AI, Distilled: Phil Brandon on Building the Software That Runs Rock Town
On October 21, more than 100 people filled Skyline Event Venue, 30 floors above downtown Little Rock, for AI, Distilled. More than 200 registered. The draw was Phil Brandon, founder of Rock Town Distillery, and an idea he put on the screen early: “I don’t ‘write code.’ I spent my career managing the people who do.”
AI, Distilled: Phil Brandon on Building the Software That Runs Rock Town
Software he owns
Phil walked the room through what he has built with AI for Rock Town. The first piece is an ERP system that replaced the distillery’s SaaS system of record. For a federally regulated distillery, that means tracking spirit in proof gallons from the still to the loading dock and producing the federal reports that come with it.
The second is a pair of native iOS and Android apps powered by the website Rock Town already had. Nearly 400 original cocktail recipes that used to sit quietly on the site now live in customers’ pockets, along with a store finder that helps answer “where do I buy it?”
The third is a private AI agent that runs locally on a Mac Studio and that he can reach from his phone.
Live demos, and it all worked
Phil did not just show slides. He ran multiple live demos, including sharing his iPhone screen in the middle of one. Anyone who has tried a live demo knows how much can go wrong. It all worked.
The bigger lesson was about who gets to build. Phil has spent his career running a business and managing the people who write code. With AI, he built software his business depends on every day.
Thank you
Thank you to Phil Brandon for an unforgettable presentation, and to Rock Town Distillery. Thank you to our presenting sponsors, Arkana Laboratories, Matmon, and UA Little Rock, and to Skyline Event Venue for a room with a view. Most of all, thank you to everyone who came. Bringing Little Rock’s AI community together is the whole point, and you made it happen.
This recap is based on Phil’s presentation materials and photos from the event. It is not a transcript.
Next: Local AI Showcase
On Wednesday, November 18, join us at UA–Pulaski Technical College’s Grand Hall from 5:30 to 7:30 PM Central for the Local AI Showcase, an evening of locally built AI projects and practical applications. Registration is free. See the event details.
