We went into Vertical Track 2026, from Garage Door Freedom, with a simple goal: We wanted to spend real time with the Garage Door Freedom community and keep building relationships face to face. 

It was about being present, understanding what these business owners are actually dealing with day to day, so that when a GDF coach brings up Vivaro on a call, business owners already have a clear picture of how we can support their growth and what we stand for. 

Vertical Track is an annual conference hosted by Tommy Mello, founder of A1 Garage Door Service. This year’s event was held at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona, bringing together garage door and home service business owners for sessions on leadership, hiring, AI, marketing, and scaling operations. The 2026 theme was “Build What Outlives You.”

Our first impressions of vertical track 2026 and what makes the GDF community different

From the moment we arrived, it was clear this event is different. With around 150 to 200 attendees and a tight group of vendors, the setting felt personal, and more importantly, it felt honest. Owners were not holding back, openly sharing what is working and what is not for them. One of our clients said it best when he told us these conversations feel like a shortcut in business. 

A big part of that comes from founder of A1 Garage Door Service, founder and CEO Tommy Mello and the culture he has built. There is a real emphasis on sharing knowledge to elevate the entire industry, and you could see it in the way people talked to each other, even at different stages of growth. Most of the owners we spoke with were focused on growth, and while some were trying to get from five hundred thousand to one million, or pushing toward five million and beyond, the mindset was the same: everyone is trying to get better. 

One of the things that makes this community stand out is consistency. Owners are connecting every month, sharing wins and losses, and learning from each other in real time, and that level of trust showed up in every conversation we had. 

Realities and challenges garage door businesses are navigating

Most of our time was spent talking with businesses under five million in revenue. We heard some constant themes, like hiring in the US is expensive and turnover is high, especially for customer service roles. Many have tried AI for call answering and came away frustrated after hearing missed opportunities on recorded calls. After all, growth depends on keeping technicians busy, and that starts with the person answering the phone. If that first interaction is not handled well, the job never gets booked. Others feel stuck because answering the phone is not a full-time role for them, but it is still one of the most important parts of their business (which is more common that one would think) 

That is where our conversations started to click. Tommy talked in his opening about delegating as much as possible and hiring people who want to grow, which is exactly where we fit in. We take on recruiting, HR, payroll, and the backend work so owners can focus on growth. 

Hiring for home services is not like hiring for any other industry

We also spent time reframing what a nearshore employee can do. A lot of owners assume a CSR is just answering phones, but what we explained is that the people we hire in El Salvador often have years of professional experience. They can handle dispatch, administrative work, help with marketing, and support building better processes. This is especially helpful for teams that need coverage across seven days without burning out their staff. 

Still, there are some misconceptions around hiring outsourced support, and the biggest one tends to be around English and education. What we shared is that we recruit at the top end of the market in El Salvador, which attracts serious professionals who view this as a career, most of them coming with university – level.  Combined with how closely aligned the culture is with the U.S., the quality of interaction is much higher than many expect. 

One of the biggest takeaways for us came from observing the top performers in the room. The companies that are scaling the fastest see themselves as technology companies first — they happen to work on garage doors, not the other way around, and they are intentional about systems, hiring, and how they use their time. 

Why we want to be back at Vertical Track next year

We will absolutely be back at Vertical Track. We enjoy working with small and family-run businesses that are serious about growth, and we would recommend this event to any garage door company under ten million that wants to level up. For those in other trades, Home Service Freedom is worth checking out as well. 

If you are curious about Vivaro, the best place to start is by talking to the GDF coaches like John Hartey or connecting with other members already using our teams, or you can reach out to us directly. At the end of the day, this community is built on trust, and we are excited to keep earning that one relationship at a time.