“Don’t take advice from those who’ve never done it”

Conneqtr founder Steven Everaert explains how the company achieved early product–market fit in construction and is now scaling internationally by following its customers across Europe.

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Which company did you launch?

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“I launched Conneqtr, a digital collaboration platform tailored to the construction sector. The goal from the start was to improve collaboration across a fragmented ecosystem of main contractors, subcontractors and partners.”

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What were some of the key signals that indicated you achieved product–market fit?

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“The signals came surprisingly early. Even before the official launch, seven construction companies were already willing to support Conneqtr. Once we went live, clients and users quickly became ambassadors, actively referring us to other companies.”

“In parallel, we saw real growth in support tickets, questions, and feature requests, clear proof of engagement and enthusiasm from active users.”

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What’s currently your biggest challenge?

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“Internationalization is the main challenge, especially when it comes togo-to-market strategies and dealing with country-specific federations and regulatory frameworks in the construction sector. That said, scaling and local fine-tuning of the solution already seem feasible: our first pilot projects in the Netherlands have been live for several weeks now.”

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What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

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“Don’t take advice from someone who’s never actually done it before.”

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What has been your biggest growth driver so far?

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“There are three main growth drivers. First, continuously leveraging the full construction ecosystem: main contractors pull in subcontractors, subcontractors pull in main contractors. We never focused on just one company or one segment; digital collaboration across the ecosystem is key.”

“Second, our involvement in the Oosterweel project, often referred to as the “construction site of the century,” had a huge impact on both adoption and our reputation.”

“Third, we adopted a clear customer success approach from the very beginning.”

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International expansion is often a key milestone. What’s your approach to going global?

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“We primarily follow our customers, many of whom (such as large contractors and infrastructure players) are active in multiple countries. Each new market is carefully validated in terms of local requirements, market dynamics and existing alternatives. We then start with pilot projects, focusing on key contractors, joint ventures and large international subcontractors.”

“Interestingly, hundreds of international subcontractors are already using Conneqtr to collaborate withBelgian main contractors, which creates a natural pathway to expansion.”

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If you could go back to the early days, what would you do differently?

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“I would bring international shareholders on board from day one, and I would invest even more in in-house development talent.”

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Where do you see your company in 2–3 years from now?

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“I see Conneqtr active in five European countries, serving around 100,000 users and being recognized with a European proptech or construction tech award.”

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