Mining Gold in the Data

Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping how businesses operate, and the aftermarket is no exception. As co-founder and CEO of Tromml, Lauren McCullough has found a way to help companies harness the power of AI.

From identifying opportunities hidden in customer data to developing tools that support frontline sales teams, McCullough believes AI can help aftermarket businesses work smarter and strengthen customer relationships.

Her journey in the aftermarket illustrates both the industry's growing appetite for technology and the opportunities AI presents for those willing to embrace change.

McCullough's Start

McCullough started her career working in software startups and helping entrepreneurs find their footing. While consulting, she crossed paths with the automotive aftermarket and discovered a glaring gap in the industry.

“I think people sometimes think the aftermarket can be a bit of an afterthought when it comes to building software,” McCullough said. “At Tromml, we identified this and wanted to make sure that this industry was on the cutting edge.”

That realization became the foundation for a bigger mission.

“My colleague and co-founder, Harry Park, looked deeper into it and saw a lot of—particularly on the aftermarket e-commerce side—distributors and retailers with loads of data and information, but not able to utilize or summarize it when they needed it most,” McCullough said. “We believed that an industry that, at its core, enables commerce deserved to have powerful technology.”

Once this gap was spotted, McCullough used her knowledge and expertise in software startups to create an AI (Artificial Intelligence) platform called Tromml.

From Insight to Innovation

Founded in 2023, Tromml has helped aftermarket companies turn complex sales data into clear insights that drive growth and efficiency.

“A trommel is actually a piece of equipment in gold mining used to help separate the dirt from little gold nuggets,” McCullough said. “We always like to come back to that analogy. because that is exactly what our platform was made to do. We designed Tromml to help folks find those gold nuggets in their data.”  

In 2024, McCullough and Park won the MEMA Aftermarket Startup Challenge. Additionally, McCullough won the WiAC Women of Excellence award, and Tromml was labeled a “startup to watch” by GrepBeat, a media nonprofit that covers North Carolina startups and founders.

Since then, McCullough has continued to pave the way for Tromml by continuing to adapt and change its interface.

Adapting to What’s Next

As AI continues to move from a buzzword to a real-world application, its most immediate impact will be on the front lines in the aftermarket.

“It’s going to change the way people work,” McCullough said. “We have a lot of data, a lot of manual processes that bog down teams. The biggest change is going to happen to the sales reps—whether they're in the field or behind a computer—the drivers and counter folk. Anyone who's got that customer interaction.”

To respond to this belief, Tromml expanded its platform in 2025 to provide its customers with an AI-Powered tool called Minecart.

“Minecart is a tool specifically for sales reps,” McCullough said. “It is designed to make it easier to capture conversations that are happening in the field, help prep for meetings, and also ensure managers can really get visibility into what's happening with the folks on the ground.”

In simpler terms, Minecart is an app that sales reps can get on their phone. This app allows reps to record conversations and assists in taking notes, observations, and follow-ups in the field.

“This tool helps sales reps identify what accounts need attention,” McCullough said. “We also made this tool to help them use AI to serve up key talking points, so they can walk into meetings prepared. We also use voice transcription to capture more thorough conversations for those reps. That way, they can then come back in the next meeting more prepared.”

To simplify things even more for sales reps, Minecart is connected to a managerial online service called Headframe. Headframe gives managers visibility into what’s happening out in the field. This, in turn, helps the company share knowledge more easily and efficiently.

“We really like to make sure that our customers can better serve their customers by spending more time building relationships and less time on admin,” McCullough said.

As exemplified by Minecart, AI has the capabilities to help simplify processes and make them more efficient.

Where AI Makes Impact

As exemplified by Tromml, AI isn’t a platform that should be feared. It can serve as a powerful support system for the aftermarket if the industry can open itself up to it.

“Today, a lot of the processes for frontline workers are manual and very cumbersome,” McCullough said. “They require a lot of administrative work—and because of that, a lot slips through the cracks. AI agents can prevent that kind of thing. Ten years from now, a lot of folks on the front line are going to have their own AI personal assistant so that they can focus on higher-value work.”

If jumping all in at once with AI is too much, McCullough encourages people to take little steps and adjust slowly.

“Take little risks,” McCullough said. “Find out how AI can help you make a more effective workforce. For leadership, they must be able to communicate to their team that this technology is here to improve workflow and not to take everyone's job, which I think is part of the fear of resistance. I think that there are a lot of leadership teams that need to step into that educational role and show people what this can do some good.”