Small Booth. Big Reactions. Our First AM Live With Ombox

Two founders (+friends), a quick 3AM rebrand, and a booth that held its own among enterprise giants.

We turned up to AM Live with the most basic setup you can imagine. It was just the founders, a few suitcases of materials we had pulled together in a rush, and Harry Warne from hdwconsulting.co.uk helping us get everything in place. We were surrounded by enterprise stands that had clearly spent serious money on design, rigging, lighting, and staff. One look around and you could tell who came prepared with an exhibition agency and who arrived with a handful of printed assets and a lot of hope. In our booth, stack of electrical equipment was sitting right in the middle of it. Not small equipment either. Proper industrial gear. Someone had also used our space as a storage spot, so there were boxes from other companies stacked around the edges. It was not the ideal start for our first industry event.

That contrast and the first challenge should have been intimidating, but it had the opposite effect. Once we put up the rebranded Ombox banners, set out the cards, and tested the number, the stand actually looked great. Not perfect, not polished, but honest. You could feel the founder energy immediately.

Here are a few photos from the morning after our setup

The real surprise was how people reacted once the doors opened the next day. We kept things very simple. Anyone who walked past was invited to call the Ombox demo number. This was the moment that kept repeating throughout the day. Someone would dial, listen for a few seconds, then look up with the same expression. A mix of curiosity, surprise, and relief that the product actually did what we said it did.

One person said, “I have tried every AI thing here today, and this is the only one that feels real and not over engineered.” Another said, “This solves the exact problem we face every morning when phones start ringing at once.” We heard a lot of stories about missed calls, lost leads, and the painful experience of buying tools that promised miracles but created more work.

A few themes stood out.

Dealers are tired of complexity
Many people had walked through all the large AI stands before reaching us. A common line was that everything looked heavy and enterprise grade. Once they tried Ombox, the simplicity stood out. One clear purpose. One clear value. Answer every call quickly and follow up without fuss.

Live reactions matter
Showing the product in person was far more powerful than any pitch deck or website. Watching someone call the number and instantly understand what Ombox does was a turning point for us. It told us our product is already hitting the right nerve in the market.

Scrappiness is a strength
Several people commented on the fact that we were just founders at the stand. It made the conversations more direct and honest. We walked people through every decision we have made in the product. We explained the rough edges and what is shipping next. That transparency built more trust than any polished stand could have done.

We left the event with strong leads, dealership trials, and a much sharper sense of the real problems people want solved. But more than that, we left with something simple and important. Validation that Ombox has momentum and that the market wants a focused product, not a giant platform pitch.

This was our first time showing Ombox in person. It already feels like a defining moment in the journey. We are still scrappy. We are still building fast. But seeing how people reacted gave us confidence that we are building something that dealers will rely on every day.

If you want to try the same demo that caught everyone by surprise, here is the number:
+44 113 519 7877

More updates coming soon as we turn all these conversations into product improvements.