Bricks And Bytes

You may price a job for two years just to get the chance to build it."

That's the brutal reality Trey Darnell shared about construction sales today.

In today's episode of Bricks & Bytes, we had Trey Darnell, Director of Sales at Ediphi, and we got to learn about why construction tech sales is completely broken, how most salespeople get it wrong, and why the industry desperately needs a new approach... and many more!

Trey went from writing user guides on construction sites to becoming a sales leader at one of the hottest pre-construction tech companies. His journey reveals hard truths about our industry.

Tune in to find out about:

✅ Why 90% of construction salespeople fail at their job ✅ The hidden cost of pricing jobs for years without winning them

✅ Why platforms are becoming "jack of all trades, master of none"

 ✅ How to sell construction tech without being another annoying vendor

This episode will change how you think about buying and selling construction technology.

Listen now on Spotify and let us know what you think in the comments.

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Chapters

# Chapters

00:00 Intro

00:03:00 Introduction and Background of Trey Darnell

00:06:02 Challenges in Construction and BIM Advocacy

00:08:50 Transition to Construction Tech and PlanGrid Experience

00:12:10 Sales as a Consulting Approach

00:15:14 Joining Edify and the Evolution of Pre-Construction Solutions

00:20:58 Go-to-Market Strategy for Edify

00:27:01 Building Relationships and Understanding Client Needs

00:33:07 Understanding Time to Value in Construction Tech

00:37:01 Successful Go-to-Market Strategies

00:41:10 Sales Cycle Dynamics and Compression Strategies

00:46:38 Navigating Small vs. Large Accounts

00:52:02 Pricing Strategies and Negotiation

00:54:29 Traits of Successful Salespeople in Construction Tech

00:57:36 Gaining Experience in the Construction Industry

00:59:13 Advice for Newcomers in Construction Tech Sales

01:00:41 When to Hire a Sales Leader

"When we launched PlanGrid, it was the only enterprise product on the iPad. Even Facebook refused to make an iPad app because Zuckerberg didn't believe in it."

In today's episode of Bricks, Bucks & Bytes, we had Ralph Gootee and we got to learn about how PlanGrid became the first enterprise app on iPad, the brutal year-long acquisition process, and why pricing decisions can make or break your startup... and many more!

Tune in to find out about:

✅ Why iPad was crucial to PlanGrid's success when even Facebook refused to build an iPad app

✅ The $17,000 marketing hack that involved giving away free iPads to customers

✅ How having 5 co-founders worked despite conventional wisdom saying otherwise

✅ Why AI augments engineers but won't replace them anytime soon

Listen now on Spotify to hear the full story behind one of construction tech's biggest exits and what Ralph is building next with TigerEye.

# Chapters

00:00 Intro

01:45 The Journey of PlanGrid: From Startup to Acquisition

11:37 Product Development and Market Fit: Lessons Learned

21:44 Navigating the Acquisition Landscape: Strategies and Insights

31:41 The Role of AI in Construction: Opportunities and Challenges

41:49 Building for Success: Founder's Mindset and Company Culture

29:49 From Idea to Prototype: The Birth of a Startup

31:18 Y Combinator: The Turning Point for PlanGrid

33:39 Building a Team: The Importance of Co-Founders

39:45 Solo Founders vs. Co-Founders: A Comparative Insight

42:40 User Acquisition: The Power of Viral Growth in Construction

46:44 Pricing Strategies: Lessons Learned from PlanGrid

53:54 Hiring the Best: Building a Legacy at PlanGrid

54:28 The Legacy of Plangrid and Its Impact on the Industry

54:58 Challenges in Recruiting and Building a Team

56:26 The Importance of Hiring the Right People

58:54 Scaling Challenges and the Need for Fast Decisions

01:02:13 Emerging Companies in Construction Tech

01:03:18 Lessons Learned from Building Plangrid

01:07:12 The Role of AI in Software Development

01:13:08 Introducing TigerEye: A New Venture

01:20:59 Evaluating ROI in Construction Tech

"Elite sales leaders don't just hire sellers - they hire 'pirates and romantics' who can thrive in chaos when everything's broken."

In today's episode of Bricks & Bytes, we had Scotland Foss, who helped build PlanGrid before its $1B acquisition by Autodesk. Scotland shared his proven playbook for construction tech go-to-market success from his journey across multiple ventures.

Tune in to find out about: 

✅ Why product-market fit must come before hiring salespeople 

✅ The power of "mutual action plans" in closing complex deals 

✅ How PlanGrid's freemium strategy created viral adoption on job sites 

✅ Why unlimited user pricing models work better than per-seat in construction 

✅ How a 90-second video convinced a CEO to take a 2-hour meeting

Listen now on Spotify to hear Scotland's insights on building successful construction tech sales organizations in challenging market conditions.

"I remember bringing Tracy Young to my job site when PlanGrid was just an MVP. She offered us the software for free - we just needed to provide the iPads. My PM and PX didn't get it. They told me, 'Don't waste my time like that again.'"

In today's episode of Bricks & Bytes, we had Tom Feliz share his journey from construction sites to tech leadership at Data Grid. Tom unpacks the secrets behind effective Go-To-Market strategies in construction tech, drawing from his experiences at OpenSpace, Autodesk, and more.

Tune in to find out about:

✅ Why solving real industry pain points is the foundation of any successful ConTech product

✅ How to identify your Ideal Customer Profile across the construction value chain

✅ Why the construction volume pricing model needs to change

✅ The emergence of the "Go-To-Market Engineer" and how AI is transforming sales

Listen to the full episode on Spotify to learn how Tom closed 5 enterprise deals in one week and why he believes agentic AI is the future of construction.

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Chapters

00:00 Intro

02:30 Introduction to the Conversation

07:30 Tom Feliz's Journey in Construction Tech

12:37 Key Components of a Successful Go-To-Market Strategy

17:42 Understanding the Construction Industry's Unique Challenges

22:21 Identifying Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs) in Construction Tech

27:36 Navigating the Buying Process Across Different Company Sizes

31:26 The Importance of Social Proof in Construction Tech

32:23 Targeting the Mid-Market: A Strategic Approach

35:18 Navigating Enterprise Sales in Construction

37:19 Freemium Models and Proof of Value

38:47 Rethinking Pricing Models in Construction Tech

41:50 The Role of FOMO in Sales Conversations

45:37 Key Metrics for Construction Tech Success

49:47 The Personal Connection to Construction

51:38 The Impact of Our Actions

52:32 Tools for Go-To-Market Success

54:24 The Rise of Agentic AI in Sales

58:33 The Importance of Discovery in Sales

01:04:35 Resource Allocation in Sales Strategy

01:06:37 Traits of a Great Salesperson

01:09:36 When to Hire a Head of Sales

"53% of the construction workforce is expected to retire by 2036. And that number is going up, not down."

In today's episode of Bricks & Bytes, we had Kris from Procore and we got to learn about their just-released Future State of Construction 2025 report, which reveals how technology will transform productivity, design, decision-making, and the workforce crisis.

Tune in to find out about:

✅ Why contractors, not architects, will own more of the design process in the future

✅ How construction teams lose 18% of project time just searching for information

✅ The shift from "gut feeling" decisions to data-driven insights using AI

✅ Why Procore is building "Agent Studio" to create company-specific AI you can actually trust

Listen now on Spotify and discover how construction's digital transformation is finally solving its biggest challenges.

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Chapters

00:00 Intro

02:50 Introduction and Industry Growth

03:49 Leadership Changes at Procore

04:51 The Future State of Construction Report

06:47 Future of Productivity in Construction

13:59 Addressing Data Search Challenges

17:49 Rework and Its Causes

19:46 Future of Design and Automation

22:54 Case Studies in Construction Technology

26:59 Future of Workforce and Talent Retention

38:25 The Intersection of Opportunity and Wealth in Construction

39:00 Cultural Drivers in the Construction Industry

42:21 Data-Driven Decision Making in Construction

46:48 Building Trust in AI and Automation

54:55 The Future of Design in Construction

01:06:09 Inspiring Transformation in the Construction Industry

"The best salespeople don't need to talk about their successes - they focus on what went wrong and how to improve. At Joist AI, we don't want to hear about past wins, only lessons learned."

In today's episode of Bricks and Bytes, We had Anton Marinovich from Joist AI and he shared his construction tech go-to-market journey from my father's masonry business to leading sales at Contentful, HoloBuilder, and now Joist AI.

Tune in to find out about:

✅ Why matching your product to workflows is crucial in construction tech

✅ How simplicity in sales compensation drives the right behaviors

✅ Why grit and consistency separate average salespeople from top performers

✅ The importance of transparency in building trust with construction clients

Listen now on Spotify to hear insights on building effective go-to-market strategies in construction tech!

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Chapters

00:00 Intro

00:04 Introduction and Background

07:01 Journey into Construction Tech

10:00 Sales Strategies and Lessons Learned

13:10 Revenue Operations and CRM Importance

15:59 Building a Successful Go-To-Market Strategy

18:53 Understanding Customer Segmentation

22:02 Sales Process and Buyer Behavior

24:58 Defining Sales and Building Processes

27:59 Ideal Customer Profile and Messaging

38:14 Leveraging LinkedIn for Networking

39:06 The Power of Video in Sales

41:27 Professional Persistence in Sales

43:55 Common Mistakes in Go-to-Market Strategies

45:09 The Impact of AI on Sales

48:12 Customer Acquisition vs. Expansion

53:31 Sales Compensation Strategies

01:00:20 Effective Pricing Strategies

01:03:07 Future Trends in Construction Tech Sales

"The best renewal is no renewal. So closing a three-year agreement, right?"

In today's episode of our Go To Market Series from the Bricks & Bytes Podcast, we have Kevin Halter (CRO of OpenSpace) share his journey from scaling PlanGrid from $5M to $100M+ ARR and building high-performing sales teams in construction tech.

Tune in to find out about:

✅ Why construction tech requires a unique go-to-market approach focused on project-level ROI

✅ How to transition from project-level sales to enterprise agreements (the key to breaking the $10M ARR ceiling)

✅ What to look for when hiring sales talent ("fire in the belly")

✅ When founders should hire their first VP of Sales vs CRO

Whether you're a founder struggling with the 5-10M ARR plateau or a sales leader in construction tech, this episode delivers practical insights on building scalable go-to-market motions in an industry where "it's easy to start a pilot, but hard to scale."

06:30 Introduction to Construction Tech Journey09:30 Scaling from 5M to 100M ARR12:31 Understanding Project-Level Value15:22 Building Trust and Transparency in Construction18:28 Transitioning to Enterprise-Level Sales21:28 The Importance of Customer Success Management24:28 Hiring the Right Sales Team27:29 Effective Communication with Executives30:24 Building Long-Term Partnerships33:31 Creating a Scalable Sales Model44:47 Building Long-Term Partnerships (appears to be repeated)48:30 Lessons from Biotech for Construction Tech53:17 Hiring and Scaling Sales Team57:57 Developing Talent and Leadership1:07:31 Choosing the Right Company to Join1:14:53 When to Hire a Chief Revenue Officer

"Genius is 99% perspiration and only 1% innovation."

In today's episode of Bricks & Bytes, we have Darren Martin, Chief Digital Officer at Atkins Realis, sharing powerful insights about technology implementation in a global engineering firm with 40,000 employees.

Tune in to find out about:

✅ How they evaluate technology investments (looking for at least 4X ROI within 12-18 months)

✅ The challenges of integrating startup technologies into enterprise environments

✅ Their approach to AI implementation across the organization

✅ Why future construction will combine "hyper personalization and hyper modularization"

Listen now on Spotify to hear Darren's perspectives on innovation at scale in the AEC industry!

"We got to a million dollars in ARR by taking meetings any way we could - sending chunky mail, handwritten cards, even just picking up the phone. It's simple."

In today's episode of Bricks, Bucks and Bytes, we had Martin Roth sharing his journey as Levelset's go-to-market leader and the real-world tactics that helped scale the business to a successful exit.

Tune in to find out about:

✅ Why the first million in revenue requires founders to do the selling themselves

✅ The five key traits Martin looks for when hiring salespeople (grit, resourcefulness, enthusiasm, curiosity, ambition)

✅ How selling to construction differs from typical B2B SaaS

✅ Why you should never hire a sales director before hitting $1M in ARR

Martin reveals how Levelset went from $1.5M to $10M ARR in six years, then doubled to $20M in just 18 months once they figured out their go-to-market strategy. A must-listen for construction tech founders looking to scale sales operations.

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Timestamps

00:00 Intro

05:06 Introduction to the Journey

09:10 Early Days at Levelset

17:14 Go-to-Market Strategy Evolution

23:59 Sales Techniques and Lessons Learned

26:04 Differences in Construction Tech vs. B2B SaaS

29:42 Understanding the Construction Industry's Landscape

35:23 Navigating Messaging Challenges in a Diverse Market

42:58 Sales Strategies for SMB vs. Enterprise Markets

53:27 Handling Long Sales Cycles in Construction

56:06 Navigating Enterprise Sales Challenges

58:57 The Role of Champions in Sales

1:01:54 Understanding the Cost of Adoption

1:05:12 Effective Communication in Sales

1:06:54 Key Traits of Successful Salespeople

1:14:11 Building a Sales Team and Leadership Dynamics

"AI in construction isn't just hype - we're in construction, so we know nobody will deploy solutions based on hype alone."

In today's episode of Brick and Bytes, we had Vivin Hegde from Zakua Ventures sharing insights on construction tech investments and market trends.

Tune in to find out about:

✅ Why robotics is becoming essential in construction (labor shortage is only getting worse)

✅ The three-tier approach to AI adoption in construction tech

✅ Why FlexNode's modular data centers could grow faster than any construction tech startup in 15 years

✅ How geopolitical uncertainty is reshaping construction tech investment priorities

Vivin also shared fascinating details about their recent investments in excavator automation, real estate platforms, and next-gen robotics. If you're interested in where construction tech is heading, this episode is packed with valuable insights!

Listen now on Spotify: