What inspired Karly and Alena to found Hardline and how did their professional journeys shape the company’s mission? What are the biggest operational pain points Karly saw construction teams face that technology failed to address effectively? How does Hardline define “on-site tech enablement” and why is this an overlooked opportunity in the broader contech space? What were the early customer signals that validated the need for Hardline’s solution? How did time in the field influence Hardline's product design decisions and what constraints did they deliberately build around? Why does Hardline emphasize frontline usability over back-office integrations? How does Hardline think about trust-building with trade partners and GCs in an industry often slow to adopt change? What role did bootstrapping play in refining Hardline’s go-to-market strategy and product-market fit? How has the team navigated fundraising and investor education for a company rooted in field operations rather than data analytics? Why do Karly and Alena believe the next wave of construction technology will be shaped by founders with firsthand experience in the trades?

Karly Heffernan and Alena Tuttle - co-founders of Hardline, join Proptech Espresso to answer these questions and discuss the decisions to pursue passion at work with tech startups over lucrative established professional careers.

Why is creating real value for the end customer critical for startups to ensure a going concern? How has construction become responsible for such a large portion of global pollution? What did Jennifer observe about the construction space that she identified as a process opportunity for differentiating her firm from competitors? Why is there so much mistrust within construction? What about the tangibility of construction was so compelling to Jennifer? Why was starting a construction business during a recession an unexpected blessing? Why was the adoption of BuilderTrends instrumental in Jennifer scaling Scala Construction? What drew Jennifer back to entrepreneurship despite the success of her construction company? Why has the European adoption of construction innovation exceeded the pace of what is happening in the US? What about the Netherlands' historical business culture has contributed to its adoption of innovative construction technology? What factors have driven the circular economy adoption within Europe? Why is performance replacing sustainability in the construction technology vernacular? How has WerkWell established itself as a trusted bridge between European building materials and technologies and the US market? Why is building with resiliency the next frontier for construction in the US?

Jennifer Koster - CEO and founder of WerkWell Holdings, joins Proptech Espresso to answer these questions and discuss how an off-the-cuff comment from her father led her to leave the technology startup world and jump into real estate construction.

What are the similarities between the terms 'proptech' and 'I love you'? Why was learning to speak English so important for Oscar? What lessons on entrepreneurship did Oscar learn from being a real estate agent? Why is it important to break out of your comfort zone and put yourself in uncomfortable situations? What did Oscar learn about himself after working as an accountant for several months? Why is making mistakes so critical for entrepreneurs? How did the decision to build an international relocation consultancy come about? Why was the COVID pandemic so devastating for Oscar's original business? What insight caused Oscar to rethink the business strategy around international mobility and transform the business into a software technology platform for all key stakeholders? Which issues were international students and professionals facing regarding their residencies post move-in that pointed to the need for a holistic real estate management solution? Why are professionals increasingly seeking international work experiences?

Oscar Rubio - CEO and co-founder of Lodgerin, joins Proptech Espresso to answer these questions and discuss how attending university internationally helped him develop the necessary expertise to reinvent himself as a relocation expert for students and professionals.