THE OPERATOR BEHIND THE WORK
40 Years In. Still Building.
Started in radio in 1982. Joined Iliad (then a fragmented, average-performing cluster) in 2008 and rebuilt it into the #1 rated group in Boise — competing against publicly traded companies including Cumulus and Townsquare.
Negotiated one of only 4 radio ESOPs in the country in 2022. 46 employees became owners overnight. Named a Top Workplace by The Idaho Press in 2023. Inducted into the Nevada Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Grew the company to 23 stations across Idaho and Montana in 2025.
Learned to code after hours. Built AgentSoul and open-sourced it. Started a skunkworks AI team inside Iliad called the Data Skunks. Deployed 9 production AI applications. Now building Calton Group to bring the same operator-built intelligence to other mid-market businesses.
How We Work
We deploy locally.
Your data stays on your hardware. No vendor lock-in, no API dependency, no monthly SaaS fee eating your margin.
We build for operators, not investors.
We don't pitch roadmaps. We deliver working software that solves the problem you described in the first conversation.
We finish things.
Every application in our portfolio is in production today. Not archived. Not pivoted. Running.
We already know your skepticism.
We've heard the AI hype too. That's why we built inside a real company first, before we ever advised anyone else.
Darrell serves as Chairman and Assistant Secretary of the Independent Broadcasters Association — the national advocacy organization for independently owned radio stations.