Most Startups Die at $5M ARR - Breaking the $10M Barrier in Construction Tech

Bricks And Bytes

"The best renewal is no renewal. So closing a three-year agreement, right?"

In today's episode of our Go To Market Series from the Bricks & Bytes Podcast, we have Kevin Halter (CRO of OpenSpace) share his journey from scaling PlanGrid from $5M to $100M+ ARR and building high-performing sales teams in construction tech.

Tune in to find out about:

✅ Why construction tech requires a unique go-to-market approach focused on project-level ROI

✅ How to transition from project-level sales to enterprise agreements (the key to breaking the $10M ARR ceiling)

✅ What to look for when hiring sales talent ("fire in the belly")

✅ When founders should hire their first VP of Sales vs CRO

Whether you're a founder struggling with the 5-10M ARR plateau or a sales leader in construction tech, this episode delivers practical insights on building scalable go-to-market motions in an industry where "it's easy to start a pilot, but hard to scale."

06:30 Introduction to Construction Tech Journey09:30 Scaling from 5M to 100M ARR12:31 Understanding Project-Level Value15:22 Building Trust and Transparency in Construction18:28 Transitioning to Enterprise-Level Sales21:28 The Importance of Customer Success Management24:28 Hiring the Right Sales Team27:29 Effective Communication with Executives30:24 Building Long-Term Partnerships33:31 Creating a Scalable Sales Model44:47 Building Long-Term Partnerships (appears to be repeated)48:30 Lessons from Biotech for Construction Tech53:17 Hiring and Scaling Sales Team57:57 Developing Talent and Leadership1:07:31 Choosing the Right Company to Join1:14:53 When to Hire a Chief Revenue Officer