What Traveling Across the World Taught Us About Construction Contracts, Core Values and the Power of Investors
By Josh Levy, CEO & Co-Founder, Document Crunch
When you travel around the world, you notice a lot of differences—language, culture, traditions, food, clothing—but you also notice the things we all have in common, the things that unite us, the things that are universal. One of those things is buildings. No matter where you go in the world, every country has a construction industry.
So, I set off last week to the United Arab Emirates (a country serious about buildings, they built the world’s tallest, the Burj Khalifa) on a networking and knowledge-sharing journey. I was incredibly fortunate to have some of our investors with me in the area, including locally based Fethi Kirdar, the Managing Director from Fifth Wall, and I also got to spend time with good friends and Document Crunch investors, Vivin Hegde and Mauricio Weiss from Zacua Ventures, who are spending more and more time investing in this region.
We had a captive audience with the construction community in the UAE. There was so much interest around our product, how we’re using AI for risk review and contract compliance, how we’re empowering project teams and our plans for the future of construction. I was busy in back-to-back meetings the entire time. From a business development standpoint, it was a dream come true to evangelize about our product, and while I am never shy to present or at a loss for words, I probably ended up learning more than anyone I met with or presented to.
At Document Crunch, we’re growth-minded, inspired, and warm-hearted.
Here’s what I learned in the context of our core values:
Growth-Minded
This was definitely a growth opportunity to seek partnerships and networking opportunities, all outside of where we currently operate. Our investor network helped us reach across the table (actually, the world!) to shake hands with people building some of the tallest and most impressive cities in UAE.
Fifth Wall’s Fethi and I became fast friends as we went through an incredible slate of meetings that he arranged throughout the area. Between meetings, it was so neat to learn from Fethi about the local landscape, history, government and so many cultural nuances. However, for all the reasons that the UAE is different than the United States, there were a lot of shared experiences.
I was able to meet with decision-makers with many of the biggest construction stakeholders, including developers, contractors, designers, and even government entities. Guess what? They ALL have the same pains around contracts and especially around contract compliance.
We have major opportunities there, but we also have work to do. There is a lot to consider when thinking about expanding into other countries. Where other companies might lean out, our growth-minded company will lean in.
Inspired
Out of everything, I was most inspired by the people and the culture in UAE. I am not going to pretend to be an expert on all political and social issues in this area (or anywhere, for that matter!), so take what I say as what it is: my personal observation. I met so many human beings who were good-hearted, hospitable, business-minded and open to change. I was in many unfamiliar situations, from having Arabic tea and dates with members of the Department of Culture and Tourism construction team in downtown Abu Dhabi, to being the only American in the room of a local Tech Meetup arranged by Zacua where I was a panelist on bringing AI to the construction industry in Dubai. There were so many reminders that this area was quite unlike anywhere I have been before, and I constantly felt and saw a beautiful energy around being progressive, tolerant, innovative and practical. I made some friends who, like us, want to make the construction industry better. There is an awful lot going on in the world these days, and I was inspired by the good. I think it is important to remain optimistic, and my experience here gave me so much to smile about.
Warm-Hearted
The above sentiment about being exposed to different things is much like the experience for me at Document Crunch. Except for a few, most of the Crunchers are not the types of colleagues I would ever come across in my prior professional life as a construction attorney. It warms my heart getting to be with these individuals every day and getting to be exposed to new corners of the world and new people along the way.
It doesn’t matter where I go, it doesn’t matter what country I am in, it is clear we at Document Crunch are onto something special. And the “why” is because we have a special group of people and a growing Crunch Community. We are building a movement around the things that inspire us: empowering EVERYONE to understand what is in their contracts. I think when abroad, most people have a tendency to want to blend into cultural norms! I surely felt this way on this trip. However, being authentic is still important, and people pick up on this. In this case, we bring warmth to everything we do. This resonates, whether working with people just like us, or people coming from different backgrounds. People are people and my trip to the UAE left me most inspired by the awesome people there and the warmth in their hospitality.
