Imagine generating structural engineering drawings 10 times faster. That's what Genia is doing, and it's changing the game for structural engineers.

Recently we were invited to the BOOST cohort from Suffolk Technologies where we had a chance to interview Zhihao, co-founder and CEO of Genia, and we got to learn about how their generative design co-pilot is transforming the industry.

Tune in to find out about:

• How Genia uses AI to generate structural drawings while ensuring accuracy and code compliance.

• Why Genia is reducing human errors and material use by 5-20% in designs.

• How they are building trust with engineers through transparent calculations and detailed analysis reports.

• How their technology is automating end-to-end processes that were once manual and time-consuming.

"The secret to raising $4.5M for a construction tech startup? 149 'nos' and 1 'yes' from YC."

In today's episode of Bricks & Bytes, we had Anna Berger, founder of Trayd - a construction payroll and compliance platform built specifically for specialty contractors. From failing at video dating apps to revolutionizing construction back offices, Anna's journey is a masterclass in persistence and problem-solving.

Tune in to learn about:

✅ How working in her dad's construction office led to discovering a massive market opportunity

✅ Why Trayd focuses on specialty contractors instead of general contractors

✅ The power of Trayd shows in B2B sales (and why cold calling doesn't work)

✅ Building an effective founding team: why having a technical co-founder matters

----

Chapters 03:43 Introduction and Background

06:34 The Journey of Curtin: A Video Dating App

09:41 Transition to Construction: Insights from Family Business

12:48 Building Trade: The All-in-One Solution for Construction

15:43 Understanding Payroll Complexity in Construction

18:43 The Importance of Scheduling and Labor Tracking

21:49 Customer Focus: Targeting Specialty Contractors

24:44 Product Discovery: Listening to Customer Needs

27:42 Market Landscape and Competition

30:49 Fundraising Journey and Challenges

33:45 Lessons Learned and Future Outlook

37:17 The Evolution of Trade's Focus

38:59 Experiences with Y Combinator

39:51 The Importance of Strategic Investors

43:31 Navigating the Construction Industry's Challenges

44:52 Hiring for a Growing Team

46:04 The Value of In-Person Collaboration

47:14 Product Development Insights

48:53 Effective Customer Engagement Strategies

51:45 Building Emotional Connections in Sales

53:07 Understanding the Buyer Persona

53:59 Evaluating Cost Savings for CFOs

56:00 Exploring Growth Tactics Beyond Trade Shows

57:38 The Role of Content in Marketing

58:02 Addressing Skepticism in Sales

01:00:17 The Importance of User Experience

01:03:20 The Value of Community Among Founders

Did you know that building materials account for 11% of all greenhouse gas emissions globally? It's a huge number, and that's why Tangible exists!

Recently, we were invited to the BOOST cohort from Suffolk Technologies where we had a chance to interview Anneli, co-founder and CEO of Tangible, and we got to learn about how they're helping real estate developers measure and reduce embodied carbon, and much more!

Tune in to find out about:

How Tangible measures embodied carbon using BIM files, making it easy for developers to see their impact.

Why legislation, corporate demand, and investor pressure are driving the need for carbon transparency.

How Tangible is helping to reduce the impact of concrete, a major source of emissions.

How data is used to drive better decisions in material selection and building design.