You would need to solve problems that involve real people building or inspecting things. The work is variable enough that a person is the most flexible tool to

You would need to solve problems that involve real people building or inspecting things. The work is variable enough that a person is the most flexible tool to handle most parts of construction. Labor is the most expensive part to deal with. The materials are pretty small margins otherwise. There have been numerous improvements in construction methods and materials, even in recent years. One that sticks out to me is vinyl plank flooring. Vinyl used to be a good material but a pain to install. There was a change to make the material into planks that clip together instead of a large rollout sheet. Now this is one of the fastest, cheapest, and dare I say best materials for your floor, and it just took a different approach to the manufacturing and delivery to change it. Any new or old home I see features vinyl planking prominently because it takes only a weekend to install. But no one like "owns" vinyl plank flooring. One company probably developed the idea mimicking how wood planking works, and every other vinyl company copied them. Even new companies entered the market because it sold well. So the opportunities are out there, but if you change something in the materials or method of installation space you generally are only innovating something the rest of the industry with later ape. There's not as much opportunity to become the new Facebook of some new material or easy-to-install method you've developed. Now if you could somehow replace one of the big time or cost sinks to construction at scale I think you'd have something: inspections, specialists, and the wait for these two to interact. Inspections are generally there for a good reason and are government-run, so it would be a tough nut to crack, and it would take a maverick to do it, but it does seem like there is opportunity there. Scheduling between specialist roles like plumbing, electrical, and HVAC also seems like a big one. I've noticed the bigger HVAC companies in my area get business because they can promise quick results, and they do that by having those specialists on the same staff and scheduling them all out appropriately. Contractors take forever because they need to sub-contract and coordinate people. If you have everyone under one umbrella you can manage the timetable better. But none of these things scream "start-up tech business" to me.