Burn The Map: Doors, Data, and Digital Twins with Timber Barker

In This Episode: We talk to Timber Barker, founder/CEO of BOOM Interactive, about turning flat floor plans into living, AI-powered digital twins—and the not-so-glamorous reality of building the company that does it. From selling his truck to keep the lights on to landing partnerships with NVIDIA and projects with the NBA, Timber breaks down how CoreSpec3D makes the built world actually usable: chat with your floor plan, drop "sticky notes" that act like tasks, render photorealistic options in seconds, and hand first responders a real-time 3D view when things go sideways. Translation: less guesswork, fewer change orders, more control. What We Cover: How CoreSpec3D converts 2D plans into editable 3D "living floor plans" you can chat with, annotate, and share—on any device "Slack in 3D": digital sticky notes, tasks, and context tied to exact spots in a building Security design that actually works: auto camera layouts, cable runs, BOMs, OEM catalogs (hello, Hanwha), and first-responder views with live feeds Why the next AI frontier is construction data—and how owning the floor plan layer unlocks bids, maintenance, and real ROI The founder grind: selling the truck, friends-and-family checks that open doors, and never missing payroll while bootstrapping Patents and tech under the hood: 2D-to-3D extrusion, auto-room gen, 3D comms, and "layered diffusion" for consistent photorealistic renders The UX hill worth dying on: if you can play Candy Crush, you can use it (no $6,000 workstation required) Guest Bio: Timber Barker is the founder and CEO of BOOM Interactive (boominc.ai), creators of CoreSpec3D (cs3d.ai)—an AI platform that transforms flat floor plans into interactive digital twins and a single pane of glass for design, facilities, and security. With 10 patents filed (4 issued) and global trademarks, Timber's team is partnering across industries (including NVIDIA) to democratize 3D, speed up bids and maintenance, and make building data actually useful. He previously launched the DIY-friendly Bubbles (designwithbubbles.com), and he's been bootstrapping BOOM for six years without missing payroll—because teams come first. Enjoy the episode. This show is brought to you by Wrench.ai. Follow Dan: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danbaird/ X: https://x.com/mrdanbaird Follow Timber: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timber-barker-9660194/ BOOM Interactive: https://boominc.ai CoreSpec3D: https://cs3d.ai Bubbles: https://designwithbubbles.com Follow the Pod: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@burnthemappodcast Twitter/X: https://x.com/BurnTheMapPod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/burnthemappodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@burnthemappodcast BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/burnthemappodcast.bsky.social Selected Links From This Episode: BOOM Interactive: https://boominc.ai CoreSpec3D: https://cs3d.ai Bubbles (DIY): https://designedwithbubbles.com Hanwha Vision (security OEM): https://hanwhavisionamerica.com NVIDIA: https://www.nvidia.com Autodesk Revit: https://www.autodesk.com/products/revit/ Matterport: https://matterport.com Figma: https://www.figma.com Canva: https://www.canva.com Trunk Tools: https://www.trunktools.com People and Organizations Mentioned in this Episode: Timber Barker Dan Baird BOOM Interactive CoreSpec3D Bubbles Co-op Live NBA Hanwha Vision NVIDIA Figma Canva Autodesk Revit Matterport Trunk Tools First responders Show Notes & Timestamps: 00:08 — Why Timber built CoreSpec3D: communication, not just CAD flexing 01:29 — The stuff founders never say out loud: lawsuits, bad deals, near-missed payroll 03:43 — Selling the truck to pay the team—six years, zero missed payrolls 07:48 — The quick demo and how far it's evolved since "Bubbles" 08:31 — From point tool to platform: the floor plan as a living system 11:43 — Residential pain vs. commercial chaos; speeding both with AI 18:38 — Accessibility: runs on any device; "Candy Crush" finger-friendly editing 19:30 — 2D photo to editable 3D in seconds (then you finesse it) 22:42 — Test-fit an office in 30 minutes vs. a $5K design retainer 24:03 — Digital sticky notes, tasks, and chat: Slack, but inside your floor plan 26:25 — Security layouts, camera FOVs, and cable paths—materials and costs auto-spit 31:06 — First-responder mode: live camera feeds inside the 3D twin 34:14 — Data is the moat: every decision, material, and change captured 50:24 — The patents: 2D→3D extrusion, 3D comms, auto-room gen, "layered diffusion" 53:31 — Consistent, photoreal renders from your own camera angle (no style drift) 54:14 — Where to find Timber (LinkedIn) and BOOM Interactive 55:02 — CoreSpec3D vs. DIY Bubbles; GTM focus on commercial