Social Currency with Sammi Cohen Maria Davidson (Kojo) on Record-Breaking Fundraising, Building a $4B Platform and Breaking Barriers in Construction
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Sep 23, 2025 Maria Davidson, the founder and CEO of Kojo, is transforming the construction industry with her groundbreaking procurement platform. She discusses how her immigrant roots and diverse educational background fueled her entrepreneurial spirit. Maria shares her scrappy beginnings, employing creative strategies like delivering pizza to earn meetings. She reveals lessons learned in fundraising, leadership, and the importance of customer feedback, emphasizing the growing allure of trade careers and her commitment to breaking barriers in a male-dominated field.
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Connectivity Opened Construction Tech
- Construction tech lagged because job sites lacked connectivity until iPads made onsite internet possible in 2011.
- That created a startup opportunity similar to early fintech and health tech adoption windows.
Bootstrapped Customer Discovery
- Maria and her team hustled by bringing donuts, pizza, and breakfast to job sites to start conversations with foremen.
- They literally opened the yellow pages and cold-called every contractor from A onward for six months to validate the problem.
Always Show Up First
- Show up in person before relying on calls, texts, or emails when selling into construction.
- Use the sequence: show up, call, text, email to maximize trust and meetings.