Brad Strawbridge grew Capital City Roofing from zero to $3 million in his first year. Now, in year two, he’s on track to hit $10 million. His secret? It’s not what you’d expect.
Most contractors think AI success requires programming skills and technical expertise. Brad Strawbridge proves otherwise. As a former pastor turned roofing entrepreneur, strategic advisor, and nonprofit founder, Brad has discovered something powerful: the key to winning with AI isn’t technical prowess. It’s human connection, clear values, and servant leadership.
From zero to $3 million: an unexpected journey
Brad Strawbridge isn’t your typical roofer. He’s a serial entrepreneur who happens to own a roofing company. Beyond Capital City Roofing, he serves as strategic advisor to a home services technology company, runs the nonprofit Feeding the Future, partners with his wife in business, and is even running for office.
But what makes Brad’s story remarkable isn’t just the impressive growth numbers. It’s how he’s achieving them.
Building a 318-page website with AI and zero coding skills
Recently, Brad did something that would cost most businesses $100,000: he rebuilt his entire website using AI agents. The result? A robust, beautiful 318-page site created in a remarkably short time with nothing more than “basic communication skills.”
“If I can do it, anybody can do it,” Brad says matter-of-factly.
He experimented with various AI tools like Lovable, Bolt, and Claude before settling on Google’s Anti-Gravity, which integrated seamlessly with his existing Google ecosystem. But here’s the important part: Brad didn’t know how to code. He simply asked the AI questions.
“The first thing I said was, ‘Hey, what is this and how do I use it?’ And it told me,” Brad explains. “Then every step, ‘What is GitHub and how do I use it? How do I get this to be a real website? What is Vercel?’ Literally every single step it told me how to do it.”
Getting started: advice for contractors who feel left behind
For home service business owners who feel overwhelmed by AI, Brad’s advice is refreshingly simple: pick one tool and just start using it.
“The reason people are apprehensive is because they’re afraid,” Brad observes. “Either they’re afraid of it altogether, or they’re afraid that it’s gonna be too complicated. It’s not.”
His recommended starting point? ChatGPT, Gemini, or Microsoft Copilot, whichever fits your existing ecosystem.
The power of repetition
Brad’s approach is practical and accessible. First, tell the AI who you are: “This is who I am, this is what I do, this is what I like, this is what I stand for.” Then ask it to commit that to memory. Finally, use it constantly, even for mundane tasks like grocery lists or menu recommendations at fancy restaurants.
“It’s the repetitions that you’ll finally learn it, and then it’s learning about you,” Brad explains. “Then stuff that you don’t know how to do, you can ask it how to do it.”
The AI becomes a mirror of yourself. If you’re clear about your values and intent, it amplifies them.
AI as a team member, not a replacement
One of Brad’s most important insights challenges the common fear around AI: it’s not about replacement, it’s about multiplication.
“You’re just adding members to your team to make your existing team members more productive,” Brad emphasizes.
He’s right. Brad describes having “as many Brads as I want doing the things that I want it to do.” From building websites to improving business processes to getting suggestions throughout the day, his AI agents work alongside him, not instead of him.
Recently, Brad even got a new wardrobe by simply telling ChatGPT: “I need a new wardrobe. It’s been a while since I got some clothes and I need to look cool. So what do I do?” The AI provided personalized recommendations based on everything it had learned about his preferences.
The real differentiator: community and values
Here’s where Brad’s story takes an interesting turn. Despite running a technology company called Builder Link and leveraging cutting-edge AI, Brad’s success isn’t rooted in technical skills. It’s rooted in relationships.
Brad is deeply involved in multiple communities. He’s active in the NRCA, the National Roofing Contractors Association, and the Roofing Alliance. He runs Feeding the Future, his nonprofit that provides meals and mentorship to children. He participates in industry mastermind groups and peer networks.
Through NRCA, Brad helped develop a roofing curriculum now offered as a minor at 10 universities, including Clemson. This work is changing the perception of the roofing industry and investing in the next generation.
“I don’t have any children yet,” Brad shares. “But what I can do, what I have control over now, is investing in the future now.”
Meeting people where they are
Brad’s philosophy on leadership reveals why he succeeds with AI when others struggle.
“If I am too judgmental or close-minded or too big of an ego or my way’s best, those crippling mindsets are so limiting, not just for other people, but to yourself. Being an entrepreneur, if you have those types of mindsets, it’s lonely.”
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
“You can still have influence, you can still have power, you can still be successful, and still be kind and still help people out. Still be a decent human being. They’re not mutually exclusive.”
This mindset, being “one of the good guys,” attracts like-minded people and creates a network effect. Brad actively seeks out others who share his values, whether that’s fellow roofing contractors, technology innovators, or mentors like Omar Ali, a Black Muslim entrepreneur in Atlanta.
“Omar is a Muslim, I’m a Christian, but we both believe in something bigger than ourselves,” Brad explains. “It has nothing to do with the color of our skin or what religion we are. It’s about our values. It’s about being a decent human being and trying to help others.”
Why leadership skills matter more than programming skills
Here’s the key insight that many people miss about AI: your ability to succeed with AI depends on your leadership abilities, not your technical skills.
Think about it: AI agents are essentially team members that do according to your will and your standard operating procedures. If you’ve ever been a team captain, managed a crew, run a P&L with employees, or led a scout troop, you already have the fundamental skills needed to orchestrate AI agents effectively.
The AI can write all the code. What it can’t do is build relationships, establish trust, broadcast your values, or attract the right connections. That’s your job as a leader.
Synchronicity and the law of attraction
Brad doesn’t believe in coincidences. He believes in synchronicities.
“What will happen will happen in due time, how it’s supposed to happen,” he says. “We just have to be receptive to noticing when it happens that way.”
When you’re clear about your intent and values, and when AI understands those values through consistent use, it begins to function as “a secondary processing brain to bring those connections into your life.”
Brad experiences this regularly: thinking about someone and then receiving a text from them, or running into exactly the person he needs to meet at exactly the right time.
“If we pick our head up and pay attention, it happens all the time.”
Don’t be afraid to reach out
Brad’s mentor relationship started when he saw someone on Instagram who shared his values. He reached out, and now they’re friends.
“Don’t be afraid to take a shot,” Brad encourages. “The percentage of people who are truly interested in the things that you’re interested in is small. So when you can find those people, those relationships just start to multiply.”
Finding energy to run at full speed
When asked how he maintains his relentless pace, Brad’s answer is direct: “God. It’s God. For me, it’s God.”
He acknowledges that others’ faith may look different than his, and that’s okay. The crucial point: “If what you’re doing isn’t, if you don’t get your strength from a higher power, there’s nothing else you’re gonna get it from.”
Living your legacy today
Brad challenges entrepreneurs to think about their funeral today: “If you were to die today, what would be that message? What would that look like?”
When asked what people would say about him in 10 years, Brad’s answer reveals his core values: “That he was quiet, but he was kind. He was always there and he tried to give me an opportunity.”
The paradox: technology companies built on humanity
Here’s the irony: Brad runs a technology company, Builder Link, and you could argue Capital City Roofing is effectively a technology licensing company. Yet the way he’s winning with AI is by injecting his humanity and values. The technology simply amplifies them.
There is nothing technical or programmatic or code-driven about his approach. If you’re a contractor, if you’re a young entrepreneur and you want to win and you find this whole thing scary, look at what Brad is doing.
Brad Strawbridge’s journey from $0 to $10 million isn’t primarily a story about technology. It’s a story about values, community, and servant leadership. The AI tools are simply force multipliers for someone who already knows who he is and what he stands for.
If you’re a contractor worried that you’re not technical enough to succeed in an AI-driven world, Brad’s message is clear: your leadership skills, your values, and your ability to build genuine relationships are far more important than your coding abilities.
The question isn’t whether you can learn to code. The question is: Do you know who you are? What do you stand for? And are you building relationships with other good people who can get there together?
Answer those questions first. The AI will handle the rest.
Stories like Capital City Roofing’s are exactly why Roofing Launch exists — a vertical marketing agency built exclusively for roofing companies, led by CEO Ethan Van De Hey and CTO Dennis Yu. If your roofing company is ready to dominate Google Maps in your market, start with a free Maps audit.
This article connects to BlitzMetrics processes including SEO audit, Digital Plumbing, SEO Tree. Each of these concepts has a definitive article that explains the full framework.
Dennis Yu
Dennis Yu is the CEO of Local Service Spotlight, a platform that amplifies the reputations of contractors and local service businesses using the Content Factory process. He is a former search engine engineer who has spent a billion dollars on Google and Facebook ads for Nike, Quiznos, Ashley Furniture, Red Bull, State Farm, and other brands.
Dennis has achieved 25% of his goal of creating a million digital marketing jobs by partnering with universities, professional organizations, and agencies. Through Local Service Spotlight, he teaches the Dollar a Day strategy and Content Factory training to help local service businesses enhance their existing local reputation and make the phone ring.
Dennis coaches young adult agency owners serving plumbers, AC technicians, landscapers, roofers, electricians, and believes there should be a standard in measuring local marketing efforts, much like doctors and plumbers must be certified.