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Independent creative technology company.

Design, software, and technology for business.

We design and build websites and apps, run the technology businesses work on, and make our own software: Garage Bae for automotive shops and Wash Near Me for car washes and detailers.

Based near Chicago, working with businesses across the US.

garagebae.com
The Garage Bae shop dashboard: vehicles in the shop, intake, and what is owed.
Wash Near Me on iPhone: a map of washes and detailers with filters for open now, detailers and car washes, and a list of nearby businesses with their starting prices.

Websites and software

Design and development: the websites, stores, and apps a business runs on, and the software that connects them, on code and accounts you own.

  • Websites and stores

    Sites and online stores that work on a phone and lead to a call or an order.

    • Website design and development
    • Ecommerce and online storefronts
    • Landing pages and conversion optimization
    Full list
    • CMS development and integrations
  • Apps and software

    Portals, internal tools, and the connections between the systems you already pay for.

    • Custom web and mobile applications
    • Business applications and customer portals
    • CRM and operational workflows
    • Artificial intelligence and automation
    Full list
    • Internal tools and dashboards
    • Payments, subscriptions, and commerce
    • API development and integrations
    • Software architecture and modernization
  • Brand and design

    One identity across the sign, the site, and the app.

    • Brand identity and digital design
    • UI/UX and product design
  • Search and analytics

    Getting found on Google and in AI answers, and knowing which pages bring in work.

    • Technical SEO and local search
    • Google Business Profile management
    • Search and AI-answer visibility
    Full list
    • Website analytics and performance

EngagementsFixed-price projects, development retainers, monthly search plans, and agency partnerships.

THICKRIM.TECH

Hosting and managed IT, support when something breaks, and the equipment, sourced through authorized distributors. Part of THICKRIM, so the company that built your site can also host it and set up the computers it runs on.

  • Managed IT services

    The sites, apps, and systems we manage, kept updated, backed up, and watched.

    • Website and application hosting
    • Updates, security, monitoring, and backups
    • Business email and collaboration
    • Cloud infrastructure and DevOps
    • Managed applications and integrations

    Billed asMonthly service plans

  • Tech support

    One place to call when something we set up stops working.

    • Technical support and maintenance
    • Ongoing software support
    • Systems audits
    • Software migration

    Billed asOngoing support agreements

  • Hardware supply

    We help pick it, buy it, set it up, and install it.

    • Computers, workstations, and peripherals
    • Networking, Wi-Fi, and connectivity
    • Storage, servers, and backup systems
    • Tablets and point-of-sale equipment
    • Cameras and security systems
    • Commercial displays and digital signage
    • Automotive and specialty electronics

    Billed asQuoted per order

  • Online store

    Dash cams, backup cameras, remote start, and install interfaces at the listed price. Volume pricing and net terms by quote.

    The store opens at thickrim.tech soon. Quotes are open now.

    Billed asListed prices, or a quote

Supply packages
Shop Front Desk
For: Garage Bae shops
What’s in it: Computer, display, scanner and receipt printer
Technician Station
For: Automotive shops
What’s in it: Rugged tablet, mount and mobile workflow setup
Business Network
For: Small businesses
What’s in it: Router, Wi-Fi, switch and configuration
Shop TV System
For: Automotive shops
What’s in it: Display and media device, set up for your shop’s screens
Office Refresh
For: Local businesses
What’s in it: PCs, monitors, peripherals and migration
Backup & Security
For: Small businesses
What’s in it: NAS, backup, UPS, and cameras where they make sense

Our products

Alongside client work, THICKRIM makes its own software. Garage Bae and Wash Near Me are separate businesses with their own customers; THICKRIM builds and runs them.

Garage Bae: The business platform for automotive shops.

From the first website inquiry to the final invoice: leads, customers, vehicles, estimates, work orders, scheduling, invoices, and payments in one workspace, built for custom, performance, and aftermarket shops.

  • Shop operations

    The work from first inquiry to final invoice, with customers, vehicles, parts, approvals, and job history connected.

    Live

Next: online storefronts, marketing and follow-ups, Bae Inspect, and dealer tools.

Explore Garage Bae at garagebae.com

Garage Bae is developed and operated by THICKRIM.

A website inquiry, landing in Garage Bae

A website inquiry, landing in Garage Bae. Main Street Auto & Tire: Hi, this is Main Street Auto & Tire. What can we help with? Dana Ruiz: My 2017 Honda CR-V grinds when I brake. Can I get a quote on front brakes? Main Street Auto & Tire: We can quote that. What’s your name and the best number to reach you? Dana Ruiz: Dana Ruiz, 312-555-0148 Main Street Auto & Tire: Thanks, Dana. Your request is in, and the shop will call or email you back. Leads: Dana Ruiz, Quote request, 2017 Honda CR-V, Contacted.

Main Street Auto & Tire is a made-up shop. The chat window is in the works; the lead it creates, and Reply, Call and Start a build, are how Garage Bae works today.

  • Black-and-white photo with the bike left pink: a white single-cab pickup slammed over polished wheels, a BMX bike standing in the bed, parked outside the convention center.
  • Black-and-white photo with the tail light left red: the back corner of a white Ford Bronco with a black hardtop, a rooftop tent unfolded above it and the spare tire on the tailgate.
  • Black-and-white photo with the wheels left red: a white Jeep Gladiator overland build with a bed rack, a rooftop tent, a water can, beadlock wheels and sponsor decals down the side.
  • Black-and-white photo: a Toyota Land Cruiser with a loaded roof rack, its rear side windows covered in sponsor decals.
SEMA, Las Vegas, 2022

Wash Near Me: Software and a directory for car washes and detailers.

Drivers find car washes and detailers near them and send a quote request with photos. The business gets every request in one inbox and replies by call, text, or email.

In the current iPhone build.

  • Washes and detailers near you

    A map and list, filtered by type and by what is open now.

  • A wash score from the forecast

    Rain and road salt from the local forecast, as one number for today.

  • Quote requests with photos

    Pick the service, say what you drive, add photos, and send it to one business.

  • One inbox for the business

    Every request in one place, with an alert when a new one comes in.

The iPhone app is built and not released yet. Car washes and detailers can ask for a listing now.

washnear.me opens when the app is released.

Wash Near Me for iPhone
  • Wash Near Me on iPhone: a map of washes and detailers with filters for open now, detailers and car washes, and a list of nearby businesses with their starting prices.

    Car washes and detailers near you

  • Wash Near Me on iPhone: a wash score of 100 for Sunday, with the line Great day for a wash, dry through tomorrow.

    Know when it’s worth washing the car

  • Wash Near Me on iPhone: step 2 of 3 of a quote request, adding photos of the car's front and rear corners for a detailer to price.

    Send photos, get a price

  • Wash Near Me on iPhone, the business side: an inbox of quote requests, two marked new, each with the service and the customer's car.

    For businesses: every request in one inbox

Screens from the current iPhone build, with example businesses.

How we work

You own it
Your domains, accounts, content, and data stay yours. Each agreement sets ownership and licensing.
Technology picked to last
Tools chosen for the job, the person who maintains them, and what they cost to run.
Systems that share data
Your site, software, payments, and messages pass information along, so nobody types it twice.
One person to talk to
The person who plans your project is the one who builds it.

How a project runs

  1. Discuss the work

    Tell us what you’re building or buying. We recommend an approach.

  2. Define the scope

    Deliverables, schedule, and price, agreed before work starts.

  3. Build and deliver

    Design, development, procurement, or deployment, with you in the big decisions.

  4. Support and improve

    After launch, we keep it running and keep improving it.

Projects, ongoing services, and equipment are quoted to their scope.

About THICKRIM

THICKRIM is an Illinois-based creative and technology company founded by Kyle Willis.

Kyle has worked in web design and development since 2012, for agencies, a public logistics company, national consumer brands, and independent businesses.

Today the company does client work, builds Garage Bae and Wash Near Me, and sources and sets up business technology.

THICKRIM LLC

  • Illinois, United States. Formed in 2022.
  • Registered in SAM.gov: UEI PPLTYFXJP3T5, CAGE 9LYK3
  • Primary NAICS: 541511, Custom Computer Programming Services

THICKRIM goods

Black, with the glasses mark and THICKRIM in white across the chest.

  • THICKRIM hoodie
    THICKRIM hoodieBlack pullover hoodie
  • THICKRIM tee
    THICKRIM teeBlack T-shirt

Get in touch

A website, software, a system that needs attention, or equipment to source. Tell us about your business and what you need.

Hours
Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm CT
Office
250 Parkway Dr, Ste 150, Lincolnshire, IL 60069

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