In Episode 20 of ScaleUp Sound Bytes, Sam sits down with Sam Carigliano, Co-Founder and CEO of SkyCiv, to unpack how a simple beam calculator built at UNSW turned into a global structural engineering platform used in 160+ countries.

No funding. No hype. Just solving a real problem and sticking with it.

🚀 From a University Lab to 15 Million Projects Solved 🚀

What happens when two civil engineering students can’t find the right tool online… they build it themselves?

Here’s what Sam shares:

💡 Why the best startups begin with a problem you’ve actually experienced
💡 The power of “sell before you build” and testing demand with a fake buy button
💡 How trust becomes your biggest barrier in a risk-averse industry
💡 Why quality and QA had to overtake speed as the company matured
💡 The shift from generalists to specialists as you scale
💡 What it takes to win over engineers who have used the same software for 20 years

They also dive into:

💡 Bootstrapping in a slow-moving, highly regulated industry
💡 Building a global team organically across time zones
💡 Why comfort and habit are harder to disrupt than competition
💡 The 1% rule and how compounding improvements shape long-term growth
💡 Hiring for curiosity, proactivity, and culture fit

One of the biggest takeaways?

Start. Don’t overthink it. Don’t build something “cool.” Solve a real problem. The rest compounds from there.

If you’re building a product, leading a technical team, or navigating the shift from startup hustle to sustainable growth, this episode is packed with practical lessons.

#StartupJourney #Bootstrapped #EngineeringLeadership #ProductMarketFit #ScaleUp #TechFounders #SoftwareEngineering #SaaS #ScaleUpSoundBytes #ScaleUpRecruitment