Marc Minor, Higharc: Built an AI Company for Homebuilding BEFORE the AI Boom

After Tweener Madness, we’re back to regular programming with a special conversation featuring Marc Minor, CEO & Co-Founder of Higharc.In this episode, Marc talks about the long road to building fundamental technology, why Higharc spent years developing before going fully to market, how he found his co-founders, what he learned from early fundraising, and why AI has become a major tailwind for the business. Highlights CoveredHow Higharc applies advanced manufacturing concepts to homebuildingWhy the company spent four years building before going to marketHow Marc raised Higharc’s first $4.7M seed roundWhy founders need confidence, conviction, and a willingness to askHow Higharc thinks about spatial AI and proprietary dataWhy “buildings as data” is a major competitive advantageWhat founders can learn from great storytellersWhy peer groups are so valuable for CEOsIf there’s one takeaway from this conversation, it’s that great companies are rarely built overnight, but clear vision, strong storytelling, and relentless execution can take you a long way.Timestamps00:00 Cold open: Building takes longer than expected 00:31 Welcome to NC Tweener Talks 01:51 Back from Tweener Madness 03:00 Introducing Mark Minor and Higharc 07:36 What Higharc does 10:18 Mark’s path to the Triangle 11:23 From 3D printing to homebuilding 15:19 Taking the leap into entrepreneurship 17:20 Getting fired, getting encouraged, and starting Higharc 18:49 Four years of building before market 19:33 Early fundraising lessons 23:39 Raising the first $4.7M 24:24 Why Higharc had to de-risk technology and go-to-market 27:05 Finding technical co-founders 30:12 The technical problem behind Higharc 33:24 Where Higharc is today 35:26 How AI became a tailwind 37:02 Why Higharc builds homes as data 39:14 Training models for spatial AI 41:16 Asking buildings questions with AI 42:17 Competitive moats in an AI world 45:10 Advice for founders 46:04 Storytelling as a founder skill 48:10 Closing thoughtsWhere to Find MarcLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcminor/Higharc: https://www.higharc.com/company/aboutWhere to Find Scot Wingo: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thescotwingo/ Tweener Times: https://www.tweenertimes.com/ X: https://x.com/scotwingo--- This episode of Triangle Tweener Talks is hosted by Scot Wingo, presented and produced by NC Tweener Fund, with creative assets and design support from Walk West. We couldn’t share posts like this without our amazing sponsors: Platinum: NC IDEA: https://ncidea.orgGold Sponsors: - Balentine: https://www.balentine.com/triangle-entrepreneurs - EisnerAmpner: https://www.eisneramper.com - Robinson Bradshaw: https://www.robinsonbradshaw.com  Silver Sponsors: - Automated Consulting Group: https://automated.co - Bank of America: https://business.bofa.com/en-us/content/technology-industry-group.html  ------Triangle Tweener Talks is sponsored by:Atomic Object: https://atomicobject.com/