The trick is to create something that solves the most painful problems and saves time, but is simultaneously fast and user friendly. Although the construction sector proved to be a tough nut to crack, Buildcon Inc. thinks it may change that
Buildcon is a management web and mobile app that strives to revolutionise the way building project managers and engineers in the construction industry organise their work, by rendering their communication and collaboration instant, with all data in one place. We spoke with Buildcon CEO Janko Stojanović about the prospects of this promising start-up.
With your application you found a niche – in the construction industry – that was not previously investigated by many start-ups. What is the situation like today and how are you positioned on the market?
– Construction tech is an extremely interesting domain today. Considering that the construction industry is one of the least digitised industries in the world, and that productivity and profit margins are way below other industries, it is not that hard to realise that construction needs to change and actively adopt innovative solutions.
Our vision for Buildcon is as an ultimate cloud-based system for construction projects with all project shareholders on the same platform, tracking the same metrics and viewing the same reports. Buildcon is a mix of a lean construction approach with some of the best and proven project management methodologies, and by using it basically anyone can deliver their projects on time and yield higher profits. Besides that, companies also create a huge amount of useful data that is analysed and used for reference on future projects.
This needs to happen in construction so that we can minimise misunderstandings and focus on important things.
We are actively seeking partners in the form of major construction companies across Europe, the Middle East and the U.S. We want them as our clients, but also as evangelists of the values that Buildcon is bringing to construction projects generally
Early last year you simultaneously entered two great world seed funds and accelerators. How much has that helped you in developing your applications?
– Working with some of the best mentors and serial entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley was an eye-opener for us. For me personally, it was more valuable than the money they put in. Our investors are not focused on the development of our product. They are more helpful with the growth and scaling of our company, basically everything business-related. The fast development of technology is also bringing new sales and marketing approaches that we are constantly testing and implementing with our business model.
Today you operate from two addresses, one in Silicon Valley and the other in Belgrade. What are your future plans?
-By working closely with our clients and beta testers, we are constantly developing new Buildcon modules and features. We are actively seeking partners in the form of major construction companies across Europe, the Middle East and the U.S. We want them as our clients, but also as evangelists of the values that Buildcon is bringing to construction projects generally.
We are still focusing strongly on the product; we want Buildcon to be something that field engineers and project managers couldn’t imagine working without on their projects. It’s easy to build complicated software, but the trick is to create something that solves the most painful problems and saves time but is also fast and easy to use. That rarely happens in construction software and we want to change that.