Craig Webb, writing for ProSales, takes on the naysayers who are trashing Katerra, the California company that promises to revolutionize the way homes are built.
Today, the boo birds have their eyes on Katerra, the startup that has received billions of investment dollars based on its promise to revolutionize how we build. It’s too early to tell whether Katerra will become a game-changing construction juggernaut or a giant sinkhole for Silicon Valley money. Much of the popular press treats Katerra like the former, but complaints have emerged. A friend who knows some people who joined and then left Katerra says those ex-workers cited lack of organization and a management team that still has much to learn about construction.
The rumors of gaffes probably are true. Katerra’s giant-sized ambitions no doubt have made it clumsy, mistake-ridden, and less efficient than it claims. But committing mistakes is a painful part of becoming a winner. Rick Atkinson’s history of World War II’s European theater delves into how Dwight Eisenhower had to learn how to command and how American GIs needed many bloody lessons before they became a fighting force. In his latest letter to shareholders, Jeff Bezos says that a leviathan like Amazon needs to be willing to make billion-dollar mistakes to keep growing.
Even as it stumbles, Katerra has several factors on its side. Lots of money is one, but even more important is that there is need. Labor shortages are crippling the industry. Studies suggest home construction is only a little more efficient than it was in the 1950s. The lack of affordable housing has reached crisis levels, as has concerns about sick buildings. In short, we need to learn how to build faster, cheaper, and better, and none of these problems are going away soon. Those continuing needs will provide impetus for Katerra and other innovators to keep stumbling toward solutions.
