Oct. 17, 2025

FUTURETECH Featuring GearShare - GearShare's Smarter Cross-Rentals and Affiliate Opportunities

FUTURETECH Featuring GearShare - GearShare's Smarter Cross-Rentals and Affiliate Opportunities
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In this episode, Chris and Lacy dig deep into GearShare’s leap into AI-driven cross-rentals, explore how the new affiliate program benefits industry professionals, and spotlight how smart automation is reshaping gear management and revenue. From subscription rewards to GearSpotting® AI, learn what’s next for the future of live event equipment logistics.

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All right, Lacey, this one's got
me genuinely excited.

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We're talking about gear share,
and honestly, it's wild how far

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the whole rental process has
come.

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So let's go straight in this
gear spotting AI.

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It's not just another search
bar, is it?

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No not at all, which I'll admit
was like super confusing to me

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at first.
I mean every platform claims

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they have AI search, but gear
spotting kind of just gets what

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you want.
You can type in.

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I don't know, I need a massive
line array for say 10,000 people

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at a festival and it just fills
in the blanks for you even if

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you don't have every spec
figured out.

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Exactly, back in the day, OK
dating myself here but a lot of

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us would just call shop after
shop.

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Hey, got any MA 2 lighting
consoles this weekend?

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Then wait, try another vendor
and spend a literal afternoon

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repeating that until something
connected.

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It was a bit of a nightmare,
especially if you were after a

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piece of kit that everyone
wanted.

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Now with gear spotting, you
Chuck in a vague request and it

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sort of reads between the lines,
matches your intent to the

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actual kit, even if your
terminology's fuzzy or you

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forget a crucial spec.
Makes you wonder what we were

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even doing all that time, right?
Seriously, the way it feels,

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it's almost like there's someone
reading your mind on the other

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side, sifting through everything
out there and just cutting the

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whole back and forth out.
Plus the more you use it the

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smarter it gets, which is kind
of freaky but also like yes

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please.
Yeah, and then you've got Gear

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Sync.
I love this bit.

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It basically handles your
listings for you, does all the

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organization, and keeps your
inventory spotless all in the

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background.
You sync your file or inventory

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list and done.
Everything's mapped to their

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master database.
Nothing falls through the

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cracks.
It's important because the

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harder this process is, the
better the chance your team will

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fail to update.
It's so hands off, which I wish

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existed when I was running
around festivals checking if we

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actually had what the company
wanted or if I typed the model

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number wrong.
Having it all fed in, cleaned up

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and like searchable.
My past self is jealous.

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It's genuinely A lifesaver.
I'm still wrapping my head

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around how much this could have
cut down on pointless busy work.

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You sing, can forget, it's all
current.

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Nothing's outdated, nothing's
lost in translation.

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It's all backstage as they put
it, which is spot on.

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Anyway, all This is why I tell
the young techs they've got it

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easy these days, but in the best
way.

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OK, so let's talk about dollars
because this platform isn't just

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about saving headaches, it's
literally about making rental

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companies more money.
And the more these rigs grow,

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the bigger the problem.
Like these, Smarter Cross

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rentals are changing the game
for so many rental houses and

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production companies.
They really are, and I think

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more than ever people are
realizing all that idle gear in

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the warehouse.
It's basically just money

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sitting on a shelf with
gearshare, hooking vendors up

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instantly with people who need
that exact bit of gear.

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You're seeing stuff like PA
companies in North America

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looking at an opportunity to
double their utilization rates

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during what used to be off
months.

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That couldn't happen before, or
not this quickly for sure.

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And it isn't just one country,
right?

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I read a bit where vendors up in
Canada were suddenly getting new

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clients just from the matching
stuff Gearshare does.

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It takes all that who do you
know nonsense out of the

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equation and makes it so much
easier to break in with someone

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new or even just move the gear
you already have.

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That's it.
You don't need some huge network

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or a fancy Rolodex anymore.
The platform just finds the

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match.
All those calls, emails,

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WhatsApp chains, you can skip
them.

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And then you're actually
squeezing more revenue out of

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the same bit of equipment year
round.

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I mean, you know this Laci, you
used to juggle festival

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logistics.
Oh my gosh yes.

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Before trying to coordinate who
had what, especially when things

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got crazy close to Showtime
chaos.

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I remember spending late nights
waiting for callbacks and then

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racing around just to grab stuff
someone's cousin said they might

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have in a garage.
Wish I had something like

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Gearshare honestly.
Now you punch it in, get a

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match, and you're done.
I almost don't trust it because

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it feels too easy, but I also
wish we'd had this 10 years ago.

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And Laci, we haven't even
touched on The Dirty word for

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every rental company of any
size, CapEx, you know the oxygen

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your inventory needs to be able
to service your customers

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growing demands.
It's become almost impossible to

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have enough.
Even the largest companies

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struggle.
Yeah, fortunately I've never

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been on the finance side, but I
have definitely heard no a few

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times.
When someone wanted a specific

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brand, if I couldn't convince
them to use what we had, they

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went somewhere else.
Gearshare basically let's

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companies share inventory like
Airbnb does with houses.

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I am probably oversimplifying
this though, right?

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Ha, don't worry, I get it.
But seriously, platforms like

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this are really changing bottom
lines, not just for the huge

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firms, but for the two guys and
a dream operators too.

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That's sort of the piece a lot
of people miss.

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Technology like this doesn't
just make efficient, it actually

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unlocks revenue and connects you
to gigs you'd never have found

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anyway.
Let's get into the nuts and

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bolts of this affiliate program
being offered.

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This could be a big earner if
you're active in the industry.

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Laci, have you seen how simple
they've made this?

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I did.
It's like you sign up at their

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website, you get your own
discount code and then just

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share it with your network.
If someone saves using your

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code, bam, you get rewarded
either cash or credits depending

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on the plan.
Yeah, and the reward system's

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straightforward, which I
appreciate.

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So for each plan, if you bring
in a new subscriber, you get a

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one time cash bounty, 50 bucks
for basic, 150 for standard, 300

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for premium.
And if you're already a gear

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share customer, larger rewards
come as subscriber credits

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towards your own renewal, which
is handy but quick heads up it's

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only on prepaid annual Subs so
no big cash for month to month

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is sadly.
And remember, you've got to use

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your unique code for them to
track it.

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Plus any public posts or
promotions need the gear share

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stamp of approval first.
Basically, don't blast it

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everywhere without checking
right?

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And they're only counting
qualified referrals, not randoms

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or anything shady.
So bring folks who are genuinely

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in the business.
But I love that the program is

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open to reps, vendors,
engineers, even current gear

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share customers.
Pretty much anyone with a solid

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network in the live events game.
So if you want in, you just

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apply, wait for your discount
link, and then start sharing it

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out.
That's it.

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I mean, it's simple,
transparent, and honestly kind

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of rewarding.
See what I did there?

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I see what you did, and yes,
you're absolutely right.

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So if you're listening and
you've got that contact list

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burning a hole in your phone,
why not give it a go?

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Anyway, that's all for this
week's Future Tech Spotlight,

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Lacey.
Always a pleasure.

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Yeah, Chris, this was a fun one.
See you next time.

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Everybody keep those gigs coming
and we'll catch you on the next

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Geezers of Gear Future Tech.
See ya.

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Goodbye all, take care and we'll
see you soon.

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Want.
The school