100x Return on Investment
We built an award-winning construction management application from zero to one — and to over $5M in value in the first year. This native iOS application has helped construction companies close over $20M in new deals. Over two years, we branded, designed, developed, and patented it to a valuation over $50M.
When we started building the CopperWorks application, we spent months learning the construction industry’s problems, with one promise: find or build the tech to solve them. The first major obstacle was the labor shortage already gripping pre-COVID America in 2018. Off-the-shelf project management tools covered the data side, but one key piece was missing: a visual experience that let project managers search and assign crews by geolocation with drag-and-drop.
Before writing a line of code, we studied the existing process — sticky notes and whiteboards — to fully understand the problem and the workarounds the company had already built. Then we went to work on an iPad app that simplifies construction management.
Award-Winning Application
The application modernized personnel management in the building trades while confronting an industry-wide workforce shortage. The result: our partner won the grand prize at the AGC Innovation Awards, sponsored by Autodesk.
Patented AI
We consulted on patent writing for the AI and other novel parts of Elements. The process began with a thorough search of existing patents, working with FitchEven to confirm the application was novel and non-obvious. We then partnered with the company and its patent attorney to craft a detailed description of the invention and its unique features.
We also helped shape a patent strategy aligned with the company’s business goals — identifying and protecting other potential inventions related to the application.
Construction Innovation
Unicorn conceived and designed every application asset, from logo to visual design. Autonomy as product owners and creatives let us build and refine rapidly on a highly optimized budget. Feature for feature and dollar for dollar, no case study in our portfolio matches this project. Given control and budget, we play to our strengths as a full-service product incubator — and arrive quickly at high-impact features and delivery.