What happens when a surfer-turned-startup-CEO tackles one of the world’s most entrenched supply chain problems?

In this episode of Pitch, Build, Scale, we sit down with Kathleen Egan, CEO of ecomedes, to explore how sustainability, SaaS, and systems thinking converge to reshape how commercial buildings are designed, sourced, and built.

Kathleen shares how ecomedes is streamlining the procurement and specification of green building products, helping everyone from sales reps to federal agencies save time, reduce emissions, and cut costs. Along the way, we dive into the future of AI in sustainability, startup bottlenecks, and why spreadsheets are killing collaboration.

If you’ve ever wondered what product-market fit looks like for early adopters of sustainability or how to scale without breaking the bank, this is one you don’t want to miss.

Chapters

00:00 – The Plastic Problem and Surf-Inspired Sustainability

04:28 – Building a Business Around Eco Data

08:34 – How ecomedes Works for Builders and Manufacturers

13:18 – AI in Construction Tech: Where It Works, Where It Doesn’t

18:00 – Collaboration Features and the Death of the Spreadsheet

21:54 – Why Adoption is Slower Than It Should Be

26:12 – Bottlenecks: Full-Stack Engineers and Long Sales Cycles

30:42 – What Comes After Early Adopters

32:00 – Magic Wand: Cloning Engineers and Building Virality

Resources

Learn more about ecomedes: https://www.ecomedes.com/

Grow your revenue with Big North Marketing: https://www.bignorthmarketing.com/