In the latest episode of the specified podcast, host Tatsuya “Tats” Nakagawa interviews Tough Leaf’s founder and CEO, Wissam Akra, about his journey from being a civil engineer to the founder of a construction tech startup.
Wissam talks about his background managing enormous infrastructure projects, like New York’s Second Avenue subway expansion, revealing the complexity behind the scenes with countless stakeholders and decision-makers. He also discusses the strict diversity compliance rules that general contractors now face on public projects.
Wissam had the idea after noticing shortcomings in connecting minority-owned subcontractors with opportunities, so he founded Tough Leaf. The rest is history.
This episode delivers several nuggets of wisdom both for aspiring entrepreneurs and construction professionals including:
- The importance of responsiveness and presentation when engaging general contractors
- How to properly submit requests for information without appearing unqualified
- Why you should take the leap on starting a business despite uncertainty
- Dealing with the emotional ups and downs of entrepreneurship
Listen to the full episode here.
If you’d like to reach out to Wissam, send an email to hello@toughleaf.com .