Some startup ideas begin in boardrooms, others take shape in bedrooms, but this one started on a construction site.
In this episode, I talk with George Smithies and Aaron Vousden, the co-founders of innDex, about how a long-standing friendship and years of boots-on-the-ground experience led them to build one of the most grounded construction tech businesses in the UK.
This isn’t the story of two engineers chasing buzzwords or dreaming of disruption. It’s a slower, sturdier build. One that started with real problems, real conversations, and the kind of trust that only develops after years of working — and growing — side by side.
From civil engineers to tech founders
George and Aaron met while studying civil engineering at Cardiff University. They’ve since worked on major sites across London, experiencing first-hand the inefficiencies that still dominate much of the industry. Paperwork piled up. Site inductions took hours. Compliance processes were disjointed and scattered. Nothing seemed truly fit for purpose in a world that had otherwise gone digital.
Rather than carry on patching broken processes, they decided to construct something better.
The early days of innDex were focused on a specific, painful problem — the repetitive, manual nature of site inductions. Their goal was to give workers a digital profile they could take from site to site, so they wouldn’t need to start from scratch each time. That idea became the first block in what’s now a full suite of tools built to support site management, health and safety, documentation, logistics, and more.
Building for the people doing the building
What stands out in George and Aaron’s story is their consistent focus on the people who actually use the product. They never lost sight of the fact that this platform had to work on a muddy, noisy, time-pressured site — not in a tidy office or a product demo. It had to be quick. It had to be obvious. And it had to help.
They didn’t overcomplicate things. They listened. They built. They listened again. Every new feature, every shift in direction, came from the field — not from a slide deck.
Their approach to product is refreshingly pragmatic. If it doesn’t solve a real problem, it doesn’t get built. And if it slows people down instead of helping them move faster, it gets reworked.
Growing from the ground up
innDex didn’t scale through marketing spend or splashy launch moments. It grew because people used it, liked it, and shared it. Site managers took it with them from one project to the next. Contractors mentioned it to colleagues. Referrals became revenue. Reputation became reach.
That kind of growth isn’t fast, but it’s sturdy.
And as they’ve grown, George and Aaron have kept their foundations steady. They’ve hired slowly, built carefully, and taken the time to ensure the product remains tightly aligned with its original purpose.
What you’ll learn from this episode
If you’re building in a traditional industry or considering a startup with a close friend, this episode is full of thoughtful, honest lessons.
You’ll learn:
How real industry experience can shape stronger products
Why starting small and solving one clear problem can be the smartest move
What friendship brings to a founding team — and how to balance it
How to build trust with users when your audience isn’t naturally tech-first
Why long-term growth often looks like small, steady wins
How to stay practical while building something ambitious
This isn’t a story about speed. It’s a story about substance — and why a solid foundation really does matter, no matter what you’re building.
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