Quote: “We’re not saying get rid of your contractors, but we have data to strengthen what you’re already doing.”

In this episode of the Ignite Podcast, Michael Waitze is joined by Patrick Connolly, the Founder, and CEO of Anility, whose vision is to make construction nightmares a thing of the past. Dedicated to empowering construction teams with accurate and reliable data to identify any risks quickly and effectively during the contractor vetting process, Anility values both transparency and accountability to their clients. 

They discussed Patrick's experience around leaving the comforts of a stable job, the problems present within the construction industry, the role of technology, and what risks Anility is able to eliminate in the contractor vetting process. 

Building a Future in Construction

Born and raised in a family working in the construction industry, Patrick naturally followed in their footsteps. He explained that upon his time studying Engineering at the University of New South Wales he found himself wondering if that was really the path for him. 

“I realized engineering wasn’t for me, it was a little too mathematical and I was a more hands-on management type of guy,” said Patrick. 

He promptly transferred into a Project Management course following his realization and upon his graduation, he got his first job as a contract administrator. Patrick detailed his experience working in that role and the different responsibilities he was given as he progressed his career. 

Venturing Into Startups

When asked about what his friends and family thought about him leaving his stable job and venturing into the unknown world of startups, Patrick laughed and said “most of my friends and family still ask me what I do.”

Most people who leave their relatively safe and secure jobs to join the world of startups are because they see a problem they want to fix, and that they want to make an impact. Patrick admitted that his end goal was to always own his own construction company, and while working he started to realize that there was a major problem. 

Patrick explained that he found that within the construction industry, the actual process of vetting subcontractors was extremely difficult as everything was from word of mouth and nothing was ever documented. Which was how the idea of Anility emerged. 

Constructing Transformation

“You can invest in the best technology, but if you pick the wrong contract to work on your project, you’re going to end up with all sorts of problems,” Patrick highlighted. 

Technology may be on the rise and has shown to improve our livelihoods from every day tasks to more complex issues, but they can’t fix everything. They discussed how crucial it is to manage risks to projects which includes establishing a prequalification process for contractors. 

As Patrcik states, “you can invest in the best technology, but if you hire a contractor who does not have the skills, quality, financial capacity to take the job on in the first place,” the project is doomed for utter failure. He then goes on to explain how Anility mitigates these risks and allows for transparency and accountability through the help of data. 

To learn more about Patrick Connolly and how he has constructed transformation in the construction industry, listen to this episode of the Ignite Podcast today.

The episode summary was expertly written by Panchanit (Pang) Thawornwong.