‘Lightbulb moments’ | The Operations Guide is maximizing start-up efficiencies
The Thompson brothers’ Johnson City Operation Guide helps companies cut complexity and adopt smarter, faster systems.
2024 was a big year for the Thompson brothers.
It was the year they went “all in” on launching an operational optimization business designed to help companies of all sizes integrate AI, smart systems, and minimal processes that make day-to-day work easier.
The two brothers grew up in the Tri-Cities eight years apart, and by most measures, their early career paths couldn’t have been more different.
Ben Thompson worked for a biotechnology company that launched at the East Tennessee State University (ETSU) Innovation Lab, later serving in leadership for a high-tech business incubator program in Virginia. His younger brother, Luke Thompson, started his career with a Tri-Cities start-up producing visual effects for movies.
A decade later, the brothers realized that their start-up experiences bonded them. They also both realized the importance of having optimized operations.
“I sold my equity in the company I was working for,” Luke said. “And Ben and I decided to go ahead with launching the Operations Guide, which is our business automation agency.”
“Things just kind of aligned at the perfect time. We were both like, Hey, why don’t we combine our efforts and start something together that can really leverage both of our backgrounds to help businesses be successful with AI and all the new technologies that are out there to improve their operations,” Ben said.
The business officially opened in October 2024.
Creating an ‘Operations Blueprint’
At the core of the Operations Guide’s offerings is what the brothers call an “operations blueprint,” a foundational assessment that begins with deep discovery. They ask business leaders about bottlenecks, long-term plans, current pain points, and the systems they rely on.
“We will ask them questions like: Where is your company going? Where do you want it to go? Goals? Vision? Some people have OKRs. Some people don’t. Every business runs completely differently,” Luke said.
The final blueprint delivers a snapshot of business health, market research, competitive analysis, and a clear set of differentiators. It concludes with a “Top 10 Recommendations” outlining the most important steps to take over the next 90 days, plus a longer-term checklist for the years ahead.
Some recommendations involve implementing AI or technology tools that shave hours off repetitive tasks. Others identify systems that are unnecessary or expensive without delivering results.
“That’s the exciting thing about I think the operational blueprint is the ‘light bulb moment’ with our clients, when they start to see how all of this stuff adds up and makes their life more complicated,” Ben said.
The brothers also offer a free tool on their website that assigns a letter grade to a business’s operations based on 10 quick questions.
“Right away, they get actionable insights and information that they can use from the very beginning, totally free of charge,” Ben said.
Luke noted that operations often fall to the bottom of a founder’s priority list.
“Operations are so neglected because people often think that they first need marketing. Or, they need HR resources for hiring. They need financial advice for fundraising. But, if we look at things from a very holistic perspective, operations is the invisible background, the core backbone that runs all of your company effectively,” he said.
He added that founders sometimes fixate on things like SEO or marketing when their real challenge is sales. He also said that across industries, one of the most common issues is simply “overcomplicating solutions.”
“People think that they have a problem and need another tool to solve it,” Luke said. “But, sometimes the solution is to step back and realize that they actually don’t need this process because it does not serve the business the way they think it does.”
Building from a Tri-Cities Base
The Thompson brothers haven’t wasted any time plugging into entrepreneurial networks across Tennessee. Recently, they provided free services to the “Crowd Favorite” start-up at The Pitch during the Startup Mountain Summit in Johnson City. They also awarded $5,000 in services to Spikey for winning the “Audience Choice Award” at this year’s 3686 Pitch Contest in Nashville.
But, for the brothers, there’s no place like home.
“There’s just this entrepreneurial spirit in our region that I think has existed for a really long time,” Ben said. “It’s been so great to see all the connections and resources that have been made available in our region because – you know, the saying – a rising tide raises all boats.”
Learn more about the Operations Guide.
Learn more about the Free Operations Grade.
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