Built by Builders, a network of eight construction technology companies, launched on December 11 to let contractors know that the founders of the member companies all have construction experience.
Built by the founding members of Builders are ConCntric, a pre-construction management and collaboration platform; Document Crunch, a contract and document review platform; Clearstory, an exchange order management platform; Togal.AI, an estimation platform based on artificial intelligence; ProjectMark, a construction customer relationship management platform; SALUS, a security management platform; Kaster, a commercial subcontractor management platform; and PLOT, a job recruitment and delivery platform. The group wants contractor customers to know that they understand construction challenges and how to meet them through experience-based products.
The individual founders of contech startups who all come from a construction background are; Josh Levy, co-founder and CEO of Document Crunch who previously worked for JE Dunn and Wood as a construction attorney; Cameron Page, founder and CEO of Clearstory, previously head of projects at Devcon Construction; Patrick Murphy, founder and CEO of Togal.AI and formerly an executive at Coastal Construction and Renco; Tom Deane, co-founder and CEO of ProjectMark, who worked on it project management roles at AECOM, Holwick Constructors and MGAC; Gabe Guetta, co-founder and CEO of SALUS, formerly COO of Tros Construction; Chris Callen, founder and CEO of PLOT, formerly with Builders Plus Construction; Joseph Leiva, co-founder and CEO of Kaster and previously project manager and project engineer at L&L Construction; and Steve Dell’Orto, the founder and CEO of ConCntric, formerly regional executive officer of Clark Construction, among other construction positions. Dell’Orto is the founder of the Built by Builders network and invited the other seven companies to become inaugural members.
“It really stemmed from a lot of the conversations I was having with our clients and the realization that with my background as a construction industry executive and having hands-on experience at a deep level with all the things we were tackling, that fact gave [our customers] comfort that someone has stepped into their shoes and maybe even mastered the issues they’re dealing with,” Dell’Orto said. “Turning that experience into a tool they can use made a big difference, in instead of buying software. from someone outside the industry who was just a technologist.”
Dell’Orto said the group expects Built by Builders to grow by 2025 and be joined by more contech member companies that started their careers in the construction industry.
“It’s really about elevating the industry, and anything we can do to play a role outside of our individual companies, (and) as a partnership, anything we can do to help raise the bar, of course , the more the merrier,” said Dell’Orto. “But we have to stay true to the fact that all the members are companies founded and run by builders who have spent a considerable amount of time in the industry and are subject matter experts.”
The group plans to launch a website, and the first of its webinar series has already been announced on the ConCntric site.
