Predicting Our Future

Have we hit a tipping point for residential construction where the cost and quality of a factory-built home always compares favorably to the cost and quality of a conventionally-built home? Are Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and venture capitalists beginning to train their sights on this mammoth industry? In the sixth and final episode of a series on the future of homebuilding, Andrew discusses how entrepreneurs eager to disrupt this space might conceive of building and financing a modern homebuilding factory. To evaluate this opportunity, he interviews machinery and factory experts including Hansbert Ott of Weinmann, Reza Nasseri of Landmark Homes, and Professor Ryan E. Smith.

In 2012, six single-family homes were made by a 3D printer in China. The inventor of that technology is now working on a 3D printer designed to construct buildings on Mars. Does this technology have a future on Earth? Or does the future of homebuilding involve modern factories that leverage robots to build wood or steel framing similar to the types of machines you might find in modern automotive plants? In the fifth episode of a series on the future of homebuilding, Andrew speaks with innovators and academics about technologies that have the potential to revolutionize the homebuilding industry, including interviews with Behrokh Khoshnevis, inventor of Contour Crafting; Professor Jeffrey Liker, author of The Toyota Way; and Michele Francovigh, Lead Project Engineer at Fincantieri.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you could predict where the world was headed? What kind of company would you build or invest in if you could see what disruptions were coming next? This is a sneak preview of the new podcast, Predicting Our Future, where serial entrepreneur Andrew Weinreich interviews leaders in different verticals to predict what changes and opportunities await.