Building Mercator: From 90 Investor Pitches in 3 Weeks to Changing How Contractors Find Projects

"Pre-construction is actually just free construction because it's a lot of work up front that you don't often get paid for." - Chloe Smith, CEO of Mercator

In today's episode of Bricks and Bytes, we sat down with Chloe Smith, who shared her journey of building Mercator, a construction tech startup that's changing how contractors find early-stage project opportunities.

Tune in to discover:

✅ Why Mercator focuses only on Texas (for now) and how they plan to expand

✅ The power of hiring for talent over skill in a fast-growing startup

✅ How they built their own "accelerator" by carefully selecting operator-investors

✅ Their unique approach to product development through an intensive beta program with general contractors

Listen to the full episode on Spotify to learn how Mercator is helping contractors get involved in projects before the bidding phase even begins - as Chloe puts it, "It's almost like using a marriage registry as a dating app."

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00:00 Intro 02:43 Introduction to Chloe Smith and Mercator 05:45 The Journey into Construction and Data Strategy 08:40 Understanding Mercator's Functionality 11:46 Data Sources and Technology Behind Mercator 14:50 The Role of Large Language Models 17:34 Target Customers and Market Focus 20:41 Project Detail Pages and User Experience 23:45 Data Visibility and Insights 26:29 Utilizing Construction Data for Industry Reports 29:50 Expansion from Canada to the US 32:48 Revenue Model and Future Growth 36:46 Understanding Product-Market Fit 38:57 The Fundraising Journey 45:07 Building a Strong Investor Network 51:44 Evolving Go-To-Market Strategies 1:02:43 Hiring for Talent vs. Skill 1:04:43 Defensibility in the Age of AI 1:05:20 Choosing the Right Mentors