Josh Causey: From Electrical Contractor to Software Developer

To learn what makes Bolt unique, we are introducing Josh Causey, the creator of Bolt and president at C&B Electrical, to tell the genesis for his software solution and what makes it the premium solution for project management.

Generational goals

Like many sons wanting to follow in their father’s footsteps, Josh Causey followed him into the electrical contracting business. Almost 17 years later, he’s the president of C&B Electrical, which his father founded. Josh always had a knack for addressing problems head-on through technology. He leveraged this, as he calls it, “to scratch his own itch” to improve his business.

“When trying to solve a problem with national or regional builders, who have who have lots going on concerning material requests and change orders,” he said. “The struggle was finding a way to document everything.”

Josh and his team couldn’t find anything in the technology market that addressed their problems, so he built the tech himself—calling it Bolt.

Embracing a DIY mentality

So, what does it do? Bolt is a solution that simplifies project management, scheduling, and estimating for new home construction subcontractors.

"I’m a subcontractor who became an accidental software developer,” Josh joked.

Josh knew other contractors in the field needed software solutions that Bolt provided as much as him.

"I started thinking about something broader, looking to create a separate company to sell the software to help other subcontractors struggling with the same problem,” he said.

Partnering with the right tech

This is where ECI came in. Josh partnered with ECI, the premier brand in cloud-based business management solutions for the building industry. After reviewing the market options, he found that other ECI solutions like Spruce and MarkSystems were being used across industries. It was crystal clear that Bolt could be the residential home construction solution to make the entire supply chain more efficient.

Josh got to work on three selling points for Bolt,

• How to drive profits from national and regional big builders
• Leveraging technology to solve needs
• Helping Bolt and ECI scale

These goals work towards increasing profitability and holding builders accountable.

“With Bolt, you can do it in a way where you don't come across as a martyr, and yet you get what you deserve,” he said. “Most of all, you're also going to walk away with a tool that can help your subcontractors succeed in thinking differently about leveraging technology.”

The birth of Bolt

As president of C&B Electrical, he looked to form a new company division focusing on industry solutions. This is the genesis of Bolt.

“It’s a cutthroat industry; you learn fast that you have to compete for contracts,” he said. “Our customers wanted a full-service low-voltage company to be able to come in and wire the home in an “in-and-out fashion.”

"Maybe being younger led me to lean on technology more, he said.” “I saw the advantages of tracking things and trying to get a clearer vision of processes by leveraging technology.”

Before Bolt managed his company's invoices and billing, Josh cringed whenever he had to ask a client for a PO. With no real tracking of when and how a step was completed, conversations around payment were contentious and, at times, volatile.

“Especially over email, it can escalate quickly,” he said. “With Bolt automating and managing those tasks, you build that trust with the builder. In our personal lives, we would never tell someone to come over and mow my lawn, and I just won't pay you. That obviously feels wrong, but we do it to our trades all the time.”

Humble beginnings

Before creating Bolt, Josh’s dad used a software system that started as an SQL database before evolving into a full-blown scheduling system where they had to input every work order. Then, a cost estimator was added to crank out bids and efficiently pull materials for jobs. Once Josh graduated college and joined the business, his father tasked him with creating a way to shoot emails from his phone after leaving the job site to send quality control lists to trades. Josh expanded this goal to be able to coordinate file sharing amongst team members, including PDFs of job sites, checklists, and work plans. This challenge was the germ of the idea that became Bolt.

“When the iPad became available I called my dad and told him this is the piece of technology that we can run with,” he said. “That started our entry into the development of the Bolt platform.”

That simple idea, in 2010, was formed by Josh to make doing business easier. That was made by someone working every day in the field, who had first-hand knowledge of industry pain points. That solution would eventually debut as Bolt in 2013 and is now used by businesses worldwide. Bolt is a construction management solution designed specifically for residential construction trade contractors. It’s a mobile-optimized platform where contractors manage all aspects of their business, from planning jobs and communicating with their team to executing work effectively.

“I knew I needed to design Bolt in a way that I’m not the only one using it,” he said. “We wanted to hopefully build a distribution channel for software. When MarkSystems was acquired by ECI, we met with Scott Duman, president of ECI Software Solutions' Residential Home Construction Group, and he saw Bolt and was like, ‘Man, I’ve always wanted to do something for the trades.’ “

While no deal happened at first, the seed was planted. ECI would eventually purchase Bolt in 2020.

“Bolt can fundamentally change how you do business,” he said. “It's about a relationship and helping you grow your business. A recent conversation with a business owner made me want to put my head through drywall. They were still using fax machines because that’s what their customers wanted. I told him to help his customers evolve to 2023 and change their lives. Working that way enables incompetence.”

Conclusion

As older home builders age out of business, Josh predicts the younger generation, sons or daughters who grew up with iPhones and iPads, will embrace tech at a rapid rate.

“That’s the nature of construction, to take technology and put it out in the field,” he said. “A picture's worth a thousand words.”

Learn more about how Bolt makes a trade contractor's workday easier.

If you enjoyed reading this article, check out these assets for more information:

• Residential Home Construction Trends Shaping 2023
• How This Electrical Contracting Firm Grew By 75% With Little Additional Headcount
• 4 Excuses Trade Contractors Make to Avoid Implementing Software