You Can’t Buy or Bullshit Your Way Into Construction Tech Adoption

Let’s get something straight: you can’t buy your way in, and you damn sure can’t bullshit your way in.

It doesn’t matter how outdated the current processes seem or how “game-changing” your solution is. If you think a slick demo, a fancy pitch deck, and a swagged-out booth at a conference are gonna get contractors or material producers to bow down in gratitude, I’ve got bad news for you: this ain’t SaaS, and construction ain’t your playground.

These folks? They’re some of the hardest-working, most successful, intelligent, gritty motherfuckers on the planet. They build roads, bridges, runways, tunnels, and entire communities, with their hands, minds, balls (and high-heels) of steel. And you think you’re gonna impress them with some KPIs and a “revolutionary” onboarding flow? Come on.

They can smell inauthenticity from a mile away.

Now…can they benefit from evolving? Hell yes. Tech can help a lot. But if you want even a shot at that opportunity, you better be ready to show up and show out the right way.

What This Techie Learned (the Hard Way)

I come from generations of family in the trades. I’ve also spent years now building in this space, being humbled over and over. Here’s what I’ve learned, and what most tech folks still haven’t:

They can’t be bought.

Billions — yes, billions — have been thrown at construction tech. VCs cut checks, hired legions of salespeople, slapped logos on Yetis, and thought the industry would just roll over. Spoiler: it didn’t. Because this isn’t just about having a product, it’s about earning trust.

There is no shortcut.

You have to do the work. Understand them, their workflows. Learn the relationships. Spend time on site, and yes (sorry Gen Zs), answer your damn phone. Show up, again and again, and prove you’re not just another suit or Patagonia vest trying to sell something that breaks under real-world pressure.

Respect is currency.

It’s not optional. It matters more than your product. These folks have deep respect for what they do, who they do it with, and the craft it takes to do it right. They might be cutthroat on bids, but they’ll still have a beer with their competitor right after. It’s brotherhood. YOU can tease your brother, but you throw hands if someone else does. That’s the code.

Fast doesn’t always win.

Tech moves at lightning speed — AI, robotics, whatever. But your customers? They have roots. Multi-generation family businesses. Crews that have been together for 30+ years. Customers and suppliers with loyalty deeper than your data model can comprehend. They’ve watched tech come and go. They’ll outlast your platform and your pivot if you don’t show staying power.

They’re not boulders. They’re rivers.

Sure, you may think of them as slow-moving, conservative, and resistant. But water shapes rock. Rivers, oceans, glaciers — that’s the force you’re up against. You can’t shove your way in. You’ve got to flow with it. Understand it. Respect it.

And yet…

I’m still here, still learning. Still betting that the right people, the ones who actually care, can build the right tools for this industry. Built the right way, with their trust, on their terms.

Not just for market share. Not just for an exit. But to serve the interests of this industry and that matters to me, and should to us all.