Architecture, And: Niknaz Aftahi on Tech, Equity, and Transformation

A Welcome to Practice Disrupted, a podcast where we find ways to create new solutions to current challenges while elevating the value of architects. I'm your host, Evelyn Lee, an architect who spans tech as an angel investor, startup advisor, and founder of Practice of Architecture. Whether you're a seasoned architect or just starting in the field, this podcast is your gateway to think differently about the role architects play within our global community. Hello, disruptors. Welcome to this week's episode of Practice Disrupted. Today I'm joined by Niknaz Aftayi, the CEO and founder of AEC plus Tech, an all in one innovation platform and community connecting architecture, engineering, construction and operations professionals with the latest tools and technologies shaping the future of our industry. Before launching AEC Tech, Nick Naz practiced architecture in the Bay Area, serving as both a design professional and as a design Technology director. But what really sets her apart is her unwavering commitment to advancing technology and innovation in the AEC space, a passion that's led her to speak at international AEC Tech events and contribute to thought leadership across the industry.

A She's also a member of the AIA San Francisco Design Technology Committee and and dedicates time to teaching architecture courses online to Baha' I students in Iran, where higher education access remains restricted. In our conversation, Nickna shares her journey from practicing architecture to building a platform that bridges critical gaps, empowering professionals to find the right tools and connections for their work. We'll explore how her background has shaped her mission, the insights she's gained from building a global community, and the opportunities and challenges of integrating technology into an industry that's historically slow to change. So let's explore together. This is an episode filled with stories, strategies and a vision for a more connected and innovative AEC industry.

B Nick Naz, this has been an episode in the making for a while, so I'm so glad to have you here on Practice Disrupted. Thank you for taking time out of your day to join me.

C Of course. Thank you so much for inviting me. It's such a pleasure. It's such an honor.

B Yes. So I think before we jump into your story, why don't we start by letting the audience know what it is you do now and what is AEC plus Tech?

C Sure. Yeah. So I run the AEC Tech platform. I'm the CEO and founder. So it's a community driven database of the latest tools and technologies in the AC space. So basically all these exciting great solutions and tools and products out there and and their real world applications, meaning their use cases and case studies. So companies sign up and create pages for their products. And you can see all that on Aseplastic.

B So now that we know what you're doing. And by the way, I see you participating in a lot of events as a moderator as well.

C Exactly. So we don't directly really organize any in person conference, but I've been over the years I've been collaborating with some organizations and some companies organizing virtual or in person events like for example Architect newspaper. They are these ongoing tech conferences or PSMJ based in Boston, AC Innovate. I'm also part of the TAP committee, AIA Design Technology Committee in San Francisco. So we're going to have our symposium later this month. So these are all basically collaboration for AC plus tech team, but the focus is the platform and the online database.

B So some people I feel like find themselves in this space not having an architecture background. But you do have an architecture background. So what inspired you in the beginning to follow architecture?

C Yeah, for sure. So I actually did my undergrad in architecture in Iran, moved to the US back in 2010 and did my two year master program at UC Berkeley. Graduated in 2014. And for my thesis when I was doing my undergrad at Berkeley, I worked on this public space project in Tehran in Iran. So a little bit more back my background in Iran as a Baha' I'm Baha' I, so my religion. And as a Baha' I in Iran I was not allowed to go to university. So there is this like religious persecution that Baha' is still today are not allowed to go to university. So I studied at this underground university.

C So it has a really long story. So basically a lot of activities in Iran are considered illegal, like higher education, like going to concert, like female singers are not allowed singers. So I worked on this really fun thesis project with a computer scientist partner and he made this like scoring system, this algorithm for my public space project that was giving I design a scoring system based on the light escapability. So we had this like fun scoring system, like how easy it is for people to escape when the police shows up. I want to Arizona and then a couple other things. And that was the first time that I got really excited in the potential of using technology and AI. And you know, back in 2013, AI was not really used in the in design and in construction or at least I didn't know about it. So I was just exploring some applications and I got really excited and interested.

B How did that first conversation with the software person go? One, why were they interested in what they could bring to your architecture thesis? But did you actively seek them out and how are you aware of what they could bring to your thesis?

C They were friends. So I had friends from other departments that were studying other majors and we had conversations and in our class there was only this one other person who was trying to integrate like technology and AI into their thesis and project. But everyone else was just like merely architecture. And for me it was just out of curiosity to see if this can help, you know, improve the design or improve the process or make it maybe fun. Now that I think about it, you know, a little more in like more interesting than like my other, my previous design projects. Because my previous design project, they were all about just design, but this, making this one because it was my thesis that I had more time, a little bit more fun. And then, and then I had a great advisor, Rene, who is now the chair of UC Berkeley College of Design. So she was also, also like encouraging me to, to test it and see how it can help the project.

C So yeah, it turned out to be a really like fun project and I enjoyed it. But then I graduated and I start started practicing architecture. So for almost 10 years in the Bay Area, I worked at different size firms, different worked on different types of projects and nothing really much exciting, you know, similar to the time I was at school. So just like mainstream architecture firms working on some nice beautiful projects. But I was not necessarily involved in the design process. I was mostly, you know, working on the CD phase, the construction documentation phase, dd. And over time I got pretty, you know, bored and a little frustrated by how slow it is to just to work. Like the, the amount of repetitive things that I was personally doing like in a day or week was just so overwhelming that I started to question the process, why we are not like using some tools or some technologies to make it better and more efficient.

C And then the last architecture firm that I worked for, it's called ELS Architecture and Urban Design, a great medium sized architecture firm based in downtown Berkeley. And our principals were open to this idea of testing some new tools and you know, trying some visualization, computational design, sustainability tools. And they allowed me to start a committee in the firm. We called it Design Technology committee. It was 10 of us and we were doing research, looking into, you know, some solutions. We would invite speakers to come to the office, show case studies to us. And that's when I started thinking about some, like maybe an online database of all this knowledge and information that everyone can have access to, not just for els, but I can open it up to all firms, especially small and medium sized ones that don't Have a person or a team that is like full time doing this kind of research. And then, yeah, I left that job and started AC Plastic as a company, as my new venture.

B I think there's a lot of architects who find themselves, not dissimilarly, in a situation where they see an opportunity to start things, but they don't necessarily take the leap to start things. So to us, about everything from your emotional state, you know, leaving behind was probably a sour, like a kind of a guaranteed paycheck and starting your own company and kind of even the belief in yourself that you can get this done. Like what, what was that like for you?

C Yeah, yeah, that's a great point. So looking back, I think so I saw the problem and you know, I leave that problem. I saw the pain point and I thought that I have a solution for it. Not to solve it entirely, but I can feel a little bit of this gap between all these great technologies and the industry. So creating a bridge. And then I did the research. While I was still getting my paychecks, I'm working full time. I did some research, you know, here and there.

C I went to conferences and events and started asking people if, if such a thing exists. And I learned that it doesn't. And I think personally I was used to living outside my comfort zone because, you know, being an immigrant and, and then in Iran, that story of like being deprived of education and studied on at an undergrad university, all those challenges, you know, a professor, so. So I, I lived through a lot of uncertainties and felt like it's okay to be sometimes in the dark and start like something from scratch and start it while you don't know where it's gonna take you, just like giving it a try. I was kind of used to it, so I thought so maybe I should do it again. And then my architecture job, it was nice. I love the people that I worked with and I generally love teamwork, but. But then it was, it was kind of becoming my comfort zone.

C So I wanted to come out of it and try something new. And I thought, you know, just giving it a try.

B Yeah. Do you mind me asking how AEC plus makes money then?

C Sure, yeah. So that's a very good question, that. And that's something that I'm still figuring out. And one of those things, that's a business model. So one of those challenges, like the main challenges I had. So coming from an architecture background, I had no business background, no knowledge of like, what is a business model? What does it even mean? You know, so something I'M figuring out. But right now, the way it works is that anyone can sign up. Technology companies, AC companies, individuals, anyone can sign up, can create a page for if they.

C If you have a product, a technology or a solution or a tool that is working. So it has to be a functioning tool. It can't be just like claim or something you're planning to build. It has to be a product that has users and case studies and projects. So you sign up a credit page and you'll be there on our platform, regardless of whether you're paying or not. But then there are some. We have two paid tiers that if you want to access some additional services, like a freemium model, basically, if you want to access some additional services, then you pay us and then you get those services. So some of it for like, for example, for technology companies is that you'll be.

C We'll test your tool, we analyze it, we write reviews, or we like, feature you further, like on our newsletter or something like that. And then for AEC firms is sometimes consultation, sometimes, you know, helping them understand what the ecosystem is right now and helping them with their specific inquiries.

B When you say we, because I do this a lot, I talk about practice of architecture as a we. Does that really just mean you?

C It's me, but I have collaborators. So, like, for example, I have a developer who helps me. I have an UX designer, I have an SEO person. So these are all like my team, my collaborators. But at the end of the day, it's just like me. You're right. Yeah, I have to, I have to get used to using I like more often.

B No, I mean, the woman in me, like, wants to claim it more. But also the best leaders that I have out there realize that it's always a we, right? In some extent, whether or not they are direct employees or consultants. Are you finding that a lot of tech companies are coming to you and signing up directly? Especially as I feel like, oh, somebody just went out of, like, literally somebody just went out of stealth today and I was going to check to see if they were on your platform. I didn't. But do you find that a lot of companies are finding you, like, how, how quickly is on the tech side is your library growing and how quickly are you seeing development of new technologies with, like, AI rolling out?

C Yeah, it's becoming faster and faster. Like over the last year, I see more and more technologies that are signing up and the way they found us. So at the beginning it was pretty slow. I had to go and sometimes personally reach out whenever I Saw some like exciting project or increase studies or something. But right now there are many companies that they sign up and they create pages from all over the world, you know mostly from US and uk but many of them are from. Some of them are like Australia from all over the world and they are listing, you know, their products, products and then they're in different stages of. Because it's AEC plus tech. So some of them are design products like some engineering, some construction.

C But we definitely started by mostly like design technologies that were listing, you know, their tools but now they're like some construction management or like construction phase related products that are listing their tools or engineering structure simulations. So yeah, I think more companies are finding and the way they found us is through social media, through like some events I go to or articles we write, interviews we do, yeah, word of mouth mostly.

B So I have a question about the founders of these companies. Are you finding that the founders of these companies are people outside of the AEC industry that see a problem or are you finding that a lot of the founders of these companies come from within the AEC industry and are creating these solutions?

C Yeah, I've never really talked to a founder or co founder that. I mean co founders come from like outside aec but usually there is one of them if it's, if it's just one founder, that person is the people that at least I've talked to, they are coming from like AEC and they, you know, saw some pain points and now they want to solve it. But I've seen a lot of co founders, I talk to computer scientists or people all the time that are now teaming up with someone from AEC and the person from outside AEC is usually the technical person or the CTO and the other person is the AEC person that experienced some sort of problem and wants to solve it and create a solution for.

B Was just kind of out of my curiosity with all of again seeing a growing number of private equity and venture capital firms investing into the AEC space. Usually frankly it's on the C side of the A and E space if I'm being honest. Where are you seeing the biggest growth? Like you mentioned now there's a lot more construction technology between AE and C. Where are you seeing the greater growth when it comes to these companies right now? Or is it equally spread across the board?

C Yeah, I think it's definitely more C. Definitely like more money going to C. But in the last six months last year I've seen some big investments into design technologies and there was actually this co Founder that reached out to me and was asking me this question. So he is a co founder and he's coming from outside AEC and the other co founder is from aec. And then he kept asking me, are architects really going to pay for our tool? Because I hear more and more that technologies are. Architects are not open to testing new tools, are not. And whenever there is some new investment or some big news about some technology, I send it to this person, tell him, look, no, that's not the case. So this, this pattern, this model is changing.

C And it's not that architects are not open to change. They're just comfortable and used to the old ways they've been doing things and they cannot afford to be out there like doing a lot of research and testing products here and there. And sometimes I help them understand the pains that we have in like as AEC professionals or like architects we have integrating and using these tools. Because you can just every day like test something new. You don't have the time for it. You have to finish your project, meet the deadline, pursue the next one, you know, and then these tools, how do you know if they're going to be there like in a year or not? It's a lot of like time. It's a lot. It's a big investment.

C Not just buying the license, it's your team and convincing people to away from.

B Billable hours right away. It's all overhead hours. It's not billable to a project essentially in most cases.

C Yeah, exactly.

B How has that education process been for those like these non AEC co founders? Do they find themselves very frustrated with trying to be within this AEC space or is, is there like a general understanding of like. Okay, I kind of get it now after you have those conversations.

C Yeah, I think there is an understanding because you know, they chose to, you know, enter this huge industry and there's so much potential. You know, it's a trillion, multi trillion dollar industry. There's a lot of potential and, and then there are big problems that they can solve. Like you know, for instance, AEC is responsible for 40% of carbon emissions in the world. Like something that's simple for them. So if you are working on a sustainable platform or like some cabin management carbon calculator. So this is a huge incentive for you to enter this industry and try to, you know, solve part of the problem. So I think it really depends.

C They have to be, you know, consistent and persistent and build what they are building. And it's the second least digitized industry. So after phishing, I Think phishing is the first list digitized and then ACE is the second. So it's the right time for them to enter.

B Can you talk a little bit more about what you said? Because I don't think other people understand the second least industry.

C So the way I see it is that. So the way we work, like as an architect for instance, so the amount of repetitive things that we do and we can automate, so there are still not established tools and workflows for this thing. So all these great solutions and products, they are building things, they are building platforms and technologies and are proposing to solve the problem. But still in the industry they are not like established processes for, for architects, for engineers, for contractors to follow. So they still put the data in their Excel sheets. They still don't like collaborate effectively. So architects that you work with, consultants and how do you collaborate with them? You all have to, you're all working in your own silos. So each person has their own like software or tool or product and these files sometimes even don't speak with one another and then you pass the project to the contractor and then as an architect you work with engineers.

C And so collaboration, the lack of like efficient collaboration, digit in a digitized way, that's how I see it. So people working in silos and then that's actually part of the problem that with AC Plastic we are hoping that we can solve. Part of it is that sharing this kind of knowledge, you know, sharing this, let's say tech stack, we think would, would help part of the problem. Because you know, you know, our industry is so competition is, I always say this way is a, is an inherent part of it. So when we are at school we compete with other students or so sharing is not very common in our industry. There is like one project, like the one hospital project and only the 10 architects compete and only one architect gets to build it. So we are used to competing and we are not used to sharing knowledge. Whereas in other industries now sharing certain things has become so common, so so basic.

C But that's something else that you have to work towards.

B Let's talk about that. Let's lean into it a little bit more and talk about on, on the architecture side and what are you seeing? Like what from some of these emerging technologies are you seeing that really have the ability to transform either workflows or the time spent on construction documents? Like do you see any trends or see any focusing any specific problems that a lot of these technolog are looking to solve sooner rather than later?

C Yeah, sure. I think as far as Trends. So use of AI is definitely becoming more and more common. You know AI powered design and automation tools like generative design, tools for space planning for design. So the tool will help the architect generate multiple design options and then with the help of that tool, eventually the architect, the human is going to choose the best one that is the most based on the information you have. The most cost effective, most sustainable design. But anyways AI and machine learning helping you making those decisions. And then cloud based and collaborative tools like the CAD beam integration for instance.

C There are, there's this company called Grabbert and they have this suit of tools that allow for better collaboration between DWG files and BIM files and allow more stakeholders to be part of the project as it evolves from like programming and goes all the way. And you know another unique thing about AEC is that project life cycles are so long and there's so many stakeholders and then I get so excited when I see tools and products that help and facilitate that collaboration and make it more effective. And then data driven decision making. You know some like business management tools for, for architects, for AC professionals that like for example one of them is BQE core or there are some really great tools now out there that centralized information, they are built specifically for AEC professionals. They are not some tools from outside aec. So some centralized space that can give you analytics. And then I think that over the next couple years all these tools are going to add a lot of great features that using AI that would give you more analytics and more prediction, you know, so you can make better decisions based on all this data driven information you have. What else? And then sustainable tools, sustainable and carbon management tools like carbon calculators like for example EC3 is, I believe it's a free tool by building transparency and with more focus and more regulations on carbon neutrality and Net zero.

C So tools that help you understand your carbon emission and your design process again from programming pre design all the way to construction.

B I feel like it sounds like then new technologies are being developed all across the board. I serve as an outside board member for a number of boards and I have been forewarning them and I think we can forewarn everyone that as you look to integrate more technology into your technology stack into your whatever your firm ecosystem of tech is that the, the yearly spend on tech is going to continue to increase which is probably making a lot of founders, especially small business owners listening to this kind of cringe. What do you say to architects like you said that don't like to spend a lot of Money but should probably be really investing in these tools to get more done with less.

C Yeah, that's, that could be hard for like choosing the right. Whenever I put myself in their shoes. I was talking to this structural engineer for example the other day and he was asking me about he works for this like 30 people structural engineer firm in Austin, Texas. And then he was telling me about some of the projects they have and AI implementation is something they are, you know, looking at and it's difficult for professionals right now to find the right one. So which one is the right one to test and try? So I can see how overwhelming it can be and how difficult it is. So one of the main questions is always integration. So you cannot change your own, your whole workflow overnight. There are all these tools that you are used to, you have spent years working with.

C So it has to be gradual. This like making the workflow more efficient. It has to be. But anyways back to your question. I think it's just that it's going to be your competitive edge. You have to do it so you don't fall behind because it's happening and it's happening so fast you have to catch up. But then you have to find the right people, advisors, you know, board member people, right people to talk to when you are making those important decisions. It's just not, it's just not just that you go out there and test anything that is out there because things are hype and are like in the news one day and the next day.

C I've had some of these companies on AC+ like in the past that they were, they had some really good products but then some of them sat there and I get really sad every time some of them went back robbed or something happened. So as a, as a professional you can't really sometimes trust in every demo request, a demo like presentation you get or any product that reaches out to you. So anyways, yeah, you have to talk to the right people and consultants and advisors and then make those decisions. But you have to catch up.

B So I think that's a really good point because I for instance, even from a well established company like Google, we invested in the Nest home security, right. And I should have thought about this going into it. Google is notorious for acquiring companies and then ending various different product lines as soon as it's not making them enough money. Nest being one of them. So we had to go switch our entire security system. There was some integration with can't and I didn't mean to make it about my home security system and the fact. But there are investments that I think small firm leaders, as you said, they need to make, otherwise they fall behind. But what are some of the questions that these small firm leaders can be asking these individuals that are reaching out to demos around like number of users or where they are in their fundraising status or something that might give them more of assurance that if I begin to adopt this into my workflow, the company is not going to evaporate into thin air type of thing.

C Yeah, exactly. So some of the questions is, some of the basic question is going to be about like I don't know, pricing or integration. So what other tools or other platforms does your product or your solution work with but then making it like a deeper research into what they do. I think it's always worth it if a company doesn't have especially small and medium sized firms, if they don't have an expert in that field, like hiring an outside expert to do that sort of research for them and then helping them understand, understand how you can identify some system for measuring your ROIs. And it's really hard because like again project life cycles are so long. There's so many stakeholders, so many people involved every project, even like a small kitchen renovation. So you use something, how are you going to at the end it and measure your roi. But for firms it's important to have a system and sometimes it's worth spending some money on like an outside consultant or even like asking one of your in house employees to spend some time figuring out like a system that you can, you can measure that like return on investment when you are doing that investigation and then what else like interoperability, how this tool is going to work with all these other tools you currently are using and your employees know how to use what else? Yeah, I think these are some basic things and it's really important to ask those right questions.

B I want to be clear. I was a non technical person working in tech, but still I get a lot of questions about how do I transition into tech from especially younger people and new grads. So what advice do you have to, you know, professionals that are graduating out of school or just not finding a right fit in a firm that are interested in maybe staying within the realm of AEC by joining these companies? What advice do you have for them for transitioning to the more technical side of things?

C Yeah, I think my biggest advice is to like seek mentorship and don't be afraid to reach out to people and create like a support, supportive network and community for yourself so you can learn from other people's. Expertise. We don't know everything. Don't be shy. Just reach out to people and find those mentors and you know, advisors and friends and colleagues that can help you and then also find your, your own interest because that's really important. Find your own niche. This aces this huge like so such a broad industry and there are so many things that we can do as architects, as like graduates, so many things. So it's really important at the end of the day that we know what we are really interested in.

C Spending time. If you are starting your own business or if you're planning to join like another, another company, anything we want to do, it's important that we find our niche and our passion. Because if we really want to succeed, we are going to work more than 40 hours. We are going to spend so many hours without getting paid. You know, you have to spend hours like consulting with people, just talking, just reaching out. So it's going to take a lot and if it's not something we are super passionate about, we're just going to give up after, after a while. So it has to be that one thing that you are like super interested in and find the right people that would support you throughout the way would empower you, but not, but some, some of them are going to criticize you too. And it's really important.

C So, so find those that are going to give you constructive criticism but are, but also do believe in you network that community. Yeah, I really, I really do believe in the power of community, Evelyn. You know, everything I've done in my life and I succeeded it was because of the community around me, because of. And I think it's really important for all of us to find that community.

B So I just had a little bit of an aha moment when you were talking there. The aha moment was I've never kind of conflated what we complain about in architecture culture versus startup culture too. And you know, as an entrepreneur, as a startup, you know, until you get those first few users in the door or something, you are definitely working kind of long hours. But it's just something that I've never even thought about. So before people were like, whoa, whoa, you're not getting paid. I think frankly that's what all of these tech startups are doing. A lot of them are taking their nest eggs that they have coming off of IPOs from their tech companies. They're using that as an unpaid Runway right until they get their first investor or their first user.

B And it's definitely, it's not necessarily easy It's a lot of work.

C Yeah, exactly. And you know, for me, so the experience I had with this, you know, underground university that I told you about in Iran, it's called the bihe, the Baha' I Institute for Higher Education. So those years, I really cherish those years that I studied at that university, taught me so much beyond just like architecture, architecture degree that I received. But, you know, I leave and I saw professors who were teaching at this university without getting paid, without getting any recognition. I can't even say their names right now because they are in Iran and they'll be in danger if someone hears their name, that they know that they are teaching, because it's still the situation. I'm. I've actually been teaching online at this university for the last couple of years. So these professors, they were teaching and they.

C Not just that, they were putting their lives in line, they would get arrested, they would go to prison for a number of years because of teaching us, because they believed in some lofty goals, in some mission, and they were so consistent. You know, they were not teaching for one week and then go do something else and get busy with some other project. They were doing this consistently because they believed in this mission and because of their endeavors and their work. I became educated. I could go to UC Berkeley, got my degree. A lot of, of like B students have gone to best universities all around the world, you know, are now doing amazing things all over the world, and they're still Iran teaching. So what I want to say is that when once you believe in some, you have a vision and you believe in some project and some role, and it can't be making money. Of course, making money is really important.

C We need money to grow a business. But our goal can't be just making more money because it just doesn't make sense. And it's not that. So it has to be something that is beyond that, something, some lofty cause that is solving a problem, so rendering some service to a group of people. So once you have that and you have an idea for the project and the solution you want to offer, then you're good to go. You don't need to know what your final product is going to be because you obviously don't know when you start. But once you have that, that, you know, perseverance and consistency and belief, you will definitely succeed. You will definitely make that work, that project work.

B It's just a comparison, honestly, that I've never made with startup culture to like, what it also means to like, grind in an architecture firm. I think that the difference is as an entrepreneur, the grind is the passion. Right. Versus a grinding for someone else. Essentially what has been the most surprising or unexpected way that AEC Tech has evolved since its launch?

C Yeah, so surprisingly I'd say it's a very global and international community. So that's definitely something that I didn't expect. So when I started my background was an ARC was in architecture. All the people I knew were in architecture. So I started the platform by listing a number of just design technology firms in the us but then it started to grow and now there are companies listing their products from all over the world and then it's becoming an international, really global community of all these tools and companies that reach out to these tech companies or to us. Sometimes they are also from all over the world and some of them are universities, you know, professors and students who are looking for certain tools and solutions to, you know, test and adopt in their process. And then also investors, you mentioned earlier that they are investors that are coming from outside aec. So there are sometimes investors that reach out and they don't have background investing in AEC and they want to learn how it is and what the ecosystem is like.

C So these all have been like surprises for me because I didn't, I mean I called it AEC plus Tech because I wanted to be aec. But you know, naturally I started by a small group of design technology companies, but it grew and then yeah, I really get excited by every single person. So usually every day around like 20, 30 people sign up and then every person I get very excited. You know how, how like when something is yours, your baby, it's your project, you just get so excited, even if it's just something very small. But every small thing, small improvement and moving forward, I get so excited. So increasing tech adoption in AEC has been the mission of AEC plus Tech. And right now we are this community driven database of all these tools and technologies and users come to us to find what's out there and find the right solution for their business and their practice based on the number of filters that we have. So we filter solutions and tools based on their applicable project phase and project type and location and all that.

C But something that is next for AC plus Tech is going one step further. And instead of waiting for AC professionals to come with to us, we want to go to them by providing them a space to sign up and see the ecosystem and the database and all the information we have and all the cases that is. But not only that, we also want them to put the tools. They are currently using their existing workflow and tech stack in the office in our cloud based platform so they can track their so it's basically a tech stack management tool so they can see their existing tech stack and then find the right one for their project and for their company. And we're going to provide some AI powered recommendation for them as well. So that's going to be next for us.

B That's actually a really great number, like kind of 20 or 30 people coming and finding AUC tech. Hopefully we can send a few more your way. After the podcast. Reflecting on your career and experiences that you have found most rewarding both I would say, in the communities that you fostered or outside of the communities. What lessons have you learned that you would either tell your younger self or that you find yourself telling emerging professionals in the industry.

C So lessons I've learned so much. But the most important ones would be finding those advisors and mentors that I mentioned earlier. You know, coming from architecture, had no background in like let's say business or in like technical development or front end back. And so all this I had to go out there and find the right people and advisors and mentors like for example Jake and Erin with out of Architecture. They are my great advisors. There is like Elaine Waha with Borough Apple, Christina Savion with B Boy. So I could find all these like great people who believed in this project and wanted to empower and help. So that was a great lesson.

C I learned that again like finding that community. And also another thing is that like collaborating with, with like minded professionals and colleagues. So now for instance the number of like conferences and events that I'm collaborating with different people on, they have been such fun experiences for me. So be open to opportunities and collaborations because they are always great. And in our industry the more, I mean in all industries really the more connections and collaborators you have, the better. So there is room for everyone. So don't be secretive, don't be afraid of like sharing and you know, talking to people. It's gonna be okay.

C There is room for all of us. And I think the future is really not going to be about one product or one solution solving all our problems. It's going to be about all of us collaborating and solving the pain points.

A Hi Disruptors. Thank you for joining us today on an episode of Practice Disrupted. If you, if you like the content for today's show, you can find all of our past episodes over on practiceofarchitecture.com podcast. Be a part of the conversation by joining me. Our speakers and other disruptors in our community. At practiceofarchitecture.com community, our social media handle is practiceofarch. That's practiceofarch. We'd love to hear from you, so feel free to drop us a DM and and say hello.

A Tune in next week for a new conversation on change in the profession.