Why Construction Businesses Are Losing Margin Blindly - Alistair Blenkin & James Metcalfe - EP 38

Alistair Blenkin is the founder of ProcurePro, an AI powered procurement platform built specifically for the construction industry. Before building the business, Alistair was a lawyer, which gives him a sharper eye than most for where construction contracts, commitments and costs quietly go wrong before anyone notices. ProcurePro has just raised $15 million to continue building out its AI powered procurement control for construction, putting the business at a valuation of around $100 million. It is not a small bet on where the industry is heading. In this episode Alistair talks honestly about what the construction industry is getting wrong with procurement, where the margin is actually going, and why most firms don’t even know what they’re losing until it’s too late. We explore: - Why construction procurement is still largely manual and what that is costing businesses in real margin - How AI can surface cost drift, approval delays and supply chain risk before they become problems on site - Why the construction industry is years behind other sectors in adopting technology and what happens to the firms that stay that way - How ProcurePro connects with the systems contractors already use without adding more admin or disruption - What it actually takes to raise serious money in construction tech and how Alistair got there from a legal background - Why margin loss rarely comes from one big decision and how to spot the pattern before it compounds Alistair is not your typical construction guest. He came from law, built a $100 million business, and has a very clear view of where the industry is bleeding money and why most people running construction businesses have no idea it’s happening.