Ep 12: Lucy Clarke, Fixed Construction
Ep 12: Lucy Clarke, Fixed Construction
Learn how Fixed Construction connects construction companies with skilled workers, addressing the challenge of workforce shortages and skills gaps in the construction industry
Welcome to the OxIgnite Podcast hosted by Yusuf Raza and Michael Hutson - two entrepreneurial MBA students at the University of Oxford. Together, we navigate the dynamic journeys of Oxford-linked founders, venture capitalists, and trailblazing innovators. Our mission? To fuel the fire in Oxford's next generation of boundary-pushing change-makers.
Today's guest is Lucy Clarke, Co-founder of Fixed Construction.
Fixed is a verticalized marketplace connecting construction companies with skilled workers, allowing the companies to save money and avoid delays and empowering workers with more transparency over available opportunities.
Lucy shares the mission behind Fixed – connecting construction companies with skilled workers to address workforce shortages and skills gaps.
Tune in as Lucy outlines the industry challenges and Fixed's innovative solution that consolidates job opportunities for workers.
Discover how Fixed is bridging skill gaps, focusing on key customer profiles, and strategically navigating recruitment agency dynamics.
Lucy also shares her observations from her time in Venture Capital on what differentiates successful and unsuccessful startups, and the importance of focus as an early stage startup.
As always, we also cover entrepreneurial advice for aspiring entrepreneurs and tips for founder wellness.
Get ready, get set, get Oxignited!
List of Topics Covered:
Introduction and Problem Statement: Lucy Clarke introduces Fixed Construction's mission to connect construction companies with skilled workers, addressing workforce shortages and skills gaps in the industry.
Current Challenges: Lucy outlines the challenges construction companies and workers face, including finding suitable workers and opportunities efficiently.
Fixed's Solution for Workers: Lucy explains how Fixed's platform provides workers with access to multiple job opportunities from different sources in one place, improving visibility and informed decision-making.
Skill Concentration and Gap: Lucy discusses the imbalance in certain roles within the construction industry and how Fixed aims to address this by connecting skilled workers with companies.
Ideal Customer Profile: Lucy defines Fixed's target customer profile, highlighting the benefits for subcontractors and larger construction companies seeking streamlined recruitment processes.
Agency Involvement: Lucy acknowledges the role of recruitment agencies in the industry and shares Fixed's approach to eventually match companies directly with workers while automating parts of the process.
Worker Verification: Lucy emphasizes the importance of verifying workers' qualifications and skills on the platform and describes Fixed's comprehensive process for ensuring credibility.
Unconventional Background: The interview covers Lucy's transition from investment banking to venture capital, showcasing how diverse experiences contribute to entrepreneurial success.
Focus as a Success Factor: Lucy emphasizes the significance of focus for startup success and contrasts it with failures caused by trying to tackle too many areas simultaneously.
Potential for B2B SaaS: Lucy discusses the possibility of Fixed evolving into a B2B SaaS provider, offering tools to streamline workflows and enhance workforce management in the construction industry.
Summary:
Introduction and Problem Statement: Lucy Clarke introduced herself and Fixed Construction, highlighting the company's mission to bridge the gap between construction companies in need of skilled workers and workers seeking suitable job opportunities. She emphasized that despite the vast number of construction companies and workers in the industry, there is a significant mismatch in finding skilled workers for specific project phases, leading to increased costs, delays, and worker dissatisfaction.
Current Challenges: Lucy outlined the prevailing challenges faced by construction companies and workers. Companies struggle to find the right skilled workers at the required time, often relying on internal networks and agencies, which can be expensive and inefficient. On the worker's side, individuals rely heavily on word-of-mouth referrals, leading to missed opportunities and limited choices for employment.
Fixed's Solution for Workers: Lucy explained how Fixed aims to transform the worker's experience. Through their platform, workers can access job opportunities from multiple sources in one place, primarily through WhatsApp and in multiple languages. Fixed has become the largest aggregator of construction jobs in the UK, delivering over 150 job opportunities daily to registered candidates. This approach provides workers with greater visibility into available jobs and enables them to make informed decisions.
Skill Concentration and Gap: Lucy discussed the imbalance in certain roles within the construction industry. She mentioned that engineers are both in demand and in short supply, indicating a gap that Fixed aims to address. Additionally, the industry is facing a skills shortage due to factors like Brexit, leading to a need for up-skilling and more targeted job placements.
Fixed’s Ideal Customer Profile: When discussing the target customer profile for Fixed, Lucy mentioned that the platform is particularly beneficial for subcontractors and larger construction companies that rely heavily on recruitment agencies to find workers. Fixed's focus is on simplifying the recruitment process for these companies, ultimately saving them time, money, and ensuring the right skills match for their projects.
Agency Involvement: While Fixed's long-term vision is to eliminate the need for intermediaries like recruitment agencies, Lucy acknowledged the important role agencies currently play in the industry. Agencies vet workers for qualifications, skills, and safety, which is crucial in construction. Fixed is working to automate parts of this process and intends to eventually match companies directly with skilled workers.
Worker Verification: Lucy highlighted the significance of verifying workers' qualifications, skills, and references on the platform. Fixed has developed a comprehensive process that involves role-specific questionnaires and verified references to ensure workers' credibility. This verification process enhances the platform's value proposition to companies seeking reliable and skilled workers.
Lucy’s Unconventional Background: Lucy started her career in investment banking at Goldman Sachs after completing her degree in Classics at Oxford University. Despite her unique background, she found value in her investment banking experience and used it to cultivate skills for future entrepreneurial endeavors.
VC Experience and Insights: Lucy transitioned from investment banking to venture capital, joining Octopus Ventures. Her role exposed her to various startups across different stages. She learned the importance of lean operations and staying focused on key priorities. Additionally, she noted the transition in the market's emphasis from growth at all costs to achieving profitability.
Formation of Fixed Construction: Lucy's founding journey was influenced by her husband, Henryk, who had experience in the construction industry. A conversation about verticalized labor marketplaces sparked the idea for Fixed. Lucy and Henryk decided to address the pain points of construction workers and companies. The co-founding team was completed with Des, a technical partner, who joined through Y Combinator's co-founder matching platform.
Focus as a Success Factor: Lucy emphasized that focus is vital for startup success. She cited examples of failures caused by trying to tackle too many areas at once. In contrast, successful companies exhibit a laser focus on key problems, enabling them to build sustainable solutions.
Worker Community and Digital Profiles: Fixed's approach includes building a community aspect for workers. Lucy mentioned plans to develop a platform resembling a construction-specific LinkedIn. Workers can create digital profiles with verified references and connect with colleagues, making Fixed a long-term platform for professional networking within the industry.
Potential for B2B SaaS: Lucy acknowledged that beyond being a marketplace, Fixed could venture into providing B2B SaaS solutions to construction companies. This could involve workforce management tools and other innovations that streamline workflows currently reliant on manual processes.
Current Status: Lucy Clarke shares that Fixed Construction raised its pre-seed funding in May and has already onboarded its first customer. The company's recent milestone of generating its first revenues marks an exciting step forward. Lucy mentions their plan to expand the team and continue growing the customer base while enhancing the platform's offerings.
Excitement for the Future: Lucy expresses enthusiasm for building the Fixed team and addressing the significant challenges in the construction industry. She's excited about the potential impact of Fixed's solution on workers' lives, highlighting the rewarding aspect of providing job opportunities and improving the industry.
Challenges of Building a Marketplace: Lucy acknowledges that one of the primary challenges they face is the "cold start problem" inherent in marketplace businesses. This challenge revolves around attracting one side of the marketplace in order to entice the other side. In Fixed's case, they are focusing on attracting workers first to add value to companies. To solve this, they've developed a product that aggregates and syndicates job listings from various sources to provide value to workers before their own job listings are present on the platform.
Future Growth and Expansion: While Fixed is currently focused on the UK market, Lucy discusses the possibility of expanding to Europe as a natural progression. She emphasizes the importance of staying focused on the UK market at this stage, but recognizes the potential for international growth in the future.
Advice for Aspiring Founders: Lucy offers advice to aspiring founders, encouraging them to take the leap and start their own businesses rather than waiting for the "perfect" time. She underscores the significance of collecting data to support a business thesis, which can help in attracting investors and customers.
Managing Stress and Well-being: Reflecting on the challenges of entrepreneurship and being a co-founder with her husband, Lucy mentions the importance of exercise for stress management. She acknowledges the difficulty of switching off in an entrepreneurial environment and mentions their efforts to strike a balance between work and personal life.
Celebrating Success: Lucy notes that celebrating successes can be challenging amidst the continuous pursuit of milestones. She shares how investors have helped them reflect on achievements and acknowledge progress made in a short span.
Links:
Fixed Construction Official Website
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