America's Building Records - The Story
Founders don’t always talk about being in the right place at the right time. Nor do they speak about the huge platforms shifts that made their businesses viable in a
world where technology changes in a blink of an eye.
After years of combined experience accumulated in the building and tech industries, we found an opportunity to fill a gap in the construction data
availability – drawings, building plans, who did what and where.
This solution benefits most industry professionals - from architects, engineers, developers and contractors to real estate agents, municipalities, building management and insurance companies.
Where Can I Find Building Plans and Construction Data
I would start working on a project (an existing building) and building plans were basically nonexistent. Everything had to be started from scratch.
Alex, ABR Founder
As a fire protection engineer, I would start working on a project (an existing building) and building plans were basically nonexistent. Everything had to be started from scratch. We had to measure the building, draw ceilings, plumbing etc., before even beginning our own work. Hundreds of hours wasted while
repeating the process ad nauseam.
I was frustrated beyond words. There was no nationwide database where I could possibly find construction data and building plans, or, at least, who worked on those buildings.
Municipalities have always been the go-to places for paper blueprints when needed. But looking for this information is still a time consuming process.
The Beta Version of America's Building Records
So there I was, thinking that the building industry needs a nationwide portal for building plans. I gathered a team of software engineers, developers, and user experience professionals. We set up whiteboards, rolled up our sleeves, and started laying out the foundation of the ABR Portal. And the beta version of ABR was born.
Armed with something to show, we formed a focus group of industry organizations and started showcasing our solution. That initial feedback from the focus group was priceless. We heard a very important question, “I’ll add my drawings to the ABR repository, but besides data consolidation, what else is in it for me?”
That initial feedback sparked a new idea. Why don’t we index the addresses for which we have the plans with search engines? The company that uploads the data benefits from having its name
attached to that address, which creates a permanent electronic stamp that says company X worked on building Y.
And we decided that we weren't just going to build a platform; we were going to create a whole new geo-targeted system of building plans and construction documents,
dedicated to preserving construction data at national level - The National GIS of Building Plans and Construction Documents.
Who We Are
Alex
President and Founder
- 14+ years fire protection / fire sprinkler engineering and consulting
- Entrepreneur – owned and operated a full-service fire protection consulting firm for 10 years
- NICET certified
- 45M+ SF of fire protection system design for warehouse and distribution centers
- 1,250+ projects in over 20 states
- Education: Bachelor of Science in Engineering – Hydroelectric Power Plants
- 30+ years business experience
- 14+ years information technology management
- Enterprise/Program/Project Management; PMO experience
- Technical: Networking (MCSE); Programming ('net languages, Java, Python); SDLC (RUP, Agile); dB (Oracle, MSSQL, MySQL); Web (hosting)
- Education: Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering
- 8 years, 4 companies of start-up growth and cultivation
- 10+ years web application development and integrations
- 6+ years of association + technology consulting
- Technical: Full Stack, JavaScript, PHP, .NET, Postgres, MySQL, MSSQL, HTML5, CSS, Amazon Web Services
- Education: Bachelor of Science in Business and Information Systems
- 10+ years in web development/software engineering
- 8+ years in geographical software engineering
- 2+ years in big data and data science
- 5 years solutions architect / system admin
- AWS-certified solutions architect
- Technical: Object Oriented Programming and Cloud Computing
- Education: Bachelor of Arts in Human Development
Laura
VP Product Development
- 11 years graphic/web design and user interface architecture
- 8+ years brand development and management and brand expansion to accommodate mergers and acquisitions
- Experience with a wide range of creative and commercial applications
- Brand development certification - The Art Institute of Chicago
- Education: Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science