And We Have Lift Off...

It was an unseasonably warm afternoon for late April in Portland, Oregon. I had just finished a meeting with the Co-Founders of a rather new construction technology start-up who were looking for input on their go-to-market strategy, and it was time to enjoy a margarita outside on the deck. As I sat in the sunshine and enjoyed my tasty beverage, the gears in my head began to grind away on their problem.

Their mission was interesting, they had a strong value proposition and a good start on their product. They had a handful of customers, all slightly different, but there was some evidence of good product market fit and scalability. The question was “How?” The issue they solved was specific and a bit niche, but important. After a couple of conversations and a little digging, it seemed scalable. The big challenge was going to be one that has become very familiar to me, especially over the last few years at TraceAir… how do you sell a solution to people who: 1) don’t like to adopt technology and 2) don’t even recognize that they have a problem that they need a solution for? The sales guy in me automatically dialed up the Challenger Sales Methodology. Back in 2011 Matthew Dixon, Brent Adamson and the CEB crew revolutionized the way solutions, particularly SaaS would be sold. During my career I have not found a framework that leads to more success, particularly, when the customer isn’t sure how or why or when to buy. Which is exactly why it is so effective in contech sales, and which leads us to the reason Buildernauts exists…. Compared to virtually every other industry (besides agriculture) people and companies within the world of construction adopt and implement technology at the slowest pace. When every other industry is becoming more efficient and more productive, construction has become less so. At the same time, the construction labor force is aging.

Considering that shelter is one of the basic needs for human survival and that our population is growing rapidly, our inability to keep up with construction and maintenance of our buildings and transportation infrastructure (we need ways to get our food and water), this becomes more than a business problem – it becomes existential. Construction must become more efficient and productive. Period. End of story. Bringing newer, more diverse people into the workforce is certainly a part of solving the overriding problem, but it will never be enough. The industry must increase technology adoption to catch up and keep up. As I worked through this conversation in my head and contemplated that second margarita, I thought of the hundreds of companies that I’ve worked with since I started my career in construction technology – each feeling somewhat isolated and unique in their struggles – and it occurred to me that it’s my mission to create a place for advancing technology in construction… a community where the folks who create, sell, buy, implement and use the technology that will transform our industry get together to share information and tell our stories. This site is dedicated to helping those in construction grow and future proof their businesses. As Buildernauts, we’re going to discuss how to identify the issues in your daily construction business that can be fixed with technology. We’ll discuss how to identify, choose and buy tech solutions. Once a selection has been made, we’ll share best practices on implementation, driving adoption from your teams and ensuring ROI on your investment. It took 400,000 people to put a man on the moon. It’s going to take a lot of Buildernauts to take this industry to the future!

Welcome. Let’s do this!

Will Johnson