Iowa-based Construction Tech Firm Wins IGI Startup Competition

September 30 2019

A new technology company specializing in cloud-based construction software wowed venture capitalists and took home a five-figure check at last month's Industrial Grade Innovation Conference & Expo (IGI) in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, MSuite beat out two other finalists to win IGI's second annual Industrial Grade Accelerator — and a $20,000 grand prize check, courtesy of top IGI sponsors Barton Malow and the National Maintenance Agreements Policy Committee, Inc. (NMAPC).

The Accelerator is a fast-paced, energetic "Startup Battle" where founders of new construction tech firms pitch their products to a group of seasoned venture capitalists, similar to the hit TV show Shark Tank. The entrepreneurs must answer tough questions from the VCs and explain why their product is the best on the market – all in under five minutes. In the preliminary rounds, the audience also gets to vote via text message and influence which firms get to move on to the final showdown.

MSuite offers a cloud-based suite of management software for construction contractors, including BIMPro, a plug-in for Autodesk® Revit® that automates spooling selection and sheet creation up to 90 times faster than its competitors, and FabPro, a real-time shop production management tool that focuses on accurate productivity and status tracking.

"The Startup Battle was a great opportunity for a small company like ours to get in front of hundreds of potential buyers and investors," said MSuite President Britton Langdon. "I've gotten emails and phone calls from interested parties nearly daily since the conference. We expect the exposure that the IGI conference gave us will lead to big things in the near future!"

Langdon added, "The IGI conference is the only one of its kind where nearly all union trades gather to engage in discussions about the future of construction technology. It was an engaging environment and I love learning more about the needs of the unions. I look forward to continuing to strengthen our relationship with TAUC and the individual trades!"