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Cover, a company led by Alexis Rivas, pioneers a new construction process for homes addressing housing market deficiencies. Rivas draws inspiration from automotive production efficiency to create homes like Lego pieces, streamlining the construction process. The focus is on modular panels with predetermined functions, simplifying assembly and allowing for potential vertical expansion up to six stories.
The US faces a significant housing shortage exacerbated by regulatory barriers and a diminishing construction workforce. Rivas highlights the mismatch between demand and labor supply due to factors like restrictive zoning regulations and declining interest in construction careers. The aging workforce further compounds the challenge, indicating the need for innovative solutions like Cover's prefab approach.
Cover's manufacturing philosophy emphasizes removing constraints in the production process, akin to the theory of constraints. By integrating software solutions, the company streamlines panel design, structural calculations, and assembly instructions, enhancing efficiency and standardization. Materials are selected based on performance criteria, optimizing the building process and ensuring ease of installation.
Cover's expansion strategy prioritizes operational excellence and gradual scale-up to maintain quality and efficiency. Positioned as a high-end product akin to Tesla's early models, the company aims to iterate rapidly, refine the product, and lower costs over time. Attention to detail in panel design and manufacturing processes underscores the commitment to delivering modern, quality homes.
Cover envisions a future where home building becomes flexible and responsive to changing needs. The modular design allows for easy customization and adaptation over time, shifting away from traditional static homes. By enabling on-demand panel additions and reconfigurations, Cover offers a dynamic housing solution that aligns with evolving lifestyle requirements.
My guest this week is Alexis Rivas. Alexis is the co-founder and CEO of Cover, which is pioneering a new way of building homes. It’s no surprise to anyone that aspects of our housing market is broken. The market is undersupplied and littered with regulatory issues. The homebuilding process has also not changed for the better part of a century. Alexis is attacking the problem and has taken a leaf out of the car industry’s learnings to create a similar production process for home building. In our discussion, we talk about his idea of lego pieces for homes, how they’re refining production with backyard homes first, and how this may change the way people buy and sell homes in future. Please enjoy my conversation with Alexis Rivas.
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Show Notes
(00:03:39) - (First question) - Supply and demand situation writ large for housing in the United States
(00:06:34) - Lack of workforce growth to meet housing development needs
(00:10:23) - Insight into “lego piece” style construction
(00:11:41) - The comparison to automotive manufacturing
(00:16:15) - Strategic description of a good “lego piece” from Cover
(00:20:08) - Utility continuity comparison between panels versus tradition construction
(00:21:05) - Potential criticism from skeptical contractors
(00:22:53) - The marginal cost for a typical home buyer
(00:25:59) - The role of software in the business
(00:28:47) - Insight into support model and “The Last Mile” theory in construction and possible solutions to combat errors during assembly
(00:30:46) - Support system integration for inevitable repairs
(00:32:17) - The changing reality of initial ideas as projects are completed
(00:34:27) - Building factories and streamlining production logistics
(00:37:28) - Focusing on constraints and an example relatable to real life scenarios
(00:38:37) - The value of moving slow to perfect processes early on versus an all in head first approach
(00:40:09) - The scope of ambition over the next several decades
(00:41:18) - The evolution of homes and how they could change based of consumer wants
(00:43:37) - Vertical capabilities of cover panels
(00:43:21) - Types of panels that could be introduced moving forward
(00:45:14) - Timeline for Cover expansion into new states
(00:46:06) - Advice for upcoming entrepreneurs when building similar business models
(00:47:58) - The kindest thing that anyone has ever done for Alexis
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