Provider of the Most Widely Used Construction Management Software: Procore

The Silicon Review

Building the software that builds the world

The story of the company is a story of trial, error, and perseverance. The CEO, Tooey Courtemanche always has been a builder at heart. From a young age, he was fascinated by construction. His father always seemed to have a construction project underway. Watching those projects take shape, Tooey learned that he was drawn to people who value hard work and who see the building as their craft and calling.

The need for Procore came from actual problems the CEO was having as the owner on a construction project to build a new home for his family. Phone calls and fax machines were the default communication modes with his contractor. When he looked at the sheer complexity of coordination, and the lack of streamlined communication he decided to move to the next phase.

The Transition from Traditional Methods to Latest Trends

The first step to improve the firm’s situation was to build a web-based collaboration tool around the Microsoft Project schedule for the job. This tool made it possible to gather feedback from team members as to what was actually going to happen against the plan. The firm began to avoid mistakes on the job site by just getting everyone on the same page. The CEO’s construction experience, combined with the knowledge of software development, seemed to be solving a big problem. That's when Procore was born.

The Initial Plan and Struggle

Tooey decided to take a year off from his software development company and focus on discovering the needs of the construction market. He visited job sites and learned about the inefficiencies that Project Managers faced on a daily basis. A daily job log, two-week look-ahead, a system for managing RFIs and a way to share project schedules were the first tools that he built into a new web-based application that he called Procore.

Procore didn't take off right away. After a few years of building the company, he almost lost his shirt, his home, and just about everything else. Back in 2002, most people working in construction didn't use email for work tasks. Only a handful of his target customers had any Internet access at the job site. Smartphones and tablets were still years away—and widespread adoption of these devices by project teams was more than a decade in the future.

This is where the CEO saw the opportunity, but the market he wanted to serve wasn't ready yet. The firm had to show most of its early customers how a project management software application was going to make their work—and their lives—better. If it wasn't for a few early adopters and the steady partnership like Steve Zahm, Procore would have gone out of business many times in the early days.

The Present Scenario

In the years since Procore has grown to be the most used construction software application on the planet. The team is always focused on making Procore better, faster, and more useful. “I still value hard work and the rewards of building something from the ground up,” says Tooey Courtemanche.

When people ask Tooey what his goal is for the future of Procore, his simple answer is – “I never want to stop providing people in the construction industry with tools that make their lives easier.”

Procore is now helping firms drastically increase project efficiency and accountability by streamlining and mobilizing project communications and documentation. This real-time data and accessibility minimize costly risks and delays—ultimately boosting profits.

Using its award-winning suite of project management tools, over a million registered Procore users across the globe manage all types of construction projects including industrial plants, office buildings, apartment complexes, university facilities, retail centers, and more.

The Man Himself

Tooey Courtemanche, CEO, and Founder: Craig "Tooey" Courtemanche or better known as just Tooey Courtemanche leveraged the power of the Internet to improve construction project management. In 1993, Tooey’s life and career took a turn into technology when he met a man who would become his mentor for the next decade. The mentor introduced Tooey to creating software, another form of building that became a new passion. Soon he found himself at the center of the technology boom in Silicon Valley, learning to code and solving enormous engineering challenges. In 1996, he started his own software development company focused on web applications. The timing could not have been better. That company grew, and by 1999 he found himself working like crazy and also married, with a newborn son. Having this dual experience in construction and technology, he began the development of the cloud-based software that is now Procore. Today, hundreds of thousands of construction professionals worldwide manage their projects with Procore.