Hello A1 engineers!
Can you tell us a bit about your company?
A1 Engineers was founded by me, Nicolas St-Pierre, in December 2017. We are a company offering engineering-related consulting services and developing a modern design methodology, i5 Solutions. We are a company that acts in the present and aims at the future. We have five basic principles when working with our clients; we trust and listen to each other, we discuss continuously through the project, we drive the whole project around the same table, we let everyone take responsibility throughout the construction project and we are a team and together we make everything possible.
How did you come up with your business idea?
After a number of years in the construction industry, I saw the potential to make things more efficient for both new and experienced project engineers. Many problems in the construction industry arise due to lack of knowledge, communication, transparency and time. Construction is very complex and it takes many skilled people working together. In our industry, there are many pain points that need to be addressed.
There is a lack of communication and technology to enable this. There is a lack of transparency in work processes and currently you are expected to work without rules of the game. We need to raise the level of knowledge within the industry. Construction errors are another well-known problem that costs billions of euros every year in Sweden. It can be a design error, an order or a wrong workmanship.Our solution, i5 Solutions, works for a simpler and faster digital project method in the construction industry. The tool is a web-based platform that brings together everyone involved in a construction process, with the aim of improving communication, reducing lead times, minimising misunderstandings and increasing efficiency. The tool provides structure, clarity and an overview, simplifying the construction process regardless of previous experience.
What is your main motivation?
My biggest driving force is my will to succeed and my panache. I want to change a very conservative industry.
Nicolas St-Pierre
What made you apply to Science Park Skövde Startup?
We received a strong recommendation from another company to apply to Science Park Skövde Startup because you have the perfect set-up for my company. It’s all about having the right skills, personal chemistry and confidence in the idea and the entrepreneur. It quickly became clear that Science Park Skövde has a very professional and dedicated team of business coaches.
What are your expectations of the programme?
My expectations are already fulfilled, anything else now will just be a bonus! Science Park Skövde has a clear structure for its start-up programme and shows great commitment. You also share your network of contacts. As I see it, you give entrepreneurs the tools they need to develop their company and you are there when we need you.
Five years from now, what do you wish you had achieved with A1 Engineers by then?
In five years we will be operating throughout the Nordic region and maybe a few more countries in Europe. And we have over 600 active construction projects registered in i5-solutions construction portal, and a turnover of over 50 million SEK. We will then be a team of eight civil servants and five developers, and we are the largest in AI in the construction industry.
