60-70% of construction sites are still using pen and paper, what else needs to be done? With Ibrahim Imam and Sander Van de Rijdt

In the first episode of Season 11 of the Propcast, host Louisa Dickins is joined by Ibrahim Imam, and Sander Van de Rijdt, joint Co-Founders and Group CEO’s of PlanRadar.

PlanRadar is a digital platform for construction documentation, task management and communication. It is currently used in over 65 markets and has 120,000 construction professionals as users.

Ibrahim and Sander met at University and prior to PlanRadar founded other technology businesses together.

Episode Highlights:

• Why they launched PlanRadar and the industry issues they were trying to solve
• Why they believe the construction industry is so under digitalised 
• What helped them to achieve such rapid growth
• The decision making process behind why they move into certain regions
• How word of mouth is one of their most powerful business drivers
• How customer feedback dictates the development of the product
• Misunderstandings that can arise from conventional paper and pen usage
• Overcoming people’s hesitations with new technology
• Their aim to make the construction industry more ESG compliant
• The need for diversification within the industry to continue to drive growth and innovation
• Their future aspirations for PlanRadar

Resources:

• LMRE Global Recruitment and Search Consultancy
• LMRE YouTube Interviews
• PropTech Salary Report, LMRE 2022

Shout Outs:

• Constantin Kock
• Domagoj Dolinsek
• Clemens Hammerl

Key Takeaways:

• We decided to get on that mission to try to improve the lives of all the people out there on the construction sites and in the real estate projects. – Sander
• We have around 20,000 customers, which is a lot. But when you realise that there are around 2.5 million potential customers just in Europe, then it’s nothing. – Sander
• But what PlanRadar has figured out throughout the last few years is to make the customisation level that every organisation requires,  to really meet their own processes. – Ibrahim
• We hired last quarter, I think 134 new people. We plan to hire this quarter, 82 new people. So we’re still growing. – Sander
• PlanRadar is a tool that everybody can now download from the App store or the Play store and just instantly use it and start adding value to their corporations. – Ibrahim
• The main lesson is if you want to build a successful company, it’s all about the people that you hire. Because a good team can deliver good results. Simple as that. – Ibrahim

About our guests:

Ibrahim Imam

Ibrahim is responsible for corporate and growth strategy at PlanRadar and all go-to-market teams report to him, including Marketing, Business Development, Sales, Channel Management and Customer Success.

Prior to PlanRadar, Ibrahim founded five other IT companies and leveraged his 15+ years of experience in Marketing & Sales and his network in Europe, the US and the Middle East to advance them from the idea stage to growth.

Sander Van De Rijdt

Sander is responsible for the corporate and growth strategy at PlanRadar, and the Finance, HR, Legal and Administration departments report to him.

Prior to PlanRadar, Sander founded five other IT companies with operations in Europe, the U.S., the Middle East and Central Asia and guided them from concepts to growth companies by leveraging his international experience as a business consultant.

About PlanRadar

PlanRadar is an award-winning, digital SaaS field management platform for documentation, task management and communication in construction and real estate projects. The platform operates across the globe, currently in over 65 markets. PlanRadar digitises all daily processes and communication across real estate and construction. The platform connects all project stakeholders and provides real-time access to valuable project data, enabling teams to increase quality, cut costs and realise work faster. The easy-to-use platform adds value to every person involved in a building’s lifecycle, from contractors and engineers to property managers and owners, with flexible capabilities for all company sizes and processes. Today, over 120,000 professionals are using PlanRadar to track, connect and solve issues on-and off-site. PlanRadar is currently available in 20 languages, and can be used across all IOS, Windows and Android devices. Headquartered in Vienna, Austria, PlanRadar has 18 offices across the globe.

About Our Host

Louisa Dickins

Louisa is the co-founder of LMRE, which has rapidly become the market leading global PropTech recruitment platform and search consultancy with operations across North America, United Kingdom, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

To promote the industry she is so passionate about, Louisa set up the Global podcast ‘The Propcast’where she hosts and invites guests from the built environment space to join her in conversation about innovation.

About LMRE

LMRE is globally recognised for leading the way in Real Estate Tech & Innovation talent management.

From the outset our vision was to become a global provider of the very best strategic talent to the most innovative organisations in PropTech, ConTech, Smart Buildings, ESG, Sustainability and Strategic Consulting.

At LMRE we are fully committed at all times to exceed the expectations of our candidates and clients by providing the very best advice and by unlocking exclusive opportunities across our global network in the UK, Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific.

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