Specified: Building Materials Innovation Podcast

Shawn Van Dyke is a construction industry consultant, business coach and mentor. He is a keynote speaker and travels the US training construction business owners. Shawn started off in the industry in engineering, obtaining several degrees, including a masters in structural engineering. He eventually realized he’d rather be out in the field and became a project manager. Since then, Shawn has worked in numerous facets of the construction industry, gaining a vast knowledge of the different aspects of the industry along the way. All of his background and knowledge came together when he realized that his systems were scalable and led him to his current career of consulting and mentoring business owners. He’s written two books, Profit First For Contractors and The Paperwork Punch List, and he travels all over the world as a keynote speaker. One of his biggest focuses is prioritizing his time and finding freedom within structure and boundaries.  Listen to this week’s episode to hear more about Shawn’s journey! Pl

Jonah Lupton is the founder and CEO of Sound Guard, which manufactures a soundproof paint that is applied in hotels and apartment groups around the nation.  Jonah started out by working for Wall Street investment banks after college, but when the financial crisis hit in 2008 he decided it was no longer something he enjoyed. He founded a couple start-up software companies in 2011. He was living in a very loud apartment at the time and was getting frustrated with all the noise from his neighbours, and from there the idea of a soundproof paint was born. After a lot of research and networking, Jonah found a developer and struck a deal, and the rest is history! Launching new start-ups in this industry can be incredibly difficult, and Jonah was faced with many challenges along the way, which helped teach him some valuable lessons. He understands his market and has worked very hard to learn about his customers and their needs. He believes in the importance of educating his team, and saying no to projects that aren

Going through adversity can be hard, but can have incredibly helpful outcomes if you learn how to deal in a positive way. Listen to this week's episode of Tats Talks to hear how your team can benefit from going through adversity together. Please reach out if you have any feedback or questions. Enjoy!    Twitter: @TatsuyaNakagawa Instagram: @tats_talks LinkedIn: Tatsuya Nakagawa  YouTube: Tats Talks www.tatstalk.com www.castagra.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Terry May is the president of MESA, which designs, creates, installs, and maintains cathodic protection systems and pipeline integrity solutions. MESA is a two-time Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award winner. The Baldridge Program oversees the nation’s only Presidential award for performance excellence.  Terry founded MESA in 1979 and has managed its growth from a one-man service operation to a nationwide provider of corrosion control solutions. He credits the incredible growth of his company on knowing the importance of customer service, and looking for opportunities. He believes maintaining customer relations is more important than finding new customers. MESA has a customer retention rate of 98%. His passion is continued improvement, and loves to read and learn as much as possible. Listen to this week’s episode of Specified to hear more about Terry. Please reach out if you have any feedback or questions. Enjoy!  Twitter: @TatsuyaNakagawa Instagram: @tats_talks LinkedIn: Tatsuya Nakagawa  YouTube: 

John Durig is the founder of North American Construction Technologies. John was a founding partner of General Polymers and grew it to 25 million before it was acquired by Sherwin Williams. As an entrepreneur, he made smart choices and focused on recession-proof businesses. He believes the growth he experienced was a result of the technical drive through researching and developing the market needs. He doesn’t spend time worrying about other businesses or his competition and focuses on his own execution instead, and encourages other to do the same.  One of the things he looks for in people he wants to work with are people who are risk-takers and aren’t afraid to make mistakes. All of his biggest life lessons he’s learned are through past failures. He embraces his curiosity and fearlessness and that’s taken him very far as an entrepreneur. John started up InnoVision Consulting in 2014, and loves that he can spread his knowledge and give back to the industry. The focus in on bringing together technical innovati

What kind of experience are you delivering to your clients? In this week's episode of Tats Talks, I discuss steps that our company is taking every day to improve our customer service experience.  Please reach out if you have any feedback or questions. Enjoy!    Twitter: @TatsuyaNakagawa Instagram: @tats_talks LinkedIn: Tatsuya Nakagawa  YouTube: Tats Talks www.tatstalk.com www.castagra.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mitchell Levy is a TEDx speaker and international bestselling author with over 60 business books. He is also a contributor at Entrepreneur Magazine and has provided strategic consulting to over 100 companies. He’s known as the global credibility expert and believes that books are the best form of credibility in the market today. He runs the highly successful platform AHAthat, which helps entrepreneurs, business owners, and executives become bestselling authors. Their focus is getting their authors recognized as the go-to experts in their field, as well increasing revenue and credibility. They’ve published over 800 books and have even started the AHAthat Writing School to help guide people through the writing process. You can check them out at AHAthat.com   Mitchell also runs a podcast called Thought Leader Life that has produced over 150 episodes. He’s highly insightful and has the gift of bringing the genius out of whoever he speaks with.  Listen to this week’s episode of Specified to hear more about Mitc

Sean Williams has been in the design and architecture industry for over 20 years. He runs Carbon Design and Architecture, which is an architectural design studio that focuses on innovative entrepreneurial solutions and creative sustainability for the building environment. He started as an architect in Florida in 2000 and eventually started his own practice in 2012. His first plan was to be a pilot in the air force, but after a medical condition disqualified him from getting in, he realized that he was creative and loved to draw so he took a few classes and got very intrigued by the problem solving and creativity involved with being an architect.  He’s also very interested in biomimicry and sustainability. He founded The Center for Biomimetic Research (BAR) and is passionate about finding ideas for sustainability through nature. He’s worked on some amazing projects, including the Dali Museum and the St. Petersburg College Green Living Demonstration Center. He’s big on communication and surrounding himself w

On this week’s Tats Talks, I discuss my own wellness journey and how it’s affected my life personally and as an entrepreneur. Do you make wellness a priority? Please reach out if you have any feedback or questions. Enjoy!    Twitter: @TatsuyaNakagawa Instagram: @tats_talks LinkedIn: Tatsuya Nakagawa  YouTube: Tats Talks www.tatstalk.com www.castagra.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Henry Staggs, Owner of Preferred Roof Consultants of Arizona, is a veteran in the roofing industry. He is the creator of the site “TheArizonaRoofer.com” and his mission is to improve the roofing industry in Arizona. Henry started out in the industry at only 12 years old, working for his Grandfather. He joined forces with a friend and started his first roofing company when he was 17. He decided to try out other areas as well, and after trying numerous other career paths, he realized his heart and passion was in roofing. Thanks to his desire to branch out, he managed to bring new tools and skills learned in previous jobs to further his roofing career. He helps roofers become more business savvy and improve their companies. Safety is an important component, he helps to educate people on how important it is to identify the hazards on the job and provide protection for employees. He went through some hard times professionally and personally due to an injury, but it opened him up to the world of consulting and h

Matt Daigle, CEO of Rise, had an idea that grew from his home life. He and his wife, an interior decorator, bought a home that needed a lot of renovation. When they finished the work, the house was beautiful, but they saw no savings in efficiency. Where could they turn for centrally located information about more environmentally friendly ways for building improvement. Nowhere, it seemed. This was his “aha” moment. It gave rise to Rise or buildwithrise.com, a go-to website that’s B2B and B2C for anyone interested in the latest environmental techniques and tools in building products or finding a professional. The site started with a small group with the necessary skills to build a website, some adventurous investors and a business plan, and they were on their way. With the aid of several accelerator programs, the site was up and running in no time.  Since then, it has grown to become a certified B corporation, a movement that recognizes using business as a force for good, and the leading online authority in

Does fear hold you back from doing the things that you want? I share my thoughts on how to overcome fear and start being comfortable with the uncomfortable. Please reach out if you have any feedback or questions. Enjoy!    Twitter: @TatsuyaNakagawa Instagram: @tats_talks LinkedIn: Tatsuya Nakagawa  YouTube: Tats Talks www.tatstalk.com www.castagra.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve Levin is the Managing Director of Elemence, which creates new platforms for various clients, and founder of ASI Materials (advanced surfaces and interfaces). He has been at the helm of many start-ups having to do with technology. At the same time, he sees commonality and synergy between totally different industries to innovate new products with multiple applications. Levin is a great believer in taking a multidisciplinary approach to any project so it can find all the possibilities to solving a problem or finding a new product. This approach leads to streamlined, cost-effective results for his clients. In the building and construction sector, he and his team, including co-founder Adam Malofsky (see episode 24), are trying to find new ways to replace the labor shortage. One of these ways is to build offsite as modular or prefab work, using new, greener materials, and bring these to the building site. This not only saves on onsite labor but also in reduced development time and less waste. Levin’s advic

Tom Reber is the Co-Founder of The Contractor Fight, “a movement of home improvement contractors who are taking back control of their businesses and fattening their wallets”. Reber is a plain-speaking business coach who helps contractors find the way to get their minds straight and improve their businesses. Reber didn’t have an easy time growing up. Consequently, he had little self-respect or belief in his ability. Since he had to find a way to make a living and also grew up in the trade, he bought a second-hand truck and a ladder and became a painter. He struggled but managed to make a living and successfully expand his business. His coaching techniques grew out of this experience. To improve himself, he started reading books and blogs, which helped him to stretch, and he started to write his blog Daily Fight for contractors. From there he learned the value of social media and created his podcast STRONGpreneur. At the same time, he was asked to become a speaker at conventions and conferences, which led to

Do you use your time wisely? I'll share my thoughts on how you can improve your efficiency and make smart time-saving choices in this weeks Tats Talks. Please reach out if you have any feedback or questions. Enjoy!    Twitter: @TatsuyaNakagawa Instagram: @tats_talks LinkedIn: Tatsuya Nakagawa  YouTube: Tats Talks www.tatstalk.com www.castagra.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bob Chalker is the CEO of NACE International,The Corrosion Society. NACE is the foremost organization for setting standards and offering certifications in corrosion control. It also provides conferences and direct learning for those in the industry to come together to learn about new products and methods of containing corrosion. NACE has 36,000 members in more than 130 countries. Along the way, he acquired experience in strategic planning, governance, operations management, business development, marketing, and financial management. He is also comfortable working globally in countries such as Brazil, China, and India. Through the lessons he’s learned, he formed his core philosophy. First, do right by your people, then do right by the business. And always remain mission-based but also fiscally responsible. One of the things he’s done at NACE is to have the website redesigned to improve outreach and to use more online communication such as Facebook and Twitter, even though the industry hasn’t completely caught

Ken Kelly of Kelly Roofing in Florida is a second-generation roofer. Although he didn’t start out as a roofer, when he was 17 his father seriously injured himself and Ken jumped in to help. Since then, he has expanded the business to include Energy Savings Solutions, a consulting and educational firm that helps others understand environmental conservation. The roofing company also tries to stay as green as possible and has received many green certifications. In addition to embracing the green movement, he has modernized his company with a system that streamlines and coordinates preparing estimates and scheduling. In fact, he writes the codes himself, a skill learned in high school.  Kelly is a believer in the Japanese business model of kaizen, which means always striving for improvement. To this end, he has weekly staff meetings to assess where they are, where they can go, and how to get there. One of the challenges under discussion is a labor shortage in the future. His core values, which are part of kaiz

When do you come up with your best ideas? Do you even know? I'll share my thoughts on how you can improve your effectiveness in this area on a new segment called Tats Talks. Please reach out if you have any feedback or questions. Enjoy!    Twitter: @TatsuyaNakagawa Instagram: @tats_talks LinkedIn: Tatsuya Nakagawa  YouTube: Tats Talks www.tatstalk.com www.castagra.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adam Malofsky of Elemence Advisors in Cincinnati is a man with so many ideas they just flow from his brain. He’s been an innovator all his life and continues to be enthusiastic about finding new ways to streamline, create, and develop new and old products for an ever-changing universe. His first degree (yes, his first of several) is in chemical engineering, so most of his companies concentrated on performance chemicals, polymers and other materials for the building and construction industry, among other fields. His current company, Elemence Advisors, takes a multi-dimensional consultative approach to help customers find the new way to do things, the lowest cost, and the fastest path to fruition. He and his team assess the client’s needs and develop a meticulous presentation that may include a sample product, a cost analysis, and an outline on how to eliminate risk and how the company benefits. To would-be innovators his advice is to remain grounded but open to all experiences. After all, an open mind can le

Amy Hopkins, VP of Marketing at Silvaris Corp., tried several careers before she fell into marketing for Silvaris. One of those careers was in logistics and tech software, which helped her to learn the software for this lumber industry, specifically Silvaris’. Silvaris deals in sourcing B grade materials such as that used for paneling, flooring, pallets, crates, and roofing to other businesses and suppliers. Silvaris developed its own software, including CRM and inventory control, to create an efficient process from sourcing to sales.  As a marketing manager, Hopkins takes the vision of the company’s leaders and maps out the individual parts that will make the vision come true. She then plans the steps to reach full implementation of the goal and the roles each employee, known as a trader, will play. Also, she uses the company software to generate the data needed to improve efficiency and communication. It’s Hopkins’ task to build relationships with the company’s customers and with her traders, who research