You might think that joining a tech startup operating in the construction industry would be bad news in the economical state of the year 2023. But still, there are unexpected upsides of joining Sitedrive – a startup company doing just that.
Sitedrive is a tech startup separated in 2022 from Fira, a Finnish construction company, to be an independent technology company. Today, Sitedrive is owned by Flow Technologies and its employees, and it solves one of the most complex problems in the construction industry: how to make construction more profitable.
3 big upsides of working as a senior developer at sitedrive
#1 FINANCIAL UPSIDES
“You might think that operating in the construction industry as a startup would be too risky right now. But there is a flip side to that: our vision is to develop a product that makes construction more cost-effective. Someone is always building, and in times like these, construction companies are interested in profitability”, says Oliver Kaisti, Lead Developer at Sitedrive.
It’s definitely an interesting time to join a startup like Sitedrive right now. But what exactly makes developers at Sitedrive so interested in the economic state of the construction industry, and committed to solving the customers’ core problems?
“For me, it was the opportunity to become an owner of an early stage startup with a high-potential SaaS product, that made me switch jobs from a consultancy to becoming an inhouse developer”, says Oliver.
At Sitedrive, everyone in the team has the opportunity to become an owner through an LTI (long-term incentive) program.
“Our LTI program has interesting upsides. In the coming years, there will be good opportunities for our team to benefit financially from hitting the targets on our international growth journey,” Oliver says.
#2 SHARED VISION AND GOING TOWARDS IT
In the Sitedrive’s team, there are people with a huge amount of domain knowledge and networks in the construction industry – so there is a clear vision of how the product is being developed. For a newcomer, it’s reasonably easy to jump onboard and get an idea of what is being done and why.
“The concrete plans for product development are not 100% finished, but the vision from our Product Owner, designers and other experts is exceptionally strong. There is often an answer to the questions or we can quickly come up with new answers and solutions,” says Juha Pekkarinen, a Frontend Developer at Sitedrive.
From a developer’s perspective, the vision is to build a SaaS business and a product that reduces construction completion time, makes it more profitable, and generates economic benefits for companies and the society.
When technology and traditional, cost-ineffective construction are combined, huge improvements can be made in an industry that has not yet been digitized like other industries. Did you know that 1 day at a construction site can cost up to €15K? Today, it takes an average construction company 2 years to build an apartment building using the traditional model.
When this process is made more efficient – by optimizing and managing the schedule with the help of technology, the completion time can be reduced to a quarter. In the future, for example, Fira can build the same house in 9 months, from which the target time will be shortened by half. All this has a huge impact on the price of housing, while the level of quality increases.
“I find it interesting that our work can have such a huge economical impact. I believe that our product has a huge potential and that brings a lot of certainty and a feeling that everyone in the company is working towards a shared vision,” Juha says.
Sitedrive’s goal as a business is to scale and go global, and in terms of technology, the developer team can already have a big impact on this vision.
#3 GREAT TEAM SPIRIT & WORKING WITH OTHER SEASONED EXPERTS
“It was important to me that a respected colleague suggested joining the team. There are people in the team that I truly believe in,” Juha says.
In an early-stage company, there are always things to work on – and not everything is figured out yet. Not all specs are top notch, and they shouldn’t be.
“But as our team is built of very experienced people, everyone can proactively work on and find solutions. We are actively discussing, planning and exchanging ideas on how to proceed together”, Oliver describes.
“For example, from the user interface point of view, we’re handling a lot of complexity. There can be up to thousands of tasks that are scheduled using the product on the same screen, at the same time. The challenge is how to make all of this easy, performant and intuitive, and we’re solving it together with Backend Developers and Designers,” says Juha.
Handling a lot of complexity, moving fast and making quick decisions are a central part of everyday work in our team right now, as we aim for quick market conquest.
“During this spring, we have had quite a tight schedule with the tech team, but still, we have maintained a very good team spirit with the colleagues. Everyone is working towards the shared goal. I believe this is a dream for any experienced developer: to work on a scalable software product that will go global”, Oliver says with a smile.
