As the construction industry roars back to life after a difficult recession, Minneapolis startup
BuildTools is finding robust growth, less than two years after launching.
The construction management software got its start when a local builder approached business development professional Chad Mayes and asked for a software tool to assist with building projects. After a test run, Mayes and his team took the software platform to other builders to see if it was worth further development.
"It quickly became apparent that we were sitting on something really valuable, so we took it from in-house ugly duckling to polished software platform," says Mayes. The new BuildTools application released nationally in the summer of 2011, and since then, growth has been so solid that the tool quickly went international, and is now translated into six languages.
Timing has been key, Mayes notes. During the darker days of the recession, many in the construction industry learned to streamline operations, and they didn't make investments for new software. As the industry regained health, the ongoing desire for efficiency and looser budgets brought a surge of customers to BuildTools.
Designed by builders, the software is ideal for mobile devices like iPads, which are increasingly used by project managers, contractors, and even carpenters, for making lists and referring to construction plans.
Mayes estimates that BuildTools is currently reaching just under 10 percent of the market, which means that major expansion is likely as the platform becomes more widespread.
"Definitely, we see increased growth, and we'll be looking to expand not just locally but also nationally and internationally," says Mayes.
Source: Chad Mayes, BuildTools
Writer: Elizabeth Millard