Skip to main content
Our Story

About BrightLaunchIQ: Our Mission & Team

BrightLaunchIQ wasn't born in a Silicon Valley incubator. It was born in a screen-printing shop and a digital marketing agency — two businesses where every missed call meant lost revenue. We built the AI receptionist we wished we'd had years ago.

Why We Started

We Know What a Missed Call Costs

Between us, we have over 30 years of experience running local businesses. Tony spent years helping small companies build their brands through digital marketing at Shine Brand Studios. Scott has run Creative Impressions, a Sacramento screen-printing company, for over two decades. We both learned the same hard lesson: it doesn't matter how good your marketing is if nobody picks up the phone.

When Scott started experimenting with AI and large language models, the lightbulb went on. What if a small business could have an AI-powered receptionist that answers every call, qualifies every lead, and books appointments — without hiring another employee? That question became BrightLaunchIQ.

We're not a faceless tech company. We're two guys who have stood behind counters, answered our own phones, and lost sleep over missed opportunities. BrightLaunchIQ is the tool we built for ourselves — and now we're sharing it with every local business that needs it.

The Numbers That Matter

30+

Years of Business Ownership

Combined experience running local businesses

24/7

Always-On Coverage

Your AI receptionist never takes a day off

We price BrightLaunchIQ for the businesses we know — not enterprise budgets. Our AI Receptionist starts at $497/month, a fraction of what a part-time hire costs.

Our Approach

AI That Works Because Humans Set It Up Right

We Train It On Your Business

Your AI receptionist learns your services, your FAQs, your scheduling rules, and your tone of voice. It represents your business, not a generic script.

Real People Oversee Everything

We review call logs, refine scripts, and adjust routing rules. The AI handles volume; our team handles quality.

You See Measurable Results

Fewer missed calls. More booked appointments. Clear reporting so you know exactly what your AI receptionist is doing for your business.

What We Believe

Our Core Values

These aren't corporate slogans. They're the principles we apply to our own businesses every day.

Built by Business Owners, for Business Owners

We didn't build BrightLaunchIQ in a lab. We built it because we needed it. Every feature solves a problem we've faced ourselves.

Human Oversight, Always

AI handles the calls. Humans set the rules. You stay in control of how your business is represented to every caller.

Local First

We serve the contractors, dentists, lawyers, and shop owners who are the backbone of their communities. Big-company tools, small-business values.

Honest Results

We don't make promises we can't back up. If something isn't working, we'll tell you — and fix it. Transparency is non-negotiable.

Meet The Founders

The People Behind BrightLaunchIQ

We're not AI researchers in a lab. We're business owners who use this technology every day to solve real problems.

TY

Tony Yorba

CEO & Co-Founder

Tony brings over a decade of hands-on digital marketing and brand strategy experience to BrightLaunchIQ. As the former president of Shine Brand Studios, he helped local businesses build their online presence from the ground up. When he saw how many of his clients were losing leads to missed calls and slow follow-ups, he knew AI could close that gap — and co-founded BrightLaunchIQ to make it happen.

Connect on LinkedIn
SM

Scott McKinnon

CIO & Co-Founder

Scott has owned and operated Creative Impressions, a Sacramento screen-printing business, for over 20 years. He knows firsthand what it means to miss a call while you're on the production floor. Over the past year, Scott has dedicated thousands of hours to studying AI, large language models, and agentic workflows — turning that knowledge into practical tools that help small business owners like himself capture every opportunity.

Connect on LinkedIn
Our Journey

From Idea to Impact

2024

Tony and Scott founded BrightLaunchIQ after seeing local businesses lose revenue to missed calls and slow lead follow-up.

2025

Launched the AI Receptionist product and began serving service businesses across California and the western United States.

2026

Expanding AI receptionist capabilities with deeper CRM integrations, multi-location support, and industry-specific voice agents.

Where We Work

Based in Sacramento. Serving Businesses Nationwide.

BrightLaunchIQ is headquartered in Sacramento, California. Our AI receptionist technology works for any service business in the United States — no matter where your customers are calling from.

Sacramento, CA
Get in TouchCall Us: 1-877-879-5552
Our Commitment to Security

Your Data. Your Business. Our Promise.

We take data security seriously because our own businesses depend on it too.

AES-256 Encryption

All data is encrypted in transit and at rest using industry-standard AES-256 encryption.

Zero-Training Policy

Your business data is never used to train AI models. Your data stays yours.

GDPR & CCPA Aligned

Our data handling practices are designed to align with GDPR and CCPA privacy regulations.

SOC 2 Infrastructure

Our enterprise AI infrastructure providers maintain SOC 2 Type II compliance.

Human Oversight

Every AI system is supervised. You always have real-time override and control.

Transparent Operations

We publish our security practices openly. Visit our Trust & Security page for details.

Learn More About Our Security

Ready to Stop Missing Calls?

Talk to us about how an AI receptionist can work for your business. No pressure, no jargon — just a straightforward conversation with people who get it.

Get My Free AI ScoreSchedule a Call

Built on Trusted, Secure Infrastructure

AES-256 Encrypted
Zero-Training Policy
SOC 2 Infrastructure
GDPR & CCPA Ready
Learn more about our security practices →