Interviews with startup founders: Fonn Byggemappen

Fonn Byggemappen is an iOS, Android and web application for construction industry projects. The tool’s co-founder Jan Tore Grindheim told us about the beginnings and crucial moments of the app.

In this series of our interviews with startup founders, we want to share startup success stories with you. With the team of these startups, we will try to answer the question of how to start a startup company. Keep on reading and learn about Fonn Byggemappen.

1. Inspirations: how to start a startup company?

I can tell you how it happened with us: with my background from a very process and document-oriented business, I saw a gap in the building industry, with no proper collaboration and completion tools for small and medium-sized projects.

With my own experience, the experience within my team of co-founders, and feedback from interviewing clients, we found that the market for a tool like Fonn Byggemappen existed and the timing was perfect.

So, we planned to develop a project management tool with features like communicating and sharing files with team members, budget monitoring, milestones and delivering group notifications. Our main goal was to transform time-consuming meetings and the chaos of documents and messages into a few clicks within a user-friendly app.

2. What were the beginnings of your startup success story?

Our pilot client, Idealhus AS, has supported us from the very beginning and has been able to put its signature on Fonn Byggemappen. A highly innovative and good manager, Nils Eirik Ådnanes, dared to trust in us and our ideas.

3. How did you prepare to launch your startup?

Great co-founders! Ingvald Grindheim and John Levi Jørgensen, were crucial in starting up Lean Konseptutvikling. We got a lot of support from Innovation Norway and Connect Norway. They funded most of our start-up costs.

My friend Tor Gjøsæter also had a lot of experience in app development, and luckily agreed to help us and got us in contact with you, Zaven. So, you delivered an iOS, Android and web application to us.

4. What is the biggest challenge for startup founders?

The first few months, with no income and only expenses. Setting up all the formal stuff and trying to sell an idea, not a product, in a (for me) completely new business segment was quite challenging, but extremely important to develop an understanding of what our clients actually need.

5. Where is your startup now?

We are now starting to go up the “hockey stick curve”, having already landed large clients with many more just days from signing. It is very busy, but so much fun seeing our product actually reaching the market and getting this warm welcome.

Candidate for the 2017 Innovation Prize in the Norwegian building industry.
2 years in a row, awarded as one of the four best start-ups in western Norway.

6. Where do you see your startup in 5 years?

50% of all new buildings in Norway will be using Fonn Byggemappen. Large entrepreneurs in all of the largest western countries will be using Fonn Byggemappen. We will be working in other business segments with similar products like Marine, Oil & Gas and many more. I see this as a very inspiring startup success story!

Fonn Byggemappen’s startup success story shows us how to start a startup company in the construction industry market. Learn more about the project here.
Feel free to share your comments and thoughts about inspiring startup stories or questions you would like to ask a startup founder.

Jan Tore Grindheim
Co-founder at Fonn Byggemappen
15 years’ experience in the oil & gas industry; mostly management and completion.
Working 100% with Lean Konseptutvikling since 1 January 2017.