If you’re running an early-stage construction tech startup, you’ve probably felt that familiar knot in your stomach when trying to decide where to focus your marketing efforts. Should you be writing blog posts? Attending trade shows? Running LinkedIn ads? Building that sales deck? The list feels endless, and your resources definitely aren’t.
This is where Kalyn Lengieza’s “Time, Talent, Treasure” framework becomes a game-changer. As a seasoned marketing consultant who’s worked with contech startups for almost nine years, Kalyn has seen firsthand how the wrong prioritization can sink promising companies before they even get off the ground.
TL;DR: Time, Talent, Treasure
The “Time, Talent, Treasure” Framework helps early-stage contech startups make smart go-to-market decision
- Time: How much time can you realistically dedicate to a marketing activity?
- Talent: Do you have the right people internally or need to hire/outsource?
- Treasure: What’s your budget, and where will it deliver the best ROI?
- Key insight: Construction tech requires authentic relationships – you can’t just flip on ads and expect leads
Bottom line: Choose one resource to prioritize per initiative rather than spreading yourself too thin
In this episode, Kalyn Lengieza, owner of Grindstone Consultants, shares why authenticity beats fancy tech features, how relationships still drive deals in our industry, and the real secrets behind successful construction tech marketing.
The Framework That Changes Everything
The beauty of the Time, Talent, Treasure framework lies in its simplicity. Instead of trying to do everything at once (spoiler alert: that never works), you force yourself to make conscious choices about resource allocation.
- Time is about understanding your bandwidth. As Kalyn puts it, “If you have 10 hours in a day as a CEO, are you going to spend how much time creating content? Or are we going to put your talent to that? Or are we going to outsource it?”
- Talent refers to the people you have access to – whether that’s your internal team, your own skills, or the expertise you can bring in from outside.
- Treasure is your budget – the cold, hard cash you can allocate to different initiatives.
Here’s the kicker: you can’t optimize for all three simultaneously. Something has to give, and that’s where strategic thinking comes in.
Why This Matters More in Construction Tech
Construction technology isn’t like other industries where you can throw money at Google Ads and watch the leads pour in. As Kalyn explains, “This isn’t just like a faceless industry where you go and you put in a credit card and people buy tech and start using it. It’s very hard to get the growth in tech in the industry without growing the relationships as well.”
The construction industry runs on authenticity and relationships. Deals get done on golf courses, at NASCAR races, and in jobsite trailers. This reality makes the Time, Talent, Treasure framework even more critical because you need to be strategic about where you invest your relationship-building efforts.
Making the Framework Work: Real Examples
Let’s say you’re deciding between content creation and event attendance. Using the framework:
Content Creation:
- Time: High (writing, editing, publishing)
- Talent: Medium (you can learn, but quality takes skill)
- Treasure: Low (mostly your time)
Trade Show Attendance:
- Time: High (travel, booth time, follow-up)
- Talent: Medium (booth staff, sales skills)
- Treasure: High (booth fees, travel, materials)
The framework forces you to ask: Which approach aligns better with your current resource constraints and goals?
The Prioritization Process
Kalyn emphasizes that prioritization should focus on “impact and velocity” – how quickly can you get closer to your customer? This is crucial because, as she notes, “The sales life cycles in construction tech can be six months to 18 months to longer, depending on what it is.”
Ask yourself:
- Is spending five hours writing blog posts going to get me closer to customers right now?
- Should I be out meeting with customers instead?
- Should I be at that industry event?
The answer depends on your current stage and what your customers need to hear from you.
The Customer-Centric Approach
One thing that makes Kalyn’s approach particularly effective is her insistence on putting the customer at the center of everything. She’s adamant about this: “I try to put the customer at the center of everything I do, no matter what, and understand where they’re going, what they’re doing, how they think about it.”
This customer-first mindset should inform how you apply the Time, Talent, Treasure framework. Before deciding where to invest your resources, you need to understand:
- How your customers prefer to learn about new solutions
- What channels they actually use and trust
- What problems keep them up at night
- How they make purchasing decisions
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Many contech startups make the mistake of trying to do everything at once. They’ll launch a content marketing program, start LinkedIn advertising, begin attending trade shows, and try to build partnerships simultaneously. This scattered approach typically leads to mediocre results across all channels.
The framework forces you to be honest about your limitations and make strategic choices. As Kalyn points out, “A lot of startups try to do, they bite off more than they can chew.”
Practical Implementation
Here’s how to start using the framework today:
- List your potential go-to-market activities (content, events, ads, partnerships, etc.)
- Assess each activity using the Time, Talent, Treasure lens
- Identify your biggest constraint (usually time for early-stage startups)
- Choose 1-2 activities that align with your constraints and customer preferences
- Set success metrics and timelines for evaluation
- Commit to the choice for at least a full quarter before major pivots
The Long Game
Remember, construction tech marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. The industry values consistency and authentic relationships over flashy campaigns. The Time, Talent, Treasure framework helps you make sustainable choices that you can execute well rather than ambitious plans that fall apart under resource constraints.
As Kalyn wisely notes, “You got to be willing to test and iterate all the time.” The framework doesn’t eliminate the need for experimentation, but it ensures your experiments are strategic and sustainable.
Your Next Steps
The next time you’re faced with a go-to-market decision, pause and ask yourself: Am I optimizing for time, talent, or treasure here? What’s my biggest constraint right now? What would my customers actually value most?
The construction industry may be slow to change, but that creates opportunities for companies that can build genuine relationships and deliver consistent value. The Time, Talent, Treasure framework helps ensure you’re making the most of your limited resources to build those crucial relationships that drive long-term success.
Remember, as Kalyn puts it, “The industry’s worth it. Keep at it.”
