Ep. 2 - The Next Chapter of Construction Technology with Paul Zeckser
How AI is transforming pre-construction, and why precision matters as much as speed in construction tech.
A conversation on AI, risk reduction, and building durable software for real estate development.
In this Founder Series episode, Ryan Elazari sits down with Paul Zeckser, Co-Founder and CEO of LightTable, to explore how AI is changing one of the most expensive and error-prone phases of real estate development: pre-construction.
Drawing on decades of leadership experience, Paul shares why building the company later in his career shaped everything from product focus to pricing, and why precision is the real advantage in construction tech.
The discussion spans the challenge of building vertical software as foundational models evolve, what it takes to earn adoption across developers, architects, and contractors, and why in-person collaboration still matters as the industry enters its next technology cycle.
Show Notes:
00:00: Introducing Paul Zeckser
02:37: Why building a company later in your career can be an advantage
06:01: Assembling teams with deep domain expertise
08:33: Leadership, transparency, and prioritizing goals over being liked
10:16: Why most construction problems originate in pre-construction
15:40: Can vertical solutions survive as foundation models evolve?
20:37: Why LightTable chose unlimited-user pricing over traditional SaaS
24:05: Being bullish on the office: collaboration, culture, and outcomes
28:32: CU Boulder, the Deming Center, and a full-circle founder moment
31:10: Postgame Recap
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