Every construction startup gets acquired for less than $100 million.
That’s what Yves Frinault was told when he pitched Fieldwire back in 2013. They called it the “$100 million curse” that killed every construction tech company.
But Yves had a different plan.
In today’s episode of Bricks & Bytes, we had Yves Frinault and we got to learn about how military training shaped his leadership style, why gaming experience was crucial for building construction software, and the near-death moment that almost killed Fieldwire… and many more!
Tune in to find out about:
✅ How paratrooper training taught him fairness in leadership
✅ Why he went from half salary to a successful Series A in months
✅ The product lessons he learned from video game design
✅ How Fieldwire broke the $100M curse with their Hilti acquisition
Listen now on Spotify and discover how one founder changed construction tech forever.
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Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:30 From Military to Tech: A Unique Journey
04:23 Lessons from Gaming: Insights for Construction Tech
07:24 The Birth of FieldWire: Inspiration and Initial Steps
13:24 Navigating Growth: Key Milestones and Customer Insights
19:04 Marketing Strategies: The Power of Ads and Product-Led Growth
25:13 Scaling Up: Targeting Different Customer Segments
30:56 Enterprise vs. SMB: Understanding Market Dynamics
40:35 Balancing Customization and Scalability
41:59 Testing Frameworks and Product Development
46:35 The Hilti Acquisition Journey
51:55 Cultural Integration Post-Acquisition
57:10 Negotiating Acquisition Deals
01:01:33 Pricing Strategies in Construction Tech
01:04:20 Go-to-Market Strategies in Construction Tech
01:07:20 The State of Exits in Construction Tech
01:10:19 Key Decisions that Shape Success
01:13:15 Future Aspirations and New Ventures
