Building a Solid Foundation: A Tech Startup Journey with innDex
In episode 23 of the Tech Startup Stories Podcast, we got double the energy and wisdom from co-founders George Smithies and Aaron Vousden. They started innDex, a construction technology business that has been carefully assembled from lived experience, structural frustration, and a deep desire to build something that works, properly, practically, and from the ground up.
Listen to the Podcast
Available on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
Aaron and George have been friends for years, sharing their Welsh roots, and they had spent years on site watching inefficiency being cemented into daily routines. They both studied civil engineering at Cardiff, forged a friendship somewhere between the lecture theatre and the pub, and eventually found themselves working in London, surrounded by slow legacy processes that continually frustrated them.
Rather than ignore the cracks, they made a plan to fix them, starting with something deceptively simple: site inductions.
Constructing a solution with purpose
Anyone who’s worked in construction knows the reality of the induction process. It’s repetitive, time-consuming, and George and Aaron had both experienced this first-hand, and the longer they worked, the clearer it became that digital tools were either missing entirely or only covered a fraction of what was actually needed.
Without a grand pitch deck or funding runway, they took matters into their own hands and began building a tool to address a real operational pain point and continued working full time, until it was the right time to focus on the business, full time.
Building for builders
What defines innDex is how it has been developed, not to dazzle investors with jargon or deliver speculative features that look good in a demo but fail under pressure, but to make the messy, time-sensitive, people-heavy world of construction easier to manage with tools that are fit for the environment they’re used in.
George and Aaron understood that construction isn’t broken, it just hasn’t moved forward as quickly as other industries. Their aim has always been to create technology that supports the real work of the construction industry, whether it’s helping a site manager reduce admin or giving contractors a clearer view of compliance and reporting.
innDex was designed through countless conversations with people in the field who needed better tools and had long since given up hope of finding them.
From early groundwork to structured growth
The company reputation and awareness spread through trust and usage, their first contractor client gave them an opportunity based on personal relationships, and from there, innDex grew organically as businesses picked up the platform and began using it on new projects. This steady flow created a referral chain that allowed the product to evolve naturally, with revenue growing over time.
Lessons from the build
Throughout the episode, George and Aaron reflect on the challenges of moving from site work to software. Their story is a clear commitment to making things better, piece by piece.
They speak candidly about the transition from doers to delegators, the awkward moments of letting go of tasks they once held tightly, and the balancing act of bringing in new people while maintaining the original character and drive of the company.
Listen to the Podcast
Available on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
innDex is helping construction teams across the UK be more efficient and productive, without overcomplicating what needs to stay simple. To find out more or connect with George and Aaron or check out innDex.
