It was a punch list that ignited Lauren Hasegawa’s innovative mind and changed her career path.
A punch list, in case you’re wondering, is a list of remaining tasks as a construction job nears completion – things like paint touch-ups, repairs to broken windows and installation of light bulbs.
When Hasegawa first saw one in 2009, the civil engineering student was taken aback: The list was scrawled out on a piece of paper.
It was one of the many low-tech aspects of modern-day construction that surprised – and eventually frustrated – the University of Western Ontario student as she sweated out her summers on construction sites.
“Everything is still done by hand on site,” Hasegawa said, adding that the most sophisticated technology she saw seemed to be the BlackBerrys hooked onto tool belts. “It’s the same way they’ve been doing it for the past number of decades. Nothing has really changed.”
Hasegawa knew she wanted to stay in the industry, and saw a chance to introduce some innovation into a deeply traditional and conservative field. She’s now doing just that as co-founder of Bridgit, a Waterloo Region company whose software helps construction professionals collaborate on projects and manage tasks more effectively.
The team’s first product, Closeout, is a punch list management tool that helps ensure all final details are completed so a project can close. The two-year-old company now counts more than 1,000 contractors, developers and others among its users in Canada and the United States.
Still, when the idea for what would become Bridgit first surfaced, Hasegawa wasn’t sure she was ready to work for herself.
Enter her friend Mallorie Brodie, a Western business grad. Brodie had earned her entrepreneurship certificate while running her own online art gallery to help classmates sell their art, and always knew she wanted to run her own business.
Brodie also had some relevant background, as her family had worked in construction and real estate. And so, the two women began discussing Hasegawa’s ideas to shake up the industry.
They approached the formation of what would eventually become Bridgit in a logical manner. They pounded the pavement and visited site after site, talking to anyone who would give them time.
Since neither had a technical background in software, they wanted to ensure they were on the right track in solving a real problem before they set out to build the solution.
“We didn’t have a technical co-founder from day one so we couldn’t just build something and hope customers would come,” Hasegawa said.
“Five hundred interviews later, we had it,” Brodie added. “They gave us all these problems that we had an idea how to solve. It’s very different from how I think people picture a company starting.”
With their seedling idea in hand, Hasegawa and Brodie applied and were accepted to The Next 36 program in Toronto, which provides high-level mentorship to undergraduate entrepreneurs.
When they finished the seven-month program, the co-founders searched for a supportive and affordable community for their team. With no ties to Toronto, they settled on Waterloo Region, and moved Bridgit here a year and a half ago.
In addition to its low cost of living and strong university co-op programs, the region’s proximity to both London and Toronto appealed to Hasegawa and Brodie as they spent time with builders and developers.
Bridgit first landed in the Laurier Sandbox [now the Laurier LaunchPad] in the Communitech Hub, then moved to the University of Waterloo’s Hub-based Velocity Garage.
Brodie admitted it can be difficult to break into the tight-knit community of UW and Laurier alumni, but the company is finding its rhythm and its entire nine-member team now lives in the region. Hasegawa also joined Communitech’s board of directors recently.
“We want to really settle down and build our team,” Brodie said.
That team is predominantly female, an anomaly not only in tech, but in construction. So far, construction professionals have been quicker than venture capitalists to embrace Bridgit.
“They like that we’re bringing a fresh perspective to the industry,” Hasegawa said. “They are happy to have us. [Our success is] very much based on merit.”
To VCs, though, “We’re the least likely pair to go and change the construction technology industry in [investors’] eyes,” she said. “They are used to the 25-year-old guys in hoodies who are developers, and they have no one to model us after.”
Neither Brodie nor Hasegawa are too concerned. Funding is just another task on their current punch list.
Like finding the right solution to the right problem, they know the right funding partner will be out there, even if it takes 500 interviews to find.
Photo: Hasegawa (L) and Brodie on a construction site using Bridgit in downtown Kitchener.
