Disrupt the way we design, construct, and maintain the built world.
This is our challenge to entrepreneurs. This is what we invest in.
Disrupt the way we design, construct, and maintain the built world.
This is our challenge to entrepreneurs. This is what we invest in.
OUR MISSION
Identify, invest in, and grow emerging companies developing innovative software and hardware solutions for the industries of architecture, engineering, construction, and facilities management.
THE Team
THE Team
DARREN BECHTEL
MANAGING DIRECTOR
With over 10 years of venture investing and 7 years as an engineer, operator, and turnaround CEO in the AEC and medical device industries, Darren brings investment strategy, business management, and product development skills to the team. Realizing the vast opportunities for innovation in the AEC world, Darren founded Brick & Mortar Ventures in 2015 to help entrepreneurs disrupt the built world industries.
CURTIS RODGERS
PARTNER
Curtis is a construction technologist with six years of construction process improvement experience at both Kiewit and McCarthy Construction. Curtis founded The Society for Construction Solutions (SCS) in 2014, contributed to the NASA Centennial 3D Printed Habitat Challenge, and participated as a lecturer for the US Dept. of Energy's Project Leadership Institute.
Kaustubh Pandya
PARTNER
Kaustubh has always enjoyed problem solving - first as a forensic structural engineer, second as a strategy consultant at McKinsey & Company, and third as a rock climber. He is a Licensed Professional Engineer and brings over 8 years of industry experience in advising and working with owners, technology providers, and other AEC stakeholders. Kaustubh is passionate about accelerating the pace of construction technology.
GUILLAUME BAZOUIN
PARTNER, EMEA
Guillaume is based in Paris, FR, leading Brick & Mortar’s construction technology investments and corporate partnerships across the EMEA region. Previously, he led Startup and Intrapreneurship Programs at VINCI, where he facilitated collaborations between the corporate world and innovative startups. In his free time, he enjoys sailing, kayaking, and hiking.
austin yount
PRINCIPAL
Austin spent almost 3 years as an investment banking analyst at Montgomery & Co and 4 years as an early employee of the venture-backed Enjoy Technology. He grew up around his family’s land development business and had a brief career as a professional athlete, ultimately leading to his passion of helping small teams in the built environment.
ALICE LEUNG
VICE PRESIDENT, Platform & Product Strategy
Prior to joining Brick & Mortar Ventures, Alice worked for DPR Construction building and implementing construction technologies on large acute-care hospitals and data centers. She has worked in the San Francisco Bay Area and helped start up DPR’s Southeast Asia HQ in Singapore.
Our Companies
We continue to be inspired and impressed by the innovative teams in which we invest and with which we partner. Get to know them, because they are the ones set on disrupting one of the largest sectors of the global economy.
Our Companies
We continue to be inspired and impressed by the innovative teams in which we invest and with which we partner. Get to know them, because they are the ones set on disrupting one of the largest sectors of the global economy.
WHAT WE LOOK FOR
At around $11T USD in global output and representing approximately 13% of the world’s GDP, the construction sector is one of the largest industries in the world. And growing. The global construction market is expected to reach roughly $15.5T worldwide by 2030, yet the industry has been late to the game to adopt new technologies to improve project delivery and process management. With IT expenses hovering around 1% of gross revenue, construction holds last place in the rankings of IT spend by global economic sector. Fierce competition between firms to win future bids, necessity to reduce operating expenses in response to shrinking margins, and challenges in recruiting and retaining young talent are forcing the industry to innovate.
Innovation in the AEC and facilities management sectors spans a wide continuum ranging from simple digitalization of paper-based processes to the frontiers of science fiction. We look at investment opportunities across this full range. Incremental improvements to existing workflows and radically disruptive new processes alike will help drive efficiency gains, increase productivity, and improve safety conditions throughout the AEC and facilities management industries.
From cloud-based design collaboration and task management software, to workforce telematics and asset tracking, to exoskeletons and autonomous equipment, to reality capture technologies and more, the future of how we design, construct, and maintain the built world around us within our generation will be dramatically different from the activity you see on your commute to work.