Modernizing Public Service Queues, Accidental SaaS & AI Service Operations - Shannon Vander Meulen | Ep 382

Ezekiel Iferia sitsdown with accidental tech founder, entrepreneur, and CMO of WaitWell, ShannonVander Meulen, to discuss transforming high-volume public service environments,eliminating physical waiting lines, and scaling enterprise service operationsacross North America.

Starting as the ownerof a bustling government registry office in Calgary, Alberta, Shannon faced anoperational crisis when the post-lockdown summer of 2020 triggered massiveline-ups, customer walkouts, and staff turnover. Partnering with her husbandSteve Vander Meulen and tech veteran Steve Drew, she built WaitWell to solveher own operational bottlenecks. Today, WaitWell has served over 8 millionpeople across Canada and the United States, raised $1.5M+ in seed funding, and transformedlarge enterprise jurisdictions like the Nevada DMV—collapsing appointmentbacklogs from months into days.

In this episode, you’lldiscover:

Connect with Shannon VanderMeulen & WaitWell:

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Chapter Timestamps

00:00 Welcome ShannonVander Meulen: Co-Founder & CMO of WaitWell

01:44 Summer 2020: TheRegistry Office Breaking Point in Calgary

04:21 Designing theFirst Prototype: Mobile Tracking & The Two-Stage Queue

06:51 Software ShouldFit the Workflow: Rejecting Rigid Competitor Tools

07:20 The OrganicNetwork Effect: Growing to 20 Customers Without a Website

09:03 Leveling UpCompliance: Winning Universities and the Nevada DMV Contract

10:23 Navigating SeedFunding: What Investors Expect Around Strategic Exits

11:58 "Eat theFrog": Tackling Difficult Projects Early in the Day

14:18 Moving BeyondLine-Ups: From SMS/QR Codes to Natural Language Service Ops

18:13 Time Auditingfor Founders: Managing 168 Hours Across Family and SaaS Growth

20:00 The Future ofWaiting: Conversational AI and Frictionless Public Encounters

22:03 What Does TrueInnovation Mean to You? (Solving Concrete Daily Problems)

24:47 Connect withWaitWell at WaitWellSoftware.com and on LinkedIn