When Tom Feliz from DataGrid talks about his journey from building the Apple campus to closing billion-dollar valuations at OpenSpace, one theme echoes throughout: successful construction tech go-to-market strategy starts with genuine pain points.
“Your product has to solve a real industry pain point,” Feliz emphasizes. “That’s why OpenSpace caught fire. We had a really good product that worked and solved a real problem, and it didn’t need training.”
Think about it. Construction is an industry where a superintendent might manage 40+ different companies on a single project. Everyone’s using different tools, processes, and systems. The complexity is mind-boggling, yet we keep throwing more technology at an industry that’s notoriously resistant to change.
The magic happens when you solve problems so clearly that adoption feels inevitable, not forced.
In this episode, Tom Feliz talks about his journey from construction sites to tech leadership at Data Grid. He unpacks the secrets behind effective Go-To-Market strategies in construction tech, drawing from his experiences at OpenSpace, Autodesk, and more.
Speed to Value: The Make-or-Break Metric
In construction, time is literally money. Every minute a trade worker stands around waiting for information costs real dollars. That’s why speed to value isn’t just nice to have—it’s everything.
Feliz shares a perfect example: “I had a customer do a $49 credit card swipe back in October, November. Just last week I signed them up on an enterprise deal almost the same enterprise value as Procore that they use every single day.”
The lesson? Let people experience value immediately. Whether it’s through freemium models, limited free trials, or proof-of-value projects, getting the product into users’ hands quickly separates the scalable solutions from the science projects.
Understanding the Complex Web of Construction Personas
Here’s where most construction tech companies stumble: they think of construction as a monolith. But the reality is far more nuanced.
You’ve got owners who care about IRR and cap rates. Owner representatives managing fiduciary responsibilities. General contractors focused on schedule, cost, quality, and safety. Project executives worried about client satisfaction. Young project engineers who want the best tech to get home by 5 PM instead of staying in trailers until 7.
Each persona has different motivations, different pain points, and different definitions of success. A COO cares about bottom-line efficiency. A 22-year-old project engineer cares about having tools that don’t make them look outdated compared to their software developer friends.
“You have to understand from a persona perspective what are each of those people’s goals and objectives, and how do you align to the problem that you’re solving for each of those personas,” Feliz notes.
The Relationship Game in a Digital World
Construction remains fundamentally relationship-driven. Despite all our talk about digital transformation, deals still happen because people trust each other. They want to look you in the eye, shake your hand, and know you understand their world.
This creates an interesting tension for construction tech go-to-market strategy. You need digital efficiency, but you can’t lose the human element. The companies that win combine both: they use technology to scale relationships, not replace them.
Trade shows remain the number one lead generation source in construction—not because the industry is backward, but because relationships matter. The key is augmenting traditional relationship-building with smart technology, not replacing it entirely.
Product-Led Growth in Construction: Yes, It’s Possible
While construction might seem like an unlikely candidate for product-led growth, the most successful companies are proving otherwise. OpenSpace, ClearStory, and DataGrid all use freemium models that let users experience value before committing budgets.
The pattern works like this:
- Offer core functionality for free
- Create obvious upgrade paths to premium features
- Build virality into the product (like ClearStory requiring subs to use the platform to get paid)
- Convert organic users into enterprise deals
“It’s true product-led growth,” Feliz explains. “Companies that if you look at any unicorn company outside of tech, you look at their secret to success—it’s a lot of product led growth and a lot of word of mouth.”
Enterprise vs. Mid-Market: Choose Your Battle Wisely
Here’s a strategic decision every construction tech startup faces: chase the prestigious Enterprise names or dominate the mid-market?
The enterprise route offers social proof. When DPR or Suffolk uses your tool, others take notice. But enterprise sales cycles can stretch 12-24 months, requiring extensive proof-of-value across multiple business units.
The mid-market approach—targeting regional contractors doing $100-500 million annually—offers faster closes and quicker ARR growth. These companies can make decisions in 1-2 months versus 1-2 years.
“90% of the annual construction volume in the United States is not done by the top 50 ENR,” Feliz points out. “The majority is done by the mid-market—regional firms that power most of the growth.”
The Pricing Model Problem
Let’s address the elephant in the room: construction volume-based pricing. While companies like Procore have built empires on this model, it’s fundamentally flawed for the industry’s future.
Charging based on construction volume penalizes companies for growing. It’s like saying, “Congratulations on doubling your business! Now pay us twice as much for the same software.”
The future belongs to consumption-based, seat-based, or flat-fee models that align with value delivered rather than project size. It’s about partnering with companies to grow, not extracting tolls on their success.
Founder-Led Sales: Stay Close to the Customer
Finally, here’s contrarian advice for construction tech founders: don’t outsource sales too early. The temptation after raising money is to hire a VP of Sales and focus on “CEO stuff.” But that’s often a mistake.
“Founders should lead sales for as long as possible,” Feliz argues. “If you just outsource your sales and lose contact with the customer and their problems and their needs, you miss the iteration opportunities that make products truly valuable.”
The Bottom Line
Construction tech go-to-market success isn’t about having the flashiest technology or the biggest trade show booth. It’s about understanding real problems, solving them simply, and building relationships that scale.
The companies winning today started with genuine pain points, delivered immediate value, understood their diverse customer base, and stayed close to their users throughout the journey. In an industry resistant to change, that approach doesn’t just work—it’s the only thing that does
