In 2006, my husband Dominick and I faced a financial crisis after a major construction project. We had spent decades in the subcontracting industry and understood firsthand what happens when project information is incomplete, scattered or controlled by only a few participants.
The experience forced us to ask a different question: What if everyone on a construction project had access to the verified information needed to understand the work, support their decisions and defend their contractual rights?
That question became MySmartPlans, an independent construction and facility information-governance company. We did not begin with venture capital, a large technology team or a polished corporate office. We began with a big idea, $15,000 and a 700-square-foot garage in Kansas City. We believed the construction industry needed an independent system that could preserve the complete project record — not for the contractor controlling the work, but for the owner responsible for the outcome…