LivLive: Design, Building, and the Business of Remodeling

Episode Description Artificial intelligence is everywhere—but how much of it is actually useful for contractors? This week on LivLive, Dave sits down with AI entrepreneur and Bizzen founder Jordan Hayashi to separate the hype from the practical applications that are already changing the construction industry. Jordan has spent nearly a decade building AI solutions long before ChatGPT made artificia...

LivLive Episode 44: Glen Dall Episode Description What separates remodeling companies that plateau from those that continue to grow? This week on LivLive, Dave sits down with business coach, former CEO, former remodeler, and NARI X keynote contributor Glen Dall for a wide-ranging discussion on leadership, growth, strategy, client experience, and building high-performing teams. Glen shares his jour...

In Episode 45 of LivLive, Dave Pollard sits down with Will Boland, co-founder of Henry Homes, to explore why owning a home is still more complicated than it should be—and how technology can make it dramatically easier. Will reflects on the entrepreneurial journey that began with launching CarLotz, the challenges of raising capital and scaling an early-stage business, and the lessons that shaped hi...

Hockey, Coaching, Leadership & Life with Matt Cross This week on LivLive, I sat down with Matt Cross—hockey coach, trainer, nonprofit leader, cancer survivor, and one of the most influential mentors in youth hockey in North Carolina. What started as a conversation about hockey quickly became a discussion about leadership, culture, parenting, resilience, and the lessons that connect great teams...

LivLive Episode 42 | Nick Ruffini – Hospitality, Storytelling, and Building Businesses People Actually Care About This week on LivLive, Dave sits down with longtime friend Nick Ruffini for a wide-ranging conversation about hospitality, storytelling, entrepreneurship, customer experience, and the power of human connection in an increasingly automated world. Nick's career has taken him from his fami...

In Episode 41 of LivLive, Jef Forward joins Dave Pollard for a deep conversation about the evolution of design-build, leadership, company culture, and the future of client experience in the remodeling industry. Jef shares the origin story behind Forward Design Build — from paying his way through architecture school building decks, to realizing traditional architecture firm life wasn’t the right fi...

In Episode 0000040 of LivLive, Dave reconnects with longtime friend and former Virginia Tech School of Architecture classmate Peter Barden, now a Senior Project Manager with HKS Architects . What starts as a conversation about architecture school memories and old studio stories quickly turns into a deep discussion about the evolution of the construction and architecture industry over the last 20+...

In this episode of LivLive , Dave sits down with Jake Harris—builder turned entrepreneur—to unpack a journey that feels increasingly relevant across the construction industry: moving from building homes to building technology. Jake’s path started in the trenches as a builder, where he experienced firsthand the friction, inefficiencies, and financial gaps that small construction businesses face eve...

AI isn’t replacing marketing—it’s exposing who actually understands it. In this episode of LivLive, David Pollard sits down with Kai Biami (KBiami Marketing, Builder Funnel contributor) for a grounded, no-BS conversation on what’s really happening at the intersection of marketing and AI. This isn’t a tools conversation. It’s about thinking differently . Kai breaks down why most companies are appro...

This week on LivLive , Dave sits down with David Supple, founder of New England Design & Construction, for a deep dive into the true meaning of design-build—and why the industry may have gotten it wrong. David shares his unconventional path from studying architecture at Tufts to realizing, early in his career, that he was designing buildings he didn’t actually know how to build. That realizati...

In this episode of LivLive, Dave sits down with Nicholas Cooper, architect and leader focused on housing, community, and the long-term impact of the built environment. This conversation goes beyond architecture as a profession and gets into architecture as responsibility. Nicholas shares his journey—from early career influences and firm experience to stepping into leadership with a clear mission a...

Michael Anschel joins the show — builder, educator, and a driving force in pushing the remodeling industry to think more critically about how we build. What made this conversation different is how naturally it connected three worlds: building science, teaching, and emerging tools like AI. Michael talks about what actually drives him — not just building, but helping people understand why things wor...

LivLive Ep. 34 – Todd Hansen (QuarterSawn Design Build) Why “Director of Experience” Might Be the Most Important Role in Design-Build In this episode of LivLive , Dave sits down with Todd Hansen , Director of Experience at QuarterSawn Design Build in Minneapolis—a role that challenges the way most remodeling companies think about structure, culture, and client experience. Todd wasn’t a founder. He...

Spatial AI, Machine Intelligence, and the Future of Building In this episode of LivLive , Dave sits down with Yu-Han Chang—Harvard graduate, MIT PhD, and longtime AI researcher—to unpack what artificial intelligence really is , where it came from, and where it’s headed—especially for the design and construction world. Yu-Han brings over 20 years of experience in AI, going back to a time when the t...

From Client to Industry Insider: Renovating Your Own Home While Working in Building Products In this episode of LivLive , Dave sits down with Noor Boyle from James Hardie , who brings a unique dual perspective to the conversation: she works inside the building products industry and she was once a LivCo client herself. See Noor's family's Western Springs house here! **** Also credit to Kevi...

In this episode of LivLive , Dave sits down with Ben Blodgett , owner of TDS Design Build in Madison, Wisconsin , to unpack one of the most interesting career paths in the design-build industry: going from employee to owner. Dave and Ben first met years ago through their Remodelers Advantage roundtable , when Ben was still the general manager at TDS Custom Construction while founder Sam was prepar...

LivLive Ep. 30 – With Adam Steiner of Birnam Design In Episode 30, Dave sits down with Adam Steiner, founder of Birnam Design in Indiana, to unpack the intersection of engineering, home design, and the evolving business of residential plans. Adam’s story starts long before Birnam Design. He grew up in a multi-generation construction family — great-grandfather with a historic octagon house in Ohio,...

Leadership Lessons with Joe Cliggott Live from the International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Dave sits down with Joe Cliggott , Studio Director and Principal at HKS , for a deep conversation about leadership, humility, and building culture inside major architecture firms. Joe shares his journey from graduating during a recession at Penn State , packing up a U-Haul without a job, and moving to Chica...

In this episode of LivLive , Dave sits down with Christopher Lawton and Micah Stanley , co-founders of Lawton Stanley Architects , for a deep conversation about architectural authorship, restraint, and building a practice rooted in clarity rather than noise. Based in Chicago, Lawton Stanley is known for highly refined hospitality and residential work, including landmark restaurant projects like Ev...

In this episode of LivLive , Dave sits down with Adam Reed Tucker — architect, artist, and the original creator of the LEGO® Architecture Studio series. Adam’s work sits at the intersection of architecture, sculpture, and storytelling. From designing the first fifteen LEGO Architecture sets to exhibiting massive brick-built skyscrapers around the world, Adam shares how his architectural training s...

This week on LivLive , Dave Pollard is joined (again) by Zach Snider , co-owner of Alloy Architecture + Construction in Charlottesville, VA, for a nuts-and-bolts conversation on the KPI that quietly changes everything in design-build: Gross Profit per Day (GP/Day) . Zach breaks down why GP/Day is more than a finance metric — it’s a behavior driver . When you price and manage projects around a dail...

In Episode 25 of LivLive , host Dave Pollard sits down with Phil Read (Read/Thomas + Chaos) — a longtime AEC tech voice and an “OG” of BIM-era thinking — for a real talk about AI, the hype curve, and the parts that will actually stick . Phil connects the dots between past “religious wars” in our industry ( BIM , digital twins , definitions, buzzwords) and what’s happening now with AI . The twist:...

In Episode 24 of LivLive , Dave sits down with Eric Schlickman — an architect-turned-hospitality operator who’s helped reshape downtown Wheaton, IL through a growing family of restaurants and concepts. Dave and Eric go back to their early architecture years together (including the 2008-era international work through Goettsch), before digging into Eric’s pivot: from architecture school at Kansas an...

Kicking off 2026 with a fun one: Dave sits down with Ian Schwandt of TDS Custom Construction (Madison, WI). Ian’s the Operations/Production Manager at TDS, a writer for JLC (Journal of Light Construction) , and a guest host on the Fine Homebuilding Podcast . We talk about Ian’s fast-tracked path from union carpenter apprenticeship to the business + leadership side of residential remodeling, includ...

Dave sits down with Aaron Greven—an architect turned AEC technology consultant —to talk about the career path that led from the Chicago architecture circuit into founding AG Design Works during the 2008–09 downturn. Aaron explains how he built a niche helping teams actually use BIM/3D modeling for coordination, documentation, and construction clarity—especially when firms or contractors are strugg...