Matt McCoy in Rick’s Room
In this episode of Rick’s Room, Rick speaks with Matt McCoy, a veteran technology entrepreneur, inventor, and President of Lanex. Their conversation explores the changing economics of custom software development, the practical opportunities and risks created by artificial intelligence, and the way McCoy’s lifelong interest in older technology has developed into the creative work of Belights Studio.
McCoy says generative AI has brought fresh energy to an industry that had begun to feel somewhat stale. Prospective customers now use tools such as Claude Code and other AI development platforms to explore ideas and build early versions of products themselves. That does not eliminate the need for experienced developers. Instead, it changes where those developers enter the process.
Transcript Highlights
Rick Grant: Hi, and welcome back to Rick’s Room. I haven’t known today’s guest for very long, but I promise you I will be waiting for him whenever I get the chance. He is an entrepreneur, a business technology executive and an inventor, and he is currently the President of Lanex. Please join me in welcoming Matt McCoy.
Matt McCoy: Thanks for having me, Rick. It’s good to see you. I always enjoy talking with you.
Rick: We met through the local Chamber of Commerce here in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin. I love hearing your take on technology. Tell me a little about Lanex and what the company does.
Matt: We’re a 27-year-old technology company that helps customers drive innovation and value through custom software. These days, a company offering services like ours would be remiss if it did
not mention AI. We do AI design and development work, application and app development, systems integration, software modernization, and website design.
It’s a very creative and innovative group, and our technicians are all local to Wisconsin. We’re seeing a lot of work re-shored these days, which is a nice thing for our industry and certainly for the Wisconsin economy.
People like us because we’re creative and good to talk to when they have a difficult problem. That can manifest itself in many ways. It could be a startup that wants to build a minimum viable product. The founders have had an idea for a while, and they want to see if they can launch it cost-effectively.
We also encounter mature companies that worked with one developer for a long time. Maybe the developer retired or disappeared, and the company needs somebody to come in and take things over quickly. Other times, people have a mission-critical system built on old technology that must be updated for security or another business reason. Perhaps they want to make it available on tablets or other screens in a manufacturing environment. Those are the kinds of conversations we really enjoy having.
I think that creativity, along with the fact that we work on old and retro systems, stems from some of my interests and perhaps my longevity in the technology space.
Rick: This must be one of the most exciting times to be in the business. With the new AI tools, everybody thinks they can code, even though it is much harder than it looks. But AI is prompting people to ask, ‘What if we could do this? What if we had this piece of software or this interface?’ It is probably bringing you many ideas. How is your company dealing with it?
Matt: It is very interesting. Even looking back to 2024, I would say there was a little staleness in the industry. People looked at software and said, ‘Oh, you’re one of those guys.’ It was hard to differentiate yourself.
Now people are using Claude Code and all sorts of AI tools to build their own MVPs. Historically, we may have handled the discovery, design, and engineering. Today, they might be able to put much of that together themselves. But perhaps they get the project 80 percent of the way there and need somebody to productize it. They need it deployed to a server so it can run commercially. They need somebody to finish it and check their work. Those are areas where we are very good.
For us, the AI revolution has brought many new opportunities and efficiencies. Things we have always been good at, such as product configurators and integration work, can now be completed at a greatly reduced cost and on a shorter timeline.
You could have a large project that previously would have cost $100,000. Now, perhaps it is a $30,000 project, but the customer is still getting $100,000 in value from it. It is a very interesting time.
We also encounter situations in which people do not want to use AI. There is considerable discussion about intellectual-property ownership. If somebody is looking for a patent or copyright protection, work created by AI may effectively not be copyrightable. This is not legal advice; everyone should consult an
attorney about their particular circumstances. But it is an interesting challenge.
I recently met with a friend from high school who is a producer, writer, and actress. She said everyone in Hollywood is watching this very carefully because of what happens to rights when AI touches the work.
These AI platforms ingest pieces of data, which may include copyrighted information that can be leveraged in some fashion, yet the output may not be copyrightable. It is a fascinating challenge. There is definitely still a need for traditional coding.
My son Max, who is second in command at Lanex, and I are going to conduct an AI workshop at Lakeland University in September. It is an introduction to AI, and we’ll cover terminology, general
concepts, and some of the pitfalls and risks.
As I prepared for the class, I looked for useful analogies. Perhaps at some point you painted your house, or your parents’ or grandparents’ house, and you had a belt sander. Used properly on the siding, it would do a good job.
But you could also press down the button so it continued running, put it on the ground, and watch it scoot across the driveway. AI is a little like that. If you use it properly, you can direct it and make good use of it. Otherwise, you let it do its thing, and it may go scooting off somewhere else.
Rick: That has been exactly my experience. Having a human backstop to make sure what your vision does not break all your other systems is very valuable. I’m not surprised people are calling on you. I want to ask about your other endeavor because I find it very interesting. Tell us about Belights Studio.
Matt: Thank you. It occurred to me this year that this is actually my 40th year in technology. At the beginning of August 1986, I started my first software development job at a company in Shorewood, Wisconsin. I worked with many kinds of technology that are now considered retro computers, and I’ve always had a place in my heart for them.
In many ways, that interest has flourished into the integration work we do during my day job at Lanex. I also have a passion for retro-computing, classic video arcade machines, and maker space projects.
I have a little art background as well. When I looked at my career, I tried to decide whether I would follow an art path or a technology path. I thought it would probably be easier to make a living in software development than in hardware and artwork, so I went in that direction. It has allowed me to come back around to art.
Now my art may involve making custom lamps with micro-controllers that light LED strips. Restoring video arcade machines is also a lot of fun, and that resonates with people.
Rick: Are you sharing this with younger people? It seems like the kind of thing that would get them excited about science and technology.
Matt: Yes. I love going to career fairs when people are interested. One of the things I find interesting is that when I meet people through networking and talk with them about fixing an old arcade machine, everybody who is older has a story about it. Younger people say, ‘Wow, I had no idea they worked like that.’
The restoration process can be very involved. I completed my first restoration in 2014 and became very active in it during the past few years. To get them running, you have to restore the woodwork and side art, but you also have to repair the boards and electronics at the component level. The work appeals to people differently depending on their interests.
Rick: I love that because it takes me right back to college. I also love it because it is another way to spark the imagination of younger people who may want to enter science and technology. Thank you for doing that.
We’ve been talking with Matt McCoy, President of Lanex, whose passion project is Belights Studio. How can people get in touch with you?
Matt: You can reach me by email at matt.mccoy@lanex.com. Belights Studio currently has a Facebook page, which you can find here: https://www.facebook.com/belightsstudio.
