Chris Callen is back in construction technology.
The local entrepreneur announced Tuesday a new startup venture he's launching called PLOT, which he says has the potential to change how construction teams communicate. The product doesn't roll out until later this year, so Callen isn't revealing many details yet, but he is hiring to build out the company and is also looking for local general contractors to test out the concepts.
"It's all about elevating the industry to be a little bit more efficient and collaborative and accepting of new technology tools, and that's what I'm obsessed with, so it feels very natural to be back in this role," he said.
Callen is no stranger to the world of construction innovation.
In 2018, he founded Grit Virtual, a construction scheduling software, which he has since sold. Grit used virtual reality technology to create for developers and building owners an immersive experience into a new building’s layout that allows people to see how things will look long before construction starts and track progress after a project has begun. Before that, he led Builders Plus Construction, a local concrete contracting company.
Callen had most recently been working remotely for the California-based TraceAir, but says he left the role last week to jump into PLOT full time — a concept he'd been working on for the last couple months.
To back the new startup, Callen has partnered with the Indianapolis-based venture studio High Alpha Innovation.
"It feels incredibly humbling to have the team that's behind this working alongside me to deliver something the industry very much needs," he said. "It's not the area I focused on with my previous company, but it is solving a lot of the same pains."
PLOT is now hiring for a chief technology officer and software engineers — all of which could be remote workers. And general contractors interested in trying out the PLOT features and working with a local tech startup can inquire online at getplot.com, Callen said.
While the product hasn't been unveiled, promotional materials for PLOT say the tool will help simplify the process for construction communication.
"Conversations don't involve enough people, but meetings involve too many," PLOT's website says. "Bringing the right players together to make decisions is what PLOT is about."
