EP 42 · 2023-02-22 · 38:34
How Construction Tech Actually Crosses the Chasm: Procore & OpenSpace at Canadian Concrete Expo 2023
ACP takes its mic to the Canadian Concrete Expo and interviews seven Procore and OpenSpace staff — a sponsor showcase that documents industry tech adoption from the inside.
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Ali Halak
⟶ The story, written up — a sharp read with every fact on the record.
// CHAPTERS — TAP TO JUMP THE PLAYER
0:00Sponsor Reads — Pizant Building Products & Procore Partnership Announcement — Cold open with Pizant Building Products sponsor read and the formal announcement of the ACP–Procore co-branded partnership for 2023 podcast episodes.0:43Interview 1 — Ali Halak, Procore (Value of Industry Events) — Ali Halak, who works directly with GCs and subcontractors on concrete, explains why events like Canadian Concrete Expo matter for trend-setting, networking, and levelling the knowledge gap across the industry. He flags that Procore is building its own in-house networking chapters for SMB subcontractors across Canada.3:42Interview 2 — Jason Kokolakis, OpenSpace (360-Documentation & Crossing the Tech Chasm) — Jason from OpenSpace describes 360-degree job-site documentation (pre/post-pour comparisons, drone integration), the MIT-origins of their AI backend, and their company value of simplifying complex tech for field users. The conversation turns to the challenge of selling to reluctant blue-collar trades.8:21Interview 3 — Arabi Siva, Procore Canada Marketing Lead — Arabi describes a marketing lead's weekly rhythm — cross-functional stakeholder meetings, event management, digital campaigns, and customer story production. Highlight: the most satisfying moment is hearing 'we love Procore' on the event floor.10:37Interview 4 — Omer Younus, Urbacon (Change Management & Software Adoption) — Omer, a business analyst at Urbacon for five years, describes the generational gap in construction software adoption: moving people from clipboards and tribal knowledge into integrated platforms. He offers the clearest operator lesson of the episode — spend upfront time on change management because 30 minutes of setup now saves hours later.15:27Interview 5 — Cadman Turner, Procore Executive Sales (SMB Market & Platform Scalability) — Cadman (from Australia, selling in Western Ontario) discusses Procore's SMB sales motion: educating prospects who don't know they need software, the 'grow vs. maximize-margins' dual ICP, and the strategic advantage of getting onto an enterprise-grade platform at the $5-20M revenue mark before needing to migrate later.21:27Interview 6 — Aaron Shean, Procore Customer Success (East Coast Enterprise) — Aaron manages enterprise GC accounts on Canada's East Coast, ensuring product adoption and smooth rollout. He notes that Procore's constant product updates can be overwhelming even internally, which shows the pace of the platform's development.24:32Interview 7 — Brianne Price, Procore Marketing (Upmarket & Culture) — Brianne, hired during COVID and working fully remote for nine months before meeting colleagues, describes Procore's culture and her transition from general-segment marketing to the upmarket GC/developer/public-sector space. Her key point: she was a marketer with no construction background and was won over by the mission and the people.27:39Interview 8 — Kimberly Corlett, Procore Field Marketing Manager — Kimberly, who has eight years of field/construction background before moving to tech marketing, talks about the logistics of event sponsorship (Procore is the Canadian Concrete Expo title sponsor), the partnership with ACP, and what keeps her going during high-pressure event periods — passion forged from lived field experience.32:23Interview 9 — Thomas Del Orario, OpenSpace (Field-to-Sales Pivot & Water Damage ROI Story) — Thomas, a former site super turned OpenSpace sales rep, delivers the episode's best material: he describes being the reluctant camera-on-head guy who ended up converting after water-damage documentation saved his project, and how that lived experience now helps him break through grizzled site supers. He also gave a conference presentation at the expo with Urbacon's Omer and Tim Allsop.37:57Sponsor Reads — Cook Insurance & FCA Surety — Closing sponsor reads for Cook Insurance (construction insurance specialist) and FCA Surety (bonding).
// THE INTRO
Recorded live at the Canadian Concrete Expo 2023 (International Centre, Toronto), this episode is a series of short on-floor interviews host Daniel Arsenault conducted at Procore's booth. Guests include Procore marketing, sales, and customer-success staff (Ali Halak, Arabi Siva, Cadman Turner, Aaron Shean, Brianne Price, Kimberly Corlett) plus OpenSpace account executive Jason Kokolakis and Urbacon business analyst Omer Younus. The through-line is digital transformation in construction: how construction-management and 360-documentation technology is crossing the chasm from enterprise GCs into SMB contractors, and the generational challenge of persuading field veterans to adopt new tools. Procore's Canadian SMB push, OpenSpace's simple-UI-over-complex-AI positioning, and Urbacon's change-management experience all illustrate the same pattern: value is created by simplifying workflows and enabling remote visibility, but resistance is overcome only by relationships and tangible ROI stories. The episode is candid about the sales friction ('competing with pen and paper') and gives rare insider colour on what a large-vendor event presence actually looks like day-to-day. Production is a series of 3-7 minute booth clips loosely stitched together, with a sponsor read at the top and bottom.
// THE LESSONS
See all 10 lessons ▸Adopt enterprise-grade construction management software before you need it — migrating platforms at 30-40M revenue is painful and expensive.
“what happens when you start doing 30 40 million right yeah does that software keep up”
When selling technology to field trades, build personal credibility first — trust unlocks adoption faster than product demos.
“I've built a personal relationship with those guys and we're relatable to them as well yeah”
Simplify the user interface even when the backend is complex — construction software sticks when field users find it easy to navigate.
“the UI so what the users what our clients are interacting with is really simple to navigate and use”
A concrete ROI story — not a feature pitch — is the lever that converts a resistant blue-collar tradesperson to a new tool.
“getting texts saying hey you know has ended up saving me uh you know maybe three or four K on rework costs”
Software change management on a construction site requires framing upfront setup cost against long-run time savings explicitly.
“it may be 30 minutes of work now but you're saving hours down the line”
The generational shift from clipboard-and-memory to integrated software is the defining change-management challenge for mid-sized contractors.
“from clipboards and I'm just telling you what to do the knowledge is all up in my head yeah to you know I gotta sign into here”
SMB contractors doing $5-20M are the highest-leverage Procore target: platform benefits are disproportionate and the migration cost later is avoided.
“getting into the businesses getting involved with procore early like when you are at like the 5 10 million like 20 million marks we have that Foundation”
Industry events like Concrete Expo function as a levelling mechanism — all segments (GCs, subs, suppliers, tech vendors) share trend information in one place.
“really come in really level set in terms of what's Happening across the industry for Trends not just technology specific”
Field experience in sales is a competitive moat — former site supers who switch to tech sales can reach tradespeople that office-only reps cannot.
“I understand the pain points of building and construction and I think that does help”
360-degree job-site documentation enables remote project oversight and pre/post comparison — particularly valuable during site shutdowns (e.g. pandemic) or insurance claims.
“compare job site passed to present and really see the progress side by side uh really cool to see for concrete you know free poor post poor”
All 10 lessons from this episode, on one page.
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// FEATURED BUSINESSES
Procore Technologies, Inc.
Procore is a publicly traded (NYSE: PCOR) cloud construction-management software company whose all-in-…
Firstbrook, Cassie & Anderson Ltd. (FCA Insurance Brokers / FCA Surety)
Independent Canadian insurance brokerage whose FCA Surety division places construction, developer, com…
Payzant Building Products Ltd.
Family-owned, multi-generational Atlantic Canada building-materials and home-improvement retailer oper…
// FACT-CHECKED ✓ web-verified, with sources
✓ VERIFIED
OpenSpace's AI backend has MIT origins — the platform uses MIT-developed AI and computer vision technology.
OpenSpace was founded in 2017 by three MIT Media Lab graduates (Jeevan Kalanithi, Phil DeCamp, Mike Fleischman) who built the core computer vision and AI technology during their MIT Media Lab doctoral research. The MIT connection is legitimate.
SOURCE ▸✓ VERIFIED
The Canadian Concrete Expo 2023 was held at the International Centre in Toronto.
Confirmed: 5th Annual Canadian Concrete Expo, Feb 16-17 2023, The International Centre, 6900 Airport Road, Toronto ON. The venue is technically in Mississauga; 'Toronto' is colloquially used in the episode.
SOURCE ▸// COMPANIES & ORGS ✓ verified
Procore Technologies, Inc. ▸OpenSpace.aiUrbacon Buildings Group Corp.Payzant Building Products Ltd. (Payzant Home Hardware Building Centre)FCA Insurance / FCA SuretyCanadian Concrete Expo — 5th Annual (2023)
SOURCE: podscope · public episode data · rLtstYNnRvo