When Thomas Mancuso moved to San Francisco, he was driving a U-Haul over the Bay Bridge as Governor Newsom announced the statewide COVID-19 shutdown. He hadn’t even seen the apartment he was moving into. That surreal moment—boxes in the back, world on pause—stuck with him. And it fits. Because Thomas has a habit of jumping into new environments, adapting fast, and figuring out how to build systems that scale under pressure.

Today, he leads partnerships at Podium, where he’s helping redefine what compliance looks like for small and mid-sized businesses. He’s not a theorist—he’s someone who once talked his way into a job at Big O Tires by showing up repeatedly until they gave him a shot. That same grit shows up in how he’s helped Podium go from a solid platform to a compliance-forward messaging engine, supporting over 250,000 phone numbers and deploying 5,000+ AI-powered “employees” into local businesses across the country.

About The Series

This is the twentieth installment in the “One Expert, One Topic” series, where field experts select a topic and share essential insights using Matt Abrahams’ What/So-What/Now-What format. Presented in written form, it allows you more time to absorb the topic and guides you on where to go for further learning. We are grateful to our contributors for sharing their wisdom in this format. 

What

Compliance doesn’t have to be a cost center—it can be a competitive edge. That’s Thomas’s view, and at Podium, he’s proven it at scale. Podium helps local businesses—many new to messaging—register, send, and stay compliant with 10DLC and other carrier requirements without friction.

Where most see compliance as a drag, Thomas and team treat it as a product feature. They’ve built guided onboarding for 10DLC, content checks that keep businesses safe, and partner integrations that make it seamless. It’s all invisible to the customer—but it works. High deliverability, zero content violations, and full registration, even across enterprise-scale brands that manage thousands of local locations​.

So What

Most SMBs don’t know how to navigate CTIA rules or interpret carrier guidelines. That’s not their fault. But if they get it wrong, they lose message deliverability—or worse, get suspended.

Podium’s approach turns compliance into a business advantage. By removing the risk and overhead, they give customers peace of mind and let them focus on growth. Podium doesn’t just get you messaging—it keeps you messaging.

And they’ve extended that advantage through AI-driven “employees” like Jerry. Jerry texts, responds, books appointments, and soon, will handle calls. Businesses aren’t just avoiding mistakes—they’re gaining a compliant, 24/7 team member who never forgets the rules. One dealership said Jerry was their top performer. A customer even came in to ask if Jerry could get commission on the car they bought.

Now What

If you want to see what compliance at scale actually looks like, talk to Thomas. He’s lived it. His team has built one of the cleanest enablement engines in the ecosystem—one that works just as well for a solo operator as it does for a thousand-location franchise.

You can find him on LinkedIn or at Podium.com. Ask him about AI compliance, 10DLC onboarding, or how to deploy “5,000 of the most compliant employees in the country” without running a single HR file.