224: How a 12-Year-Old took his Dad's Dreams… to the Cloud | Phil Ogilby of STACK Construction Software

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Background on Phil Ogilby of Stack Construction:

Phil Ogilby is the Founder and CEO of STACK Construction Technologies. In 1984, Phil started his first construction contracting company in Dayton, OH doing residential and later commercial work. He witnessed firsthand the challenges of managing people, equipment, materials, and especially an ever-changing bid schedule. In 1995, Phil's 14-year-old son, Justin Ogilby, wrote the code for Buildware Pro estimating software, making it easy to measure plans using a digitizer or measure on screen using a computer mouse. After a few years, Phil developed Private Construction Office, an online portal where general contractors could share plans and specs with their contractors using the internet.

In 2001, iSqFt.com was created and it has been a major force in moving the construction world from paper to digital information. When Phil left iSqFt, he began building STACK Construction Technologies. His vision all along has been to build a modern version of Buildware Pro that would run in the cloud. He wanted a solution that would be easy to operate with a minimal learning curve, that would run in any environment and on any device. Today, STACK has thousands of users worldwide and is the fastest growing cloud-based solution for takeoff and estimating in the construction industry. STACK has hundreds of 5-star customer reviews and a renewal rate of over 95%.

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

  • [1:19] Phil Ogilby is the Co-Founder of Stack Construction Technologies based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They have about 120 employees and they are still hiring daily.
  • [3:04] Stack is the first cloud-based solution where people can upload their blueprints. Phil describes it as a pre-construction platform.
  • [5:11] Recently, Phil was invited to speak to a committee about the impact of construction on technology. He learned some disturbing facts on the field of construction.
  • [10:02] Phil shares a story of how Stack was able to help a company grow and earn more revenue.
  • [15:38] Some of the old desktop software that are still being used are On-Screen Takeoff, Bluebeam, and PlanSwift.
  • [16:50] Phil shares the advantages of using Stack compared to the old desktop software.
  • [19:07] After high school, Phil decided to become a sheet metal worker instead of going to college. Phil tells his story of how he got started in the construction business.
  • [22:57] At 25 years old, Phil worked for a non-union roofing company, which proved to be difficult.
  • [24:27] Austin shares his view on labor unions. In Episode 206 – Ethan Wendle interview, they talk about labor union issues.
  • [25:32] Phil’s son was 12 years old when they collaborated to build software for the construction business. After 5 years, they sold about $500 thousand worth of their buildware estimating software.
  • [33:32] When the digital blueprint started to become accepted in the industry, Phil tried to partner with FW Dodge but he was rejected.
  • [37:38] It’s the late 90s, during the dot-com boom and Phil was looking for investors to start his company called ISQFT.com.
  • [45:57] In 2008, Phil quit ISQFT, sold his shares and barely made any money, even though he was the founder. This paved the way for Phil to create Stack.
  • [52:29] Phil offers a piece of advice for those who have a side hustle and a day job and wants to ensure their success.
  • [54:09] When he was still in the roofing business, everything was always a struggle. According to Phil, the construction business has a very high failure rate.
  • [58:47] For entrepreneurs, Phil offers another sound advice to reach success sooner.
  • [1:01:34] Reaching success was not an easy journey for Phil and his early days in the business were filled with difficult moments.
  • [1:04:28] Phil was already 40 years old when he made his first 100 grand. It was a late financial success for him.
  • [1:09:18] From a simple painting job offered to him when he was still a teenager, it opened up this realization that it is possible for Phil to create a better life for himself.

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Fabulous 4 Questions:

  1. 📖📚 Favorite Books? The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
  2. 🙌😎 Favorite Amazon.com purchase? Don't shop on Amazon anymore
  3. 🌱💸 Favorite Tool that's GROWN your Business? Salesforce, properly implemented has been a game changer
  4. 💭💡 BIGGEST Challenge keeping your Business from GROWING? Hiring rock star performers for every role, it's tough, some might say impossible, but worth the effort

Key Point from the Interview:

  • “Get somebody next to you who fills in for your weaknesses, be honest with yourself cos you’re probably not that person who can do everything perfectly all the time. So find somebody who covers your weakness, and then when you find friction that’s standing between you and more revenue, fix the friction and pretty soon you got a real business.”

Resources Mentioned:

 

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