About Cloud 9 Computing Group
Cloud 9 is an outsourced IT partner for businesses running 30–500 technology users — mostly across construction, insurance, financial services, legal, and agriculture. Rob Gundling is its President, and like a lot of executives at relationship-heavy companies, his inbox was where the day either started smoothly or didn't start at all.
His daily volume:
"500–1,000 emails per day… I think. I don't actually know anymore."
The Problem
A VA, and a constant low-grade dread
Before Inbox Zero, Rob had already escalated. Email was eating enough of his focus that he hired a virtual assistant whose job included reading and sorting his inbox and surfacing anything urgent.
"It was bad enough that I hired a VA to read and sort my email, as well as call attention to anything urgent."
The breaking point wasn't a single moment — it was a steady-state anxiety that sat behind everything else he was doing.
"I was spending way too much time sorting email and in a constant subconscious state of worry regarding missing something important. Reading 'Buy Back Your Time' by Dan Martell put me over the edge."
What he ruled out
Rob had already tried the obvious tools. Gmail filters were the closest thing to working, but the actions were too thin and there was no LLM in the loop. Two AI-native inbox tools made things worse, not better.
"Gmail Filters helped to a point, but they were limited, especially with actions and any kind of LLM. I tried Superhuman and Fixer and they actually made my anxiety much worse."
The VA was working — but at $5,500 a quarter for the email portion alone, the math wasn't great for a problem that didn't need a human in most cases.
The Solution
A weekend, then immediate value
Rob didn't ease into it. He gave Inbox Zero one Sunday afternoon and walked away with a working setup.
What won him over wasn't any single feature. It was that the system bent to his workflow instead of forcing him to bend to it.
"It was the most controllable way to do the automation journey, and the UI makes sense. Everything else I tried was trying to do it their way and not my way — it was very all-or-nothing."
The one concern he had to clear was the obvious one for an IT executive: what happens to the data?
"It helps that there's a SOC 2 Type II audit. The platform doesn't really do anything you don't ask it to, and the audit and testing features are the best we've seen. They're what's key to reducing anxiety and getting what you want."
What he actually uses
Rob's stack is heavy on rules and routing, light on drafting. He explicitly turned drafting off — he found writing his own rough draft was a faster starting point than editing an AI one. Everything else in the platform earns its keep.
"Auto-labeling, forwarding based on rules, bulk unsubscribe, cold email blocking, AI rules… I've also started using Meeting Briefings. It's a nice reminder to get into a headspace before a meeting comes up."
He treats the system like a living thing — a small weekly investment keeps it sharp.
"It's worth spending time with the system once per week and making at least 2 new rules."
And when something goes wrong, the fix is in his hands.
"The flexibility of the automation is best in class. I can get the system to do EXACTLY what I want, and when it messes up, I can fix the errant rule and create others if necessary."
The Results
Half the VA spend, six hours a week back
The VA didn't go away — Rob still uses one for bookings and personal items — but the email portion of the work moved to Inbox Zero. The cost change is concrete.
"For me? 6 hours per week, easily. More deep work and faster response to customers."
What changed in the business
Rob is careful not to credit Inbox Zero alone. But he's clear that the broader automation shift at Cloud 9 — including this — is showing up in the numbers.
"I don't know if it's Inbox Zero alone, but as our organization has significantly embraced automation, we're closing more deals and I have less anxiety related to my email."
And the inbox itself doesn't feel like a hostile place anymore.
"It was 6,000 messages in my inbox. It's currently at 150 and never goes above 300."
"I would probably cry"
Asked what would happen if the tool went away tomorrow:
"I would probably cry. I think that just triggered anxiety for me."
Final Thoughts
Who Rob recommends it to
The answer is short and unhedged.
"Every C-Level executive should embrace this tool. It's best in class at what it does."
Internally, Cloud 9 has been describing it the same way to its own customers — they've written a doc they call the "Executive Assistant for your Inbox."
In one sentence
"An automated email VA that does exactly what you want instantly."
