Build Our Future Podcast

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This week on the Build Our Future Podcast, we talk all things sustainability with our guest, Diana Smiciklas.

Diana Smiciklas is a sustainability advisor who has been working with architectural firm Perkins & Will for the last 3 years. Diana diligently develops and implements strategies for high-performance and sustainable design while also focusing on wellbeing.

In this episode, we shine the light on embodied carbon, and how the future of sustainability looks for the construction industry.

Check out episode #44 – where you’ll hear us chat about:

●   How the last few years have been an exciting time for Diana to be helping her clients embrace sustainability .

●   How things have changed over the years since LEED first started.

●   What the future looks like for embodied carbon practices in the construction industry.

Join us on this weeks episode of the Build Our Future Podcast,

where Rahul chats with returning guest Leeroy Beeby, the COO and Co-Founder of

Level.

Leeroy’s mission with Level is to assist small and medium sized

contractors with the tech tools that their businesses need to grow. Since his

last appearance on the Build Our Future Podcast, he has expanded the services

of the company and now offer bookkeeping solutions to their clients, which you

will hear all about in this weeks episode.

Check out episode #43 as we discuss topics such as:

• How Level have expanded to bookkeeping, and why they only do bookkeeping for contractors.
• Why tracking the numbers is so important for tackling cashflow problems.
• Leeroy explains the benefits of using Level, and the processes they take in order to help contractors with their expenses.

Check out Level at their website: https://checkthelevel.com/

Level on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/check-the-level/

Join us on this weeks episode of the Build Our Future Podcast, where Rahul chats with Yves Frinault, who is the CEO and Co-Founder of Fieldwire.

Fieldwire is an end-to-end jobsite software solution for the construction industry. Used on more than 800,000 projects worldwide, Fieldwire has saved its users millions of dollars by powering clear and efficient communications between the office and the field.

Check out episode #42 as we discuss topics such as:

• Yves’ journey with bringing Fieldwire to fruition.
• How Yves implemented methods from the gaming development industry into the construction industry.
• How Fieldwire continues to help GCs, subs, engineers, architects and designers in the construction industry.

Check out Fieldwire at their website:

https://www.fieldwire.com/

Fieldwire on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/fieldwirelabs/

Yves Frinault on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yvesfrinault

”The collaboration tools that we had in gaming were like lightyears ahead of anything you see in construction. We were making custom collaboration tools for the project that we were working on, and I really got to a point where I was like - this is the stuff that we're missing in construction.”

- Yves Frinault  

“The main problem as a GC was that the owner was on site every single day, like they would come on site, and it would waste like a lot of time. And when they started using Fieldwire - because the owner could just like browsing on field wire directly - they could see the photos, they could see everything.”

- Yves Frinault

”The difference between the great companies and the good companies is their capacity to execute the plan with all the adjustments and variations that they're going to encounter. Fieldwire focuses exclusively on that connection between the plan, and the execution.”

- Yves Frinault

Connect with Rahul Faria and Build Our Future Podcast:

Website: https://www.rahulfaria.com/podcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildourfuture/


Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Build-Our-Future-

Podcast

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-faria/

Contact: [email protected]

Thanks for listening, and if you like what you’ve heard, feel free to share this episode!

Join us on this week's episode of the Build Our Future Podcast, where Rahul chats with Stacia Van Zetten, the CSO of EXACT Technology.

EXACT Technology is a company that creates data-driven solutions for precast, infrastructure and high-rise construction. Constructors of all types use monitoring data from their hardware and software to build their projects faster, safer and more sustainably.

Check out episode #41 as we discuss topics such as:

• How Stacia came up with the original idea for the company, and how it began.
• Why the construction industry can often be slow to make changes and adapt to new technologies.
• The ways in which EXACT has innovated the various systems required in concrete pouring methods.

Check out EXACT Technology at their website:

https://exacttechnology.com/

EXACT Technology on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/exact-technology-corporation/

Stacia’s LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacia-van-zetten-2207871b

”My vision was to really monitor the full lifecycle of concrete from aggregates in a bin out of ready mix plant, to being batched, being in a truck, to being delivered on site. ”

- Stacia Van Zetten

“When you're focused on a project for ten years, and you move on to the next one, there's no sharing of knowledge from project to project. So most people just do the next project the same way they did the first project for ten years, and ten years later, they're doing the exact same thing.”

- Stacia Van Zetten

”It never really was a thought in my mind that it would turn into a company, it was just like, 'let's do this better'.”  

- Stacia Van Zetten

Connect with Rahul Faria and Build Our Future Podcast:

Website: https://www.rahulfaria.com/podcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildourfuture/


Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Build-Our-Future-Podcast

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-faria/

Contact: [email protected]

Thanks for listening, and if you like what you’ve heard, feel free to share this episode!

In this week's episode of the Build Our Future Podcast, host Rahul Faria is joined by Jessie Smith and Darryl Hood, Principals from CSV Architects.

CSV Architects is an Ottawa-based architectural practice focused on the sustainable design of institutional, commercial, and multi-unit residential projects.

Its mission is to create sustainable communities through meaningful architectural design and collaborative discussion.

Check out episode #40 as Jessie and Darryl tell Rahul about how sustainability in architecture is their main objective and has been from the beginning.

In the episode, you will hear:

• Why CSV Architects believed in sustainability before it was common practice in the construction industry.
• Why net-zero has been discussed more recently than the likes of LEED.
• How occupant health and well-being are a priority for CSV Architects while designing buildings.

Check out CSV Architects at their website:

https://www.csv.ca/

CSV Architects on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/csv-architects/

Jessie Smith on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessieesmith

Darryl Hood on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/darryl-hood

Instagram: @csvarchitects

”I think the term is generally '50% of the buildings that are going to be around in 2050 already exist'. So we need to fix those, as well as build better when we build new.”

- Darryl Hood

“Sustainability sort of goes hand in hand with minimalism; reducing waste, reducing energy consumption, and just being very efficient with living. That is something that I've always been interested in.”

-Jessie Smith

”How do we reduce like ongoing consumption off electricity and utilities and kind of reduce that kind of carbon footprint? As opposed to, let's sort out the recycling and the compostable from a project site and just make sure how that's going.”

- Darryl Hood

Connect with Rahul Faria and Build Our Future Podcast:

Website: https://www.rahulfaria.com/podcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildourfuture/


Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Build-Our-Future-Podcast

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-faria/

Contact: [email protected]

Thanks for listening, and if you like what you’ve heard, feel free to share this episode!

In this week's episode of the Build Our Future Podcast, host Rahul Faria is joined by returning guest, Mallorie Brodie.

Mallorie Brodie is the CEO and Co-Founder of Bridgit. Bridgit provides software solutions for simplifying workforce management within the construction industry. They offer two solutions to construction companies – Bridgit Field, which is an app for punchless management and issue tracking on job sites, and Bridgit Bench, which optimizes workforce planning.

Tune in and listen as Mallorie chats to Rahul about how Bridgit has expanded their business over the course of the last year, since her first appearance on the Build Our Future Podcast in Episode #9.

In the episode, you will hear Rahul and Mallorie discuss topics such as:

How the pandemic highlighted the need for digitization in workforce planning for the construction industry.

The female experience in such a male-dominated industry like construction.

How Mallorie naturally built the brand identity of Bridgit over time.

The forms of integration that Bridgit have benefited from.

Check out Bridgit at their website:

https://gobridgit.com/

Bridgit on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/gobridgit/

Mallorie’s LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mallorie-brodie-b3885827

”We're going to keep going on the integrations. Basically, any company that our customers bring up, we'll sort of see if it's possible to do within the infrastructure we've built, but the goal is to be able to integrate with really all the tools that our customers are using today.”

- Mallorie Brodie  

“I think it's really important from a strategic perspective that companies are attractive to female employees because that's just a whole other group within our economy that can be tapped into to help grow the industry overall.”

- Mallorie Brodie

”People would almost expect that our company would be very male-dominated, but we're actually like 50/50, and that was not even intentional is just sort of the way the company grew. And I think it is because we were diverse from such an early stage.”

- Mallorie Brodie

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Connect with Rahul Faria and Build Our Future Podcast:

Website: https://www.rahulfaria.com/podcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildourfuture/


Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Build-Our-Future-Podcast

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-faria/

Contact: [email protected]

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Thanks for listening, and if you like what you’ve heard, feel free to share this episode!

In this week's episode of the Build Our Future Podcast, host Rahul Faria is joined by Jack Aspenson.  

Jack Aspenson is the CEO and President of S3 Surface Solutions. S3 Surface Solutions specialize in high-performance epoxy coatings, moisture barrier solutions, and microbial resistant additives – providing their services to clients across a range of industries including the hospitality, education, medical and commercial industries.  

Listen as Jack tells Rahul all about how his ideas came to fruition, and what the mission of S3 Surface Solutions is for the future. 

In this episode, you will hear Rahul and Jack discuss topics such as:  

• The different ways that S3’s methods are safer for the environment and for the individual. 

• How the creator of PureTi inspired Jack to create cleaner sealing methods. 

• The ingredients behind making the best quality subfloor solutions. 

• What lead Jack Aspenson to launching a business like S3 Surface Solutions. 

QUOTES  

• ”I got to thinking about, you know, what is my home like? You know, one of my daughters has sinus infections all the time. How do I start addressing what could be in the house? Because a lot of time the air outside of your house is cleaner than it is inside?”  

- Jack Aspenson  

• “We were sitting around at dinner one night, and they said, we know we can make things better, but will people buy it? And I said, "well, as long as you're not four times the cost, there's always an opportunity". And so, six years ago, I started S3 with the purpose of finding the quality.”  - Jack Aspenson  

• ”So we are 95% less CO2 in the manufacturing which concrete equates to I think it's 20% or 30% of the Co2 generated in the world, that we generate 95% less. This is what we're developing towards.” 

 - Jack Aspenson 

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LINKS  

Check out S3 Surface Solutions at their website: 

http://s3surfacesolutions.com/ 

Jacks’s LinkedIn:  

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackaspenson/ 

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Connect with Rahul Faria and Build Our Future Podcast:  

Website: https://www.rahulfaria.com/podcast  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildourfuture/ 


Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Build-Our-Future-Podcast  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-faria/  

Contact: [email protected] 

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Thanks for listening, and if you like what you’ve heard, feel free to share this episode!  

In this week's episode of the Build Our Future Podcast, Rahul is joined by Matthew Smith, to discuss the changes and innovation of online business payments for construction company owners.  

Matthew Smith is the co-founder and CEO of MazumaGo. MazumaGo, which launched in 2018, is a digital payment service for business transactions, with the goal of being a more efficient, speedier alternative to cheque-based payments.  

In this episode, you will hear Rahul and Karl discuss topics such as:  

• Why a service like MazumaGo is particularly necessary in the construction industry. 

• The ways in which fast online payments can help businesses increase their productivity, especially during a pandemic. 

• How banks may become obsolete in the not-too-distant future because of online services. 

• How Matthew is inspired by Apple’s concept of the App Store. 

LINKS 

Check out MazumaGo, or even try their demo:  

https://www.mazumago.com/ 

Matthew’s LinkedIn:  

https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-smith250 

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Connect with Rahul Faria and Build Our Future Podcast:  

Website: https://www.rahulfaria.com/podcast  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildourfuture/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Build-Our-Future-Podcast  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-faria/  

Contact: [email protected] 

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If you are interested in MazumaGo, and want to try it out for your business, make sure to check out mazumago.com, and use code: rahul or buildourfuturepodcast to get your first few transactions for free. 

Thanks for listening, and if you like what you’ve heard, feel free to share this episode!   

In this episode of Build Our Future Podcast, Rahul is joined by Karl Travis, to discuss the role that interior design plays in the construction industry.

Karl Travis is a partner and senior interior designer at Hagar Design International Inc. He specializes in the interior design of restaurants and hospitality premises. Since launching in 1984, Hagar Design Inc has established itself as a top go-to firm for providing innovative and creative interior design solutions to their clients.

In this episode, you will hear Rahul and Karl discuss topics such as:

• Karl’s background in the hospitality industry, his experiences working in restaurants in Canada, and why he decided to pursue interior design as a career.

• Why lighting is so important for the atmosphere and the experience of the restaurant-goer.

• How daytime reality TV interior designers differ from most interior designers.

• The different ways interior design can be innovative and sustainable.

• How the pandemic has affected the way restaurants are designed.