Nearly 20 years ago, a client asked Jay Livingood to provide a service he didn’t offer. Livingood was working in sales, selling a high-end reservations system to resorts for golf tee times and spa appointments. A client asked for software to manage their retail inventory.
Livingood couldn’t find a program he liked enough to recommend. “There were systems, but they weren’t very good,” he recalled, deciding that what one client had asked for was probably something a lot of other customers could use, too. Livingood’s response was to found Yellow Dog Software, which sells and supports an inventory management tool that can be integrated with point-of-sale systems. What began with keeping track of polo shirts and luxury beauty products has since expanded to management of concessions at ballparks and football stadiums, and tracking food and beverage sales at restaurants, attractions and resorts.
Yellow Dog’s software tallies the hotdogs and beer sold at more than half of all NFL stadiums, MLB ballparks, and a third of NBA arenas. It’s in use at Dolly Parton’s theme park in Pigeon Forge, TN, and The Plaza Hotel in Manhattan. “You could pick a big city or state and I could rattle off all the clients we have there,” Livingood said. His software is used not only in the U.S. and Canada, but at nine amphitheaters in Mexico. It allows business operators to know what they sold, how much inventory remains, and how much they need to restock.
The company, based in Norfolk, was named for Livingood’s late dog, Sola, who was loyal, obedient, friendly, and had a strong work ethic—the qualities Livingood seeks in his staff. The business has moved twice as it has expanded, leaving the Ghent neighborhood for a location east of downtown near Military Circle. What started as one man with an idea is now a company with 71 employees.
Jay Livingood, Yellow Dog Software
The growth has been organic. Adding food and beverage was a natural reaction to the success of the retail inventory program because so many places with gift shops or pro shops also have bars and restaurants. The food and beverage market is also huge, Livingood said. “We have more competition in those spaces but it’s such a big market, it’s not consequential.”
Another factor driving success is that integrating an inventory management system with a point-of-sale program is not easy. There are hundreds of POS systems, and one venue can have multiple options—scan a QR code, order on a phone, order at a counter. “What we do is hard,” Livingood said. “I don’t see anybody wanting to step into that.” It’s also not the sexiest career option. “Inventory can sound dull,” he admits. “No one is talking about going into inventory when they start out. Fools rush in, they say, and I was that guy.”
That said, he hasn’t had trouble growing his staff. “The best part of Norfolk is the employment base. There are good individuals but not at a premium price. That was good because when I started, I didn’t want to take on debt. If I was in San Francisco or D.C., I would have needed investors. Norfolk’s a great place to start a business.”
Livingood says the ongoing growth of sports and hospitality markets bodes well for what his company does. “The future looks good because people are gravitating to experience-related resorts and those are the venues we’re getting.”
He projects that as the company grows, so will his skills. “It’s one thing to have a company of five, and then get to 20, but now I’m at 70 and it’s a whole different ballgame,” said Livingood, who admits he didn’t have a strategic plan when he started. “You have to map out a plan of the things you need to do.”
