Note : This episode is a re-release of an episode that was initially released at Groundbreakers.

"It turns out in construction and real estate, there's a lot of big problems. There's an abundance of them." - This candid observation from Built Technologies' CEO perfectly captures why construction tech is ripe for disruption.

In our latest conversation with Chase Gilbert, he reveals Built's journey from working with three community banks to becoming a construction tech unicorn that processes over $200 billion in annual construction spend. He breaks down the strategic decision to start with lenders and how it became their path to industry-wide transformation.

Tune in to discover:

✅ Why "following the money" upstream was the key to market penetration

✅ How they turned an 11-person process into a 2-person operation

✅ The strategy behind reducing loan processing from 5 days to same-day

✅ Why being "long-term greedy" is crucial for sustainable growth

Listen to the full episode on Spotify to hear Chase's complete breakdown of building a construction tech unicorn.

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Chapters

00:00 Intro02:28 Building a Unicorn in Construction Tech05:04 Identifying and Solving Industry Problems06:40 The Genesis of Built Technologies18:16 Revenue Generation and Business Model26:56 The Importance of Following the Money30:52 Efficiency Metrics and Impact on Lenders38:05 The Landscape of Construction Loans40:42 Navigating the Banking Ecosystem44:19 Go-to-Market Strategy for Financial Institutions49:23 Value-Based Pricing Models50:06 Key Lessons in Scaling a Startup53:28 Building and Maintaining Company Culture59:37 Understanding Unicorn Valuation01:11:01 The IPO Journey and Long-Term Vision

"AI agents could eliminate 20% of time spent searching for information on construction projects"

In today's episode of Bricks & Bytes, we had Rajitha Chaparala, VP of Product Data and AI at Procore, share fascinating insights about the future of construction technology and AI implementation.

Tune in to discover:

✅ How AI agents are transforming daily construction workflows - from submittal reviews to schedule updates

✅ Why the construction industry is finally embracing AI after years of hesitation

✅ The three-pillar approach Procore is taking with AI: Co-pilot, Automation, and Insights

✅ How reality capture technology combined with AI is revolutionizing progress tracking

Want to learn more about how AI is reshaping construction? Listen to the full episode here:

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This episode is brought to you by Shft—helping contractors like you leverage BIM to secure a leading position in the race towards construction’s digital future.

Visit: https://maketheshft.digital

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BuildVision is a procurement network for the $5T commercial construction market. We are transforming the commercial construction supply chain by bringing contractors, manufacturers, and project stakeholders onto a single software platform—revolutionizing how every component is sourced, purchased, and financed.

This episode is brought to you by Shft—the BIM partner you need to fill the gap in your digital skills and tackle your BIM needs, end-to-end.

Visit: https://maketheshft.digital

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Note: This is a re-release of an episode that was originally published at Groundbreakers.

"I sued the bar association because they tried to restrict blogging. Content was just the way I saw the world." - This mindset led to a $500M exit.

In today's episode of Groundbreakers from Bricks and Bytes, we had Scott Wolfe, founder of Levelset, share the remarkable journey of building and selling his construction payment software company to Procore. From a law practice dealing with post-Katrina restoration work to pioneering construction tech - Scott's story is filled with invaluable insights.

Tune in to discover:

✅ How helping contractors with payment problems evolved into a $500M exit

✅ Why Scott took the lowest valuation term sheet and spent 16-36 months building relationships with investors before taking their money

✅ The power of "Help First" in content marketing - how Levelset generated thousands of leads by focusing on solving problems

✅ Why Scott believes companies aren't sold, they're bought - and what that means for founders planning exits

Listen to the full episode on Spotify to learn how Scott turned construction payment headaches into a category-defining company that changed an industry.

"Training an AI model's final run for $6M does not mean the entire model costs $6M"

In today's episode of Bricks and Bytes, we had Alan Mosca, CTO and co-founder of nPlan, who shared fascinating insights about AI developments, construction tech, and the future of project planning.

Tune in to find out about:

✅ The truth behind DeepSeek's training costs and why media reporting missed the mark

✅ How nPlan's Barry agent helps construction teams make better decisions through meeting notes, WhatsApp integration, and email connectivity

✅ Why the future of software isn't SaaS - it's buying outcomes through agents that perform specific tasks

✅ nPlan's game-changing "Schedule Studio" that can generate detailed project schedules in 45 minutes

Listen to the full episode to learn how AI is reshaping construction planning and why transparency, not blame, is key to better project outcomes.

Note : This is a re-release of an episode that was initially released at Groundbreakers.

"Nobody replied to our cold emails. So we started showing up at construction sites with pizza boxes - that worked."

In today's episode, we had Maria Davidson, CEO of Kojo, share how she built a construction tech company now valued at $275M.

A former VC with no construction background, Maria's story of building a procurement platform used by 500+ trade contractors offers valuable lessons for anyone trying to break into a traditional industry.

Tune in to find out about:

✅ Why being an industry outsider became her strength

✅ How delivering pizzas led to their first customers

✅ The metrics VCs actually care about at each funding stage

✅ Managing hypergrowth from 0 to 125 employees

Want to learn how Maria turned rejection into a $275M company? Listen to the full episode

Imagine generating structural engineering drawings 10 times faster. That's what Genia is doing, and it's changing the game for structural engineers.

Recently we were invited to the BOOST cohort from Suffolk Technologies where we had a chance to interview Zhihao, co-founder and CEO of Genia, and we got to learn about how their generative design co-pilot is transforming the industry.

Tune in to find out about:

• How Genia uses AI to generate structural drawings while ensuring accuracy and code compliance.

• Why Genia is reducing human errors and material use by 5-20% in designs.

• How they are building trust with engineers through transparent calculations and detailed analysis reports.

• How their technology is automating end-to-end processes that were once manual and time-consuming.

"The secret to raising $4.5M for a construction tech startup? 149 'nos' and 1 'yes' from YC."

In today's episode of Bricks & Bytes, we had Anna Berger, founder of Trayd - a construction payroll and compliance platform built specifically for specialty contractors. From failing at video dating apps to revolutionizing construction back offices, Anna's journey is a masterclass in persistence and problem-solving.

Tune in to learn about:

✅ How working in her dad's construction office led to discovering a massive market opportunity

✅ Why Trayd focuses on specialty contractors instead of general contractors

✅ The power of Trayd shows in B2B sales (and why cold calling doesn't work)

✅ Building an effective founding team: why having a technical co-founder matters

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Chapters 03:43 Introduction and Background

06:34 The Journey of Curtin: A Video Dating App

09:41 Transition to Construction: Insights from Family Business

12:48 Building Trade: The All-in-One Solution for Construction

15:43 Understanding Payroll Complexity in Construction

18:43 The Importance of Scheduling and Labor Tracking

21:49 Customer Focus: Targeting Specialty Contractors

24:44 Product Discovery: Listening to Customer Needs

27:42 Market Landscape and Competition

30:49 Fundraising Journey and Challenges

33:45 Lessons Learned and Future Outlook

37:17 The Evolution of Trade's Focus

38:59 Experiences with Y Combinator

39:51 The Importance of Strategic Investors

43:31 Navigating the Construction Industry's Challenges

44:52 Hiring for a Growing Team

46:04 The Value of In-Person Collaboration

47:14 Product Development Insights

48:53 Effective Customer Engagement Strategies

51:45 Building Emotional Connections in Sales

53:07 Understanding the Buyer Persona

53:59 Evaluating Cost Savings for CFOs

56:00 Exploring Growth Tactics Beyond Trade Shows

57:38 The Role of Content in Marketing

58:02 Addressing Skepticism in Sales

01:00:17 The Importance of User Experience

01:03:20 The Value of Community Among Founders

Did you know that building materials account for 11% of all greenhouse gas emissions globally? It's a huge number, and that's why Tangible exists!

Recently, we were invited to the BOOST cohort from Suffolk Technologies where we had a chance to interview Anneli, co-founder and CEO of Tangible, and we got to learn about how they're helping real estate developers measure and reduce embodied carbon, and much more!

Tune in to find out about:

How Tangible measures embodied carbon using BIM files, making it easy for developers to see their impact.

Why legislation, corporate demand, and investor pressure are driving the need for carbon transparency.

How Tangible is helping to reduce the impact of concrete, a major source of emissions.

How data is used to drive better decisions in material selection and building design.