The Achieve Podcast - Bahir Ghani (Untangle_)

Welcome to another episode of the Achieve Podcast, the show where we highlight leaders, creators, and entrepreneurs, those who are shaking up their industries, having an impact, and making changes. My name is Taylor, your host, and excited today to be joined by Bahir Gahan, the CEO of Untangled, and you can look them up at projectpuls3d.com. No, Bahir, thank you for joining us today. First off, thank you.

I appreciate you having me on, on the podcast, Taylor. I appreciate that.

And thank you. So, and for those getting to know you and what you guys are doing, give us the backstory on how you got into this space, because you're in a little bit of a niche with what you guys are doing and this new project you're working on. How'd you get here?

Oh, it's a good question. Um, construction It's my bread and butter. I'm a civil engineer by trade with a specialization in construction engineering and management, and I've been fortunate to work in multiple continents, uh, over the period of last 10 years. And one thing that keeps resonating is cost in construction. You're always chasing cost, you're always running budget issues, and having been exposed to these problems personally and being in the junction of a team, junction where being a part of a team that could help mitigate those gaps and give a little bit more clarity is what gave us the idea about Project Pulse, where we are trying to bring clarity into cost, into budget, into how cost is tracked in construction. And Yeah, now we have active projects, active big and small projects with cost savings and everything happening. So it's great to see that coming into fruition and people using it.

That's awesome. And how big is the team and organization right now?

We are pretty lean. We have— we are a team of about 16 people that is spread across US, India, Saudi, and Saudi Arabia.

That's awesome. Wow. Now for you, Bahir, what would you say have been some of the biggest turning points that have molded the way you think about running the organization?

It's, it's the people that I've been connected with during my tenure, uh, working at different organizations I've been a part of. It's what I've learned from my supervisors and my leaders. The what to do and what not to do. I've got it, I've got exposed to both of it, like really, really, uh, black and white, right? So I am basically taking that forward, nothing new of my own. Uh, the, the, even with the, the idea of Project Pulse, the exposure that I got in my previous, uh, organizations is because of the support and mentorship that I had from my supervisors and my, uh, my leaders and, and managers. That is what I'm taking forward with me and I'm passing on to my team. And I tell them the same thing: people are important. If you are able to learn something from us, take it forward, pass it on. That's what— it's as simple as that.

I love that. I love that ethos. Be a river, not a reservoir. So looking back at And as you guys have been trying to grow, what would you say some of the biggest driving factors, what's helped you grow the most right now?

[Speaker] I would say again, it's the team. One of the things that as an organization and me personally, we are very much focused on the people that we bring in and how they connect with us as persons and how they understand the vision of the organization as a whole, apart from just the product. And I think that is what makes it challenging. At the same time, what makes it productive as well, because the team that we have, although we're lean, we've been going really fast with what we were doing across construction, manufacturing, and other areas that Untangle supports. It's because of the team that we've built and To maintain that culture, it is difficult because we have people working in different regions and being remote, maintaining that culture and trying to bring in people who accept and adapt to that culture and understand why we exist is difficult, I would say. But so far I'm really happy having the team that I have with me. Without them, we wouldn't be where we are today.

That's awesome. So this next question is kind of a two-part question. When it comes to your outreach, your messaging, your marketing systems, what's been working well to attract clients and keep them?

Um, I'd say it's, um, for us what's, what's really worked is being able to demonstrate what we talk. Okay. And when we first started, and then Project Pulse is a great example that I could take for this because I started talking to people about Project Pulse much before it was a product, right? It was even a wireframe. It was basically a PPT. And I've been talking to people about this since 2024. Wow. Now the people that I talked to in 2024 are partnering with us because at every stage as we progressed, we showed them what we said we would do. So being able to demonstrate that, that you're not just talking, but you're able to walk the talk actually resonates with people. People appreciate that. People appreciate the fact that you're putting in the effort, you're doing what you said you would do, and you're able to solve their problems, as you mentioned. And I tell people, some of the enterprises I've been working with, I tell them, just like how I mentioned in our very first presentation, this is what I meant. And they're able to quickly connect that and appreciate the fact that we've got to where we said we would get to. And, and I think that has been working really well, not just because we were able to solve, uh, some of the problems, and not just because we did what we said we would do, but it helped build the trust. And I think that is what does the job when you actually do things and show it to them.

That makes a lot of sense. Yeah, demonstrating that, that consistency. So when it comes to your sales and marketing, where do you feel like there's still opportunity or money on the table?

I think it's the mass outreach, and, uh, that's because construction, it's a trillion-dollar industry. There's, there's a lot of people working in construction, different areas. So getting to— and this problem, the cost problem, exists everywhere, whether you're a consultant, whether you're a GC, contractor, client. This problem exists everywhere. And, and we have something to offer for each of these people. So for them to get to know us and for us to know exactly who to talk to who understands the problem is, is difficult because industry by nature is segregated, it's fragmented into consultants, GCs, subs, clients. So there needs to be some sort of link that connects each of these, uh, disciplines. And I think that is what we are trying to bring into the table, to see how they can all work together, benefit from each other's work, and, you know, save money. Not across, across the board and not just within their disciplines, across the board. And so far, thankfully, it's been working well with the people that we're working with. So we would like to— it's hard. It's hard to get to more people because there's a lot of noise with AI. It's difficult for people to really make out what is true and what is not, what is AI, what is really human. So it's a challenge, I would say.

Absolutely. My dad's a general contractor, and so I grew up in that space, what you're talking about. So with continuing on that vein with AI, where have you guys found ways to utilize it internally?

So one of the, like, our dev team is very new, right? And we are definitely integrating AI into our dev workflows, into marketing workflows. So it is, we do take what AI can provide, but we don't just do that blindly. You know, there is a human in the loop. It's not completely AI. We take what is, what we think is great from that. It definitely boosts our productivity, but finally, the final output has quite a bit of human factor in it because that makes it more personal. That makes it exactly the way we want it to be. But it definitely, we are using AI to definitely boost our productivity in all aspects of our work.

Yeah. And I like that. I had a guest one time I spoke with and they said, AI can get you to the 5-yard line, but it takes a human to get it into the end zone.

Exactly. Yeah, that human touch needs to be there. At the end of the day, when you're working in an industry, when you're working with enterprises, at the end of the day, you're working with people. So it has to be people to people.

Yes, and AI can support that. So Bahir, if you had to pick one constraint to focus on and solve over the next 90 days and it would change the trajectory of the business, what would that be?

Oh, it's a tough one. I think it's picking the right people and pitching it, pitching the product to them. And when I say the right people, not talking VCs or any specific industry or discipline like GCs or contractors, It's who understands the pain point and who are willing to partner with us to validate, okay, this is actually solving the problem. Identifying those people and pitching it to them is what I'm trying to focus on and trying to find the right people and pitch it to them is what I would personally focus on for the 90 days.

Gotcha. Identifying who that ideal client is.

Exactly. And that question makes me think, so, okay, so that's a I need to focus on that.

Well, we all need to focus on that. It's a good reality check. I ask myself, am I all right the next 90 days? So when you look at your own journey, the wins, the mistakes, what lessons stand out to you, and which ones do you feel like took longer to learn than they probably should have?

It's— you need to know when you have to step out of something. You shouldn't hold on too long on something that you think is not going to work. I think it took me a while to realize that lesson. I learned it the hard way, but I learned it at the end of it. At the end of the day, I learned it. Um, but I, I— that's, that's important. And I— people have told me, you know, when you're on the wrong train, the more you stay on the train, the more you have to travel back. It's, it's true. So when you are in onto something, or when you're involved in something and you think that is not right, you gotta, you know, pinch yourself and say, 'Hey, do I really need to be here?' Gotta know when to take your time, you take it, uh, move out of where you are.

That's good. No one to step off the train.

Exactly. You gotta know that.

Wow, that's good. So last question for you. With the business, what do you— the future of it, what are you most excited about? The next stages?

It's definitely how Project Pulse grows through construction industry, something that I am definitely excited about because so far the feedback that we've been getting has been very positive. So we really believe there is— it has great potential to be a useful product, a reliable and productive product in the construction industry. So that's something we're excited about. We're looking to partner with more people to have them test it, to see the value for themselves and work with us to fine-tune and make it more reliable and more— and improve every nitty-gritty problems that it has. So we want more people to learn about it and help us make it much stronger and reliable. Gotcha. So yeah, it's definitely something that we are excited about.

Yeah. And what do you feel like has to go right for that to happen?

I don't know. I find if I had knew that, I would've just taken that step, right? It's all experimenting. We are trying out different ways. We are trying contacting different people. We are presenting it to different organizations. We're doing webinars, we're getting traction. I don't know what that success formula is like, but I think it's— I believe it's to remain consistent, to keep trying, to keep pushing and grinding. And the whole team is supporting. So as long as that exists, as long as we're taking a step ahead, we're moving, we're not getting stuck. Small progresses, small wins, we're celebrating that. As long as that is there, people are happy. I think we'll, we'll make it there.

That's awesome. That's beautiful. So, Bahir, thank you again for coming on. Any final words for our listeners or others on a similar journey?

Don't give up.

I—

it's— you will find a thousand reasons to not do something, but if you have any one solid reason as to why you should pursue it, Give it a try. It's every, every plan remains a plan until it's executed. And when you start executing it is when you realize how beautiful that process is and the happiness and satisfaction that it gives you. It's priceless. So if you have any ideas, any plans that you want to try it out, do it. You will, you will, you will see the results for yourself. I will, I have to say, is do it. I love that.

Do it. Like, there's a thousand reasons not to. All it takes is one good one to keep doing it.

Wow.

Baheda, thank you so much for coming on and sharing your story and your insights. Like, and for those who want to learn more, they can reach out. You guys have a couple different websites. LinkedIn is a good place as well. And so untangledstrategy.com or projectpolt3d.com. Anywhere else you want to send them?

Well, I think, yeah, that will lead you to us either way. Hello@untranglestrategy.com is also our direct email. We try to respond within 24 hours. And yeah, if you'd love to learn more about what we do, what we're building, we're happy to share our insights.

Absolutely. Thank you so much. And thank you to our sponsors of today's episode, Achieve Fractional, which provides Fractional Executive Leadership for Growing Businesses. And if you enjoyed the podcast, share it with a friend, with a colleague. If you're getting into this space and you're not sure which tools, reach out to Bahir and the team and they can help you, guide you, and make the connections. And we'll see you all in the next episode of the Achieve Podcast. Thank you again.