Adam Zobler, General Partner at Foundamental, argues that pure SaaS pricing fails in project-based AEC, where contractors run on thin margins and already buy outcomes. He makes the case for outcome as a service and for founders who learn the industry's pain firsthand.

Adam Zobler, General Partner, Foundamental

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In this conversation

Why Adam says the labor crunch, a retiree wave with no young workers replacing it, set Foundamental's thesis in 2019: robots for repetitive, dangerous tasks and a better on-ramp for new workers.

His math on a general contractor's P&L, roughly 2% gross margin and 2 to 3% IT spend, and why that makes a SaaS-only startup almost done on arrival.

The case for outcome as a service, where a startup acts as the subcontractor and owns a piece of the build, such as bricklaying, instead of selling seats.

His prediction of a wave of acquisitions in design and preconstruction software, and the 12 to 18 month window before fast startups grow out of reach.

Why a sector specialist investor who has lived in the trenches can turn expensive lessons into cheap ones for early founders.

The founder mistakes he sees most: building in a vacuum without talking to customers, and reacting to every blip before a hypothesis has time to play out.

If you're a SaaS business, and your pricing methodology is SaaS, selling into those ICPs, those users, you're almost done on arrival.

Adam Zobler

Chapters

Labor and supply chain megatrends

The retiree wave, robotics and upskilling, and the push for more resilient supply chains after the pandemic.

By the numbers

41%

Share of the current US construction workforce projected to retire by 2031

Adam cites a retiree wave of about 40% of the labor force by 2030. NCCER's research puts it at roughly 41% by 2031.

Source: NCCER (2025) ↗

Outcome as a service

Why project-based AEC rejects pure SaaS pricing, and why startups should sell the outcome the industry already buys.

Your margin is my opportunity

Europe's lead in sustainability, the waste in an $11 trillion industry, and his call for a year of acquisitions in design software.

Distribution and the better product

Spotify versus Apple Music, the innovator's dilemma, and why a far better product can still beat a bundled incumbent.

From generalist VC to contech

How waiting on late-stage companies led Adam to construction, and why a specialist investor helps most at the earliest stage.

Mistakes founders make

Building in a vacuum, reacting too fast, taking too much or too little advice, and the headwinds facing commercial real estate.

Point me to one firm that's a multi-billion-dollar firm that's doing only SaaS-based revenue in our space. Zero.

Adam Zobler

Takeaways

With general contractors running roughly 2% gross margins and 2 to 3% IT spend, a SaaS-only startup selling to them is almost done on arrival.

Foundamental backs outcome as a service: startups that act as the subcontractor and own a piece of the build, like bricklaying, instead of selling software seats.

The labor crunch drives Foundamental's thesis: robots should take repetitive, dangerous tasks, while new ways to train and upskill workers cover the rest.

Zobler predicts a wave of acquisitions in design and preconstruction software, since incumbents tend to buy innovation rather than build it.

The most common founder mistake is building in a vacuum; the product roadmap usually lives in the heads of your earliest customers.

Your product roadmap is often in the minds of your earliest adopters, so go and talk to them.

Adam Zobler