're a supplier of Walmart, or you are you are a supplier of the suppliers of Walmart. Right. That's where I fit in. That's right. That's where our tech firm fits in. So um, you know, I wasn't sure when we moved from Memphis up here at the time, um, how long we would stay. Because I was a city guy. I I mean, you know, um, and and as you know, hey, uh 30 years ago here versus today, there's there's it's there's it's another planet. I mean, there's there's no comparison. Right. But uh anyway, um, but that is when uh again, I just get keep going back to Sherry's family. That is when, you know, they're going, hey, you don't need to go anywhere. I mean, this is this is where you need to be for business. And we're business to business. So so we started that, and again, we started we we were uh soliciting to Walmart suppliers here in Northwest Arkansas. 97, two things happened. Suppliers started converging on Northwest Arkansas, and the internet happened. And when the internet happened, it was you know full full tilt. Uh, I went from uh myself and my wife to hiring two more to hiring four more. Uh uh, you know, I always say the technology that we're involved in is boring until it doesn't work. When it doesn't work, our technology becomes very exciting and very uh mission critical. Uh for example, telecommunications. Uh, you know, these days, I mean it's hardly anybody has a phone on their desk anymore. They're just talking to their computers. That's what we do. Um, uh the Wi-Fi that happens, uh the cloud security that happens, you know, all of the infrastructure IT things uh that happened. Uh and another supplier story uh was the 2008 Great Recession. So here we are, a small mom and pop tech firm uh in 2008, and the bottom drops out of the economy. Uh and uh except for Walmart. Uh yeah, Walmart always excels. Um but uh anyway, uh what happened was uh This is a great technology story. Um, and that is video conferencing happened. I mean, uh, for for the viewers out there, especially the young viewers, it's hard to imagine that a business would pay$10,000 to$50,000 in 2008 to have video conferencing inside their office. But that's what it cost. These days it's free now. You know, it's pretty much free.

SPEAKER_00 22:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:24

Um, but back then it was a it was a big ticket item. And the reason that was important uh is because with all the suppliers who would fly into northwest Arkansas uh for their meetings with Walmart, bottom dropped out of the economy, nobody was flying. I mean, I mean there was there were some major uh financial issues going on in the country. Um, but but that saved us. You know, I I mean there's different technologies that happened. Uh the internet happens, we boom. Um uh video conferencing happens, you know, uh just overnight. I mean, when the recession happened, no one, as we know, no one traveled. They just they had their meetings, you know, yeah, oh online. And that used to cost money.

SPEAKER_02 23:04

Yeah.

Peak Tech Labs And The Comeback

SPEAKER_01 23:04

Um, and uh so anyway, getting to uh Peak Tech Labs uh from 2017 to 2021, it uh uh was a great life experience. I mean, it was a great time. Um, and uh so anyway, from the so 2021, really 2020-2021, uh my wife, uh Sherry and I RV'd across the country. I I mean, for like the first outing was nine months. Uh I mean, we were gone, you know, and uh having the well that was in COVID, of course, and everybody, and I think that's the reason we never got COVID uh is because we were never in a hotel. We were always in our camper, yeah, uh, you know, through those very uh, you know, trying times. Um but uh anyway, but but then uh we started um technology changed, you know. I mean, it it's just it's just amazing. Yeah, and that's why I love it so much. Um because our inner office technology, whereas we used to sell phone systems and an actual phone on a desk, are they still available? Sure. But they used the comp you used the computer for your phone. You used a cell phone for your phone. Uh I mean things have changed, but uh but now we have uh Peak Tech Labs. And uh I really got into after telecom, uh what I started doing is while we were traveling and and no one was meeting face to face, you know, back then. Everybody was zooming or doing teams. Um I uh started selling commodity energy uh down in Texas and Dallas and Houston, and and uh Sherry and I would go there and camp. I mean, we would just stay in RV park, and that's and we started selling that, you know, just to really to to do something, you know, uh just to to to keep going.

SPEAKER_02 24:47

Yeah.

Private AI For Real Businesses

SPEAKER_01 24:47

Um we were in our mid-50s uh and way too young uh to retire. Uh and uh anyway, so we can we continue to do that. But one thing led to another, and uh uh then I started having some contacts and really some peers in the industry calling me up, going, hey man, are are you finished? You know, you finished camping yet, you know? You know, what what when's the end time for this? And I'm going, you know, it's pretty darn close. Yeah. Um so uh anyway, and then the thing that just put an exclamation point on Peak Tech Labs was uh my oldest son David, who has been a uh tech guy from age four or five. Um uh anyway, uh he's uh he started showing interest, you know, in the business, and he's a natural for it. And so I said, hey Dave, why don't you why don't you uh you start working with me part-time? And uh unless you and again, we we we were just casually working. The days and the season of a hundred employee company for us is over. You know, I mean it's it's not gonna happen. We're we're we're gonna use other resources to do our work. We love to design an architect uh um office technical layouts and needs. Uh, but as far as uh network engineers, we we hire a lot of our network engineers, third party to do the workforce. But David uh came in and uh I always say uh he's having some great years. Okay. But what he did is he he pushed uh Sherry and me back into the business full time, uh, you know, because uh his production and and again the need and the want, the the region we're in, um, I mean, it's vast and and it's it's the you know, it's plentiful, you know. Um so uh anyway, we uh have embraced it and um we there are we are in we are in some of the same technologies, but man, we are in a lot of different technologies as we know with AI, you know, retail technology, everything, AI. Uh, I mean, that's one of the, you know, or what's called organizational AI, which means uh private AI, versus you and me just going, okay, how can I write this email better? Just hitting chat GPT and just saying, do it. You know, it's public information, you know. Well, that's that's fine. But for companies, uh large companies, medium-sized companies, really even smaller companies that have critical data like government information or education information grades, um uh diplomas, uh medical, gosh almighty, personal health records, uh, you know, information, those companies need to have private AI or secure AI. When their employees enter that company's information to get better ideas from that AI technology, they don't need it to be broadcasted in the entire world. And you can you focus in that space?

SPEAKER_03 27:39

Oh, yeah. Okay, so that's you focus that.

SPEAKER_00 27:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:41

Okay, that's that's so that space is critical. You're right. And uh and so if companies are in need of that, how do how do they find you? How do they how do they where do they find you at? How does that work? Great. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 27:58

Well, Peak Tech Labs, Facebook, uh, LinkedIn for sure. Yeah, but peaktechlabs.com. Okay. Uh peaktechlabs.com, you can get in touch with us. And that's your specialty now. Well, we we organizational AI is definitely a s a specialty. Okay. And and we anticipate uh based on other uh wave technologies, the internet, video conferencing, hey, voice over internet protocol. I mean, these are all technologies that when they hit uh for vendors like us, uh, we rode that wave for probably two to four years, you you know. Um but yeah, right now organizational AI is happening. It's hey, it's it's like less than a year old. Right. It's yeah, you know, having private AI is is kind of a new thing.

SPEAKER_02 28:48

Yeah.

Cloud Security And Modern Communications

SPEAKER_01 28:48

Um but no, besides that, the other thing that that we uh do, and again, there's not there's so little crime in northwest Arkansas, it's hard to sell cloud security systems for buildings in northwest Arkansas. Uh, but that is happening all over, and that that used to be the facilities uh director's responsibility. That used to be the maintenance director's responsibility. Well, now cloud physical security is the IT department's uh responsibility. You hey, in 2021 wasn't the case. Okay, I mean it changed that quick. But now with the cameras, with the panic buttons, with the access control door, let them in, push the button, you know, uh everything. Uh oh gosh, um, facial risk recognition, license plate recognition. I mean, the the list goes on and on how how advanced that that technology is. So besides organizational AI, that is the other technology that we spend most of our time on right now because it's in a transition. It's going from the old analog days to cloud days. It's going from the old, oh, we're going to keep all of our videos on these servers inside of our office to it's all in the cloud. You know, uh so um that is that's huge. But then besides that, the old uh what we call it's it's phone systems, but it's called UCAS, Unified Communications as a Service. And that's that computer, that's your Teams, that's your Zoom, that's you having your phone extension on your cell phone, you having your phone, your office phone extension on your computer.

SPEAKER_02 30:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:22

I mean, that that that's bread and butter. Uh uh secondary internet connections are bread and butter. You know, those things are are still items that every business has to have. Right. You know, they have to have them. Are you glad to be back? I'm so tickled, I actually too.

SPEAKER_03 30:39

I can't tell.

SPEAKER_01 30:42

Well, it you know, you don't know what you got till it's gone. And don't get me wrong. I I mean, hey, uh 21, 22, 23, 24, Sherry and I were in Key West uh in an RV for two months in January, February.

SPEAKER_02 30:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:57

Uh these are the last uh the last two years are the first times that that we've had 12 inches of snow on the ground. We're at. It's all your fault, Andy. No, no, no. I'm just kidding. But you know what I'm saying? I I mean we we we are now in a we didn't know when that season would end uh of traveling and then last and it's it's ended, you know. Yeah, because because again, we're excited. Yeah, hey, if others had the opportunities that that that we have here, and I'm just gonna put it on the region on Northwest Arkansas, yeah, they'd be working too. Yeah, you know, right.

SPEAKER_03 31:33

I mean, okay, this is a great story from from Food L S and to your transition and now where you are doing. So as we wrap up with our audience, and so if you step back for a moment um and you think about your company today, uh and someone's interested in all your technology that you described, um what are what are if you had to say my company, Peak Labs, this is our vision, our focus, our core values, what what would that be?

SPEAKER_01 32:19

Well, the first thing is there's a few things I I love the core values. I want to talk about the core values before the vision.

SPEAKER_02 32:24

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 32:24

Uh, but the thing is that do your business with honor, do it with integrity, you know, do it with honesty. Uh the thing that the and the thing that we hope is that that's the case, that it always happens. And we also hope that whoever gets the best end of this deal is them. I never want to get the best end of any deal. Uh there's that we're we're okay. Uh we we want the whoever we're dealing with uh to get the best end of whatever transaction we're we're doing. So that's that is the core value, and we do that to the point where not everybody registers with the Better Business Bureau or Dunham Brad Street. We do.

SPEAKER_03 33:02

I I seen that. I've seen that on your uh website that that you highly you you you you broadcast that. Thank you. And that's why I asked you the question. You because when I was reading about your company, I seen that you you displayed that. So that tells that told me that you're a company of integrity.

AI Agents And Competitive Advantage

SPEAKER_01 33:19

I appreciate it. The thing that I just that we would just want the uh other party to know is we're we're an open book. I mean we're transparent, and don't take our word for it. Yeah, uh take let's take some nationally known third party business words for it. But as far as the vision goes, um AI is gonna be mainstream.

SPEAKER_02 33:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:39

Uh the the thing that I also think the vision of AI is that every single business person is gonna have their own assistant with AI, they're gonna have their own agent with AI. They could do that right now. Yeah. Okay. So when people say, gosh, if I could just duplicate myself, how many times have we said before 2025 that? I mean, ever. I mean, every, you know, if if one could just duplicate themselves, well, now with AI and task, especially in in the bit in our business world that we have here, one can duplicate themselves uh with AI and have and have this agent working for them. So I I think that my hope is that America uh capitalizes on that. Uh not that I'm anti-intern, uh, but the thing is I just hope that we capitalize on it before anybody else. Right. You know, I I want uh our mission is to make the companies that we do business with uh the top competitive company because of technology. I mean, for sure, uh if there is a form of technology that can help a business um compete and win uh and be successful, that's what that's what we're in it for. If we go into a business and we see that we can't, we will walk away. I mean, we're we're we're gonna walk away because we want a reference. I mean, we want a reference point. Uh we want someone talking about, oh my gosh, this changed us uh for the better.

SPEAKER_03 35:08

Um Roger, this has been an extremely exciting conversation with you. I appreciate you sharing history with us personally and how and you you your family and how it helped Walmart become what Walmart did and and for the food side and collected together. Thank you for that. Extremely compelling though is the history of your company, your family, you and your wife's companies that you've put together and now where you are today in this space. I I think it's ma I think it's magnificent. And if I listen to you and your enthusiasm and uh your passion that comes out, it's because you live in America you can do this. And there's you know, it's that you can you're you can be the entrepreneur, you can have the idea, you can then be that entrepreneur to where you are today. But it helps, you're helping people, you're helping organizations, and that's powerful. Powerful story.

SPEAKER_01 36:14

Well, I appreciate I'm the luckiest guy in the world. You are too. And I want to thank you for your service for Walmart. Thank you. That the years that you served Walmart, uh wow. I I mean I know I know you're happy. I know I know that that uh yeah, which once in a lifetime. Uh well, actually, it's once in a hundred lifetimes. Yeah, it is. Um it's uh, you know, that you have that opportunity.

Final Thanks And Share Request

SPEAKER_03 36:39

I wake up every day grateful. Amen. And uh because of it. Roger Thomas, what a great conversation. Thank you. Thank you, man. I'm glad we met. I'm glad you're setting across from me today. I'm glad what you did. I wish you to come back sometime, will you? I'd love to. Okay. Let's do it. Let's talk more about your next thing, wherever that is. That sounds great. Awesome. Bring your wife next time. Oh, that would be at one time people would say, Man, she needs to run for mayor. I'm well, yeah, but she does. Anyway, you tell her I said that she can, she's invited, okay? I will. Okay, thank you. What a great day, right? What a great story. What a what a great concept. And Roger, my best for you and your family and for the future. You too. All of you, thank you very much. Again, as I said at the top of the show, thank you, thank you for what you're doing and your viewership and your listening. And uh please continue to share on all your social media platforms about doing business in Bentonville. I'm Andy Wilson. Thank you very much. Goodbye.