(This is part of a regular series of technical advisor CEO Spotlights, where leading TAs share their secrets for success and goals for the future).
“We’re in the AI era now, and the rules have changed. Not everyone is going to make it through this transition,” says Kyle Burt, founder of technology advisor (TA) Catch Advisors.
Burt’s strategy for making it through the AI transition is to build with it. He used AI to build an executive assistant, an IT management portal, and the AdvisorOS operating system to help advisors win with AI. He says the use of AI allows him to “punch well above my weight class” as an advisor.
“The advisors who survive will be the ones who adopt aggressively and build, not the ones who wait and see,” he said. “I'm not waiting.”
Burt started Catch Solutions in 2015 as a marketing company and rebranded as AI-focused Catch Advisors in 2023. Catch Advisors is still a one-person company backed by AI, and Burt was among the inaugural class of TA Thought Leaders honored at the 2026 Channel Partners Conference in April.
We caught up with Burt for his takes on the current TA landscape, why relationships matter but aren’t always enough, how achieving true vendor neutrality is “uncomfortable” and other topics.
What inspired you to start Catch Advisors, and what is your company's mission?
Burt: The advisor model was always the right idea … vendor-neutral guidance, honest recommendations, real outcomes. I just wanted to actually live up to that promise. I built Catch Advisors around radical transparency. We're upfront about how we get paid, we match clients to the right technology for their situation, and we measure success by what happens after the deal closes. That's it.
How big is your company, and who are your main technology partners?
Burt: We’re intentionally lean. I operate as a one-person advisory practice backed by automation and AI that lets me punch well above my weight class. Staying small keeps me close to the work and accountable to every client outcome. On the technology side, our key partners include Dialpad, RingCentral, and Cato Networks. We work across UCaaS, cybersecurity, cloud, and connectivity depending on what each client actually needs.
What are the biggest opportunities and challenges in the industry over the next five years?
Burt: The opportunity is, AI is making it possible to deliver enterprise-grade advisory at a fraction of the cost. Smaller companies can finally access strategic technology guidance that used to require a massive IT budget. The challenge is credibility. The channel is flooded with people calling themselves advisors who are functionally commissioned salespeople. Buyers are getting smarter. The advisors who survive the next five years will be practitioners first.
Catch Advisors founder Kyle Burt
How is your company using AI to stay ahead of the curve?
Burt: I don't just advise on AI. I build with it. I deployed my own AI executive assistant that runs on my infrastructure and handles a real portion of my operations. I built the Apex portal, a free IT spend management tool for IT leaders with AI-powered document extraction. And I built AdvisorOS, which I'm using to help other advisors compete and win in the AI era.
Most advisors in this space came up through the telecom era, the cloud era, or the SaaS era. So did I. But we're in the AI era now, and the rules have changed. Not everyone is going to make it through this transition. The advisors who survive will be the ones who adopt aggressively and build, not the ones who wait and see. I'm not waiting.
What do most people misunderstand about building a sustainable business in the advisor channel?
Burt: They think it's about relationships. Relationships matter, but advisors who built their business on relationships alone are watching those relationships age out. Sustainable means systems. Repeatable pipeline. Consistent frameworks. The discipline to say no when you can't add real value. The other misconception: vendor-neutrality is a marketing claim. Real neutrality is uncomfortable. It means walking away from commission because the product isn't the right fit. Most advisors won't do that. The ones who will build something clients actually trust.
Where do TAs risk losing credibility with buyers today?
Burt: Leading with the vendor. The moment a buyer feels like you already know what you're recommending before you've understood their problem, you've lost them. The other credibility killer is surface-level AI fluency. Everyone is talking about AI. Buyers can tell the difference between someone who has actually deployed it versus someone who repackaged a few articles. Show your work or don't show up.
What incentives in the channel are misaligned with customer outcomes today?
Burt: Commission structures that reward deal size over deal fit. When an advisor earns more for recommending a more expensive platform, there's a built-in conflict even if they're trying to do right by the client. The advisors serious about alignment are building around transparency. They’re publishing how they get paid, showing the full vendor landscape, letting the client into the comparison process. It's slower to close. It's what actually builds a reputation.
If you were starting today, what would you do differently and what would you do exactly the same?
Burt: What I’d do differently is build the AI infrastructure first … the automation stack, the voice agents, the workflow tooling. I built those while running the business, which meant building them slower than I wanted. Starting with that foundation would have changed everything. What I’d do the same is the radical transparency positioning. Every instinct in the channel tells you to look like the big guys, obscure your commissions, sell the sizzle. Going the opposite direction felt risky in year one. It's the thing that's actually set us apart.