It started because I wanted to get him more high-paying cash calls. He was relying on motor clubs—dealing with low pay, unpredictable volume, and endless headaches. So, I did what I do best: I put on my marketing hat, dug into the industry, and built a strategy to get his phone ringing.
But you can't truly understand this business from behind a desk. Along the way, my dad taught me how to operate a rollback flatbed. The more time I spent out there, the more I realized just how punishing a single day on the road can be.
From the Tech Office to the Roadside
For most of my career, I worked in climate-controlled offices, sitting behind a monitor with the AC on full blast, enjoying fancy tech-company perks, snack bars, and ping-pong tables.
The reality for a solo tow operator couldn't be further from that.
Solo guys are under constant, relentless stress. Phones ring while you're trying to hook up a car. Customers demand exact ETAs while you're trapped in a dangerous spot on the shoulder of a highway, risking your life to help a stranger. You're forced to balance extreme precision—knowing a single mistake can lead to disaster—with top-tier customer service. On top of that, you're dealing with the business stress, like going to war every year with insurance companies over skyrocketing, unsustainable rates.
It is not a cushy life.
The Problem with the “Mobile Office”
For a solo operator, your truck is your office. And I quickly realized that one of the most tedious, frustrating parts of managing cash calls is typing job details into a phone while you're trying to work.
One day, standing by the bed, it hit me: How much safer and easier would it be if I could just log jobs using my voice? Every year, tow operators are injured or killed because motorists ignore “Move Over” laws. Anyone with family in this industry knows the terrifying anxiety of wondering if their loved one is going to make it home at the end of the shift. The golden rule of roadside survival is simple:
“Keep your eyes on incoming traffic and never turn your back on it.”
But you can't do that if you're staring down at a screen, trying to type out an address or customer name.
I knew there had to be a better way to handle the admin work without taking your eyes off the road.
Built for the “Small Guy”
That is why I built TowSpark.
I watched AI transform tech and corporate offices, and I refused to let the solo owner-operators—the hard-working guys like my dad—get left behind.
TowSpark lets you dispatch, log job details, and send professional receipts on the go using just your voice. It slashes the administrative burden, lowers the day-to-day stress, and gives you your situational awareness back when you're on a dangerous shoulder.
This profession demands an incredible amount of physical and mental effort. But tow truck drivers aren't robots. You have families to take care of, birthdays to attend, and lives to live outside of the truck.
I built TowSpark to make the everyday operator's life just a little bit easier, safer, and more profitable. I hope it does exactly that for you.
Stay safe out there,
Brent
Founder & CEO, TowSpark