Every builder talks about “the future,” but few are willing to strip away the buzzwords and talk about what it really takes to make it there. At the Focus on Excellence summit in Denver, five builder leaders did precisely that.
No spin. No press-release optimism. Just the raw truth about what it means to keep a homebuilding company alive—and profitable—when capital is tight, costs are rising, and every decision feels like a knife-edge.
From tech adoption that never quite works the way it should, to margins so thin they squeak, to bank covenants that choke speed and flexibility—these leaders are living the grind every day. They’re not theorizing about the future of housing; they’re fighting their way toward it. What they’re learning could change how builders think about 2030, and who’s still standing when we get there.
Because under all the talk about innovation and growth is one brutal reality: this is survival mode. Builders like Nikki Pechet, Alex Akel, Wade Jurney, David McDonald, and Audrey Lam aren’t waiting for the market to fix itself—they’re rebuilding their playbooks in real time.
So the question is—what does it really take to grow when growth feels impossible?
