Today we’d like to introduce you to Abby Leibowitz.
Hi Abby, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I spent the last 20+ years in telecom and contact centers, taking Call Experts from a regional call-handling business to an international operator that blends people and technology to make customer experiences actually work. Along the way I launched tech ventures like Abridged Solutions to push AI and automation into real-world workflows, not just buzzwords.
Lately, I’ve been applying that same playbook to hospitality. Co-founding a restaurant showed me the gaps: chaotic guest communication, staffing pressure, missed opportunities. That led to Noodl — an AI restaurant host that automates phone orders, reservations, guest messaging, and operational flows so teams can focus on service, not firefighting.
So the arc of my story is simple: systems + people + service, from telecom into hospitality, with AI as the glue that scales it without losing the human edge.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Not at all. Growing the same company over 20+ years means navigating constant change. We’ve been through economic downturns, rapid growth, staffing shifts, major client wins and losses, cyberattacks, hostile negotiations, and then COVID, which forced us to rethink everything almost overnight. In 2024, I dealt with the loss of my co-owner and father in a sudden plane crash. It was the honor of a lifetime to work with him and now I have made it my responsibility to continue his legacy through continued innovation and taking care of our team. He would love our new AI Agent technology.
Each challenge pushed the business to evolve — how we staffed, how we used technology, and how we operated at scale. Those experiences are exactly what led me to focus on automation and AI as tools for resilience, not hype — and ultimately apply those lessons to new industries like hospitality.
We’ve been impressed with Call Experts, Abridged Solutions, Katsubo, noodl, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
At the core, my businesses focus on service at scale. I run and build companies that sit at the intersection of people, systems, and technology.
Through Call Experts, we specialize in high-touch customer communication for complex service businesses. We’re known for reliability, operational discipline, and the ability to scale without sacrificing quality — especially in moments when things break, spike, or change fast.
With Abridged Solutions, we design AI-driven tools that solve real operational problems — attendance, staffing, internal communication — not theoretical ones. Our differentiator is that everything we build comes from lived experience running large teams, not from a lab.
Most recently, that work expanded into hospitality through Katsubō and Noodl, where we apply telecom-level systems and AI to restaurants — automating calls, orders, reservations, and guest communication so operators can focus on food and service, not chaos.
What sets our brands apart is practicality. We don’t chase trends — we build tools and businesses that survive downturns, scale cleanly, and respect the human side of service. What I’m most proud of, brand-wise, is longevity: growing, adapting, and staying relevant across industries for over two decades while continuing to build what actually works.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
One thing that matters deeply to me is staying rooted in community. I was born and am based in Charleston, and being a local founder means building businesses that don’t just scale, but give back.
That’s why my sister and I founded Miles for Michael, a community race and fund created in honor of my father. It brings together family, friends, and local businesses to support causes tied to education, healing, and opportunity — the same values that shaped how I build companies.
At the end of the day, whether it’s telecom, hospitality, or philanthropy, the throughline is the same: build things that last, serve people well, and strengthen the community you’re part of.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://callexperts.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/katsuboeats
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abby-leibowitz/
