Alkali growth playbook

Add /detailing to the sitemap with a meta description. Take the app shells (/viewer, /status, /company) out of it, or give them their own titles. Replace both mailto buttons with a short form: company, bid date, tonnage band, scope (model, shop drawings, connection design) and an optional PDF upload. Send each submission to the founders' inbox and Crisp, and reply with a quote window. Add the sample shop drawing and the bid-set-to-fab timeline next to the form, and link /detailing from the takeoff homepage and from inside the app after an export.

Search engines rank what they are told about and can read. Buyers of services convert more often through a form that asks for the job details than through a blank email. The upload also gives the founders a priced, scoped lead instead of "tell me more".

[ ] Company and estimator name
[ ] Work email and phone
[ ] Project location and bid/award date
[ ] Approximate tonnage (under 50 / 50-250 / 250-1,000 / 1,000+)
[ ] Scope: 3D model / shop drawings / erection drawings / connection design
[ ] Upload bid set or paste a link
[ ] Already estimated in Alkali? (link the project)
[ ] Auto-reply: "We'll send a quote and turnaround within one business day"

• Large bid-set uploads time out

  Accept a link to the bid set, or a few sheets, as an alternative.

• More requests than detailers can handle

  Ask for the bid date and quote the turnaround honestly.

• Your websiteSitemap (16 URLs, checked November 10, 2026): the homepage, /blog, /docs, /nesting, /viewer, /company, /status, /privacy, /terms and seven blog posts, but not /detailing. /nesting, /viewer, /company and /status all carry the same title, "Alkali | AI Steel Takeoff Software", and show a reader little or no text (/viewer shows only "Loading...").Source
• Your websiteDetailing page: "The smarter way to detail steel." with 3D models, Tekla shop drawings and connection design, "Drawings from bid set to fab shop in days, not weeks" and "Every sheet is checked by a human who has done this before"; both "Set Up Discovery Call" buttons are mailto links (subject "Alkali Detailing Project"); no price, turnaround or file upload; no meta description.Source
• Your websiteHomepage: H1 "The smarter way to estimate steel."; stat line "2,500+ steel projects | 48 states | >10% of U.S. steel"; a no-signup "Try Here" plus Google, Microsoft and email sign-in; 21 fabricator logos captioned "Anonymized subset of projects estimated with Alkali in 2026", but no testimonials, case studies or pricing; exports to Tekla, Bluebeam, Adobe and Excel; the only contact is a mailto link; the footer reads "© 2025 Alkali Engineering, Inc. · Built in Houston, TX".Source

Show a compressed poster image with a play button in place of the autoplaying cinematic, and load the video only on click or once it scrolls into view. Lazy-load the 3D gallery and demo videos below the fold, convert images to modern formats, and split the 3D viewer code off the homepage. Fix the accessibility items while you are there: name the icon buttons and label the form fields.

Lighter pages respond faster to the first tap, and a faster sign-in click is the conversion that matters. Accessible names also help assistive tech and automated readers understand the page.

• The cinematic was the hook

  Keep it one click away, with a strong poster frame.

• PageSpeedHomepage, tested November 10, 2026: mobile score 33 (desktop 57); 22.5 MB over 112 requests, including 8.8 MB of images; the largest element is a video ("Final Estimodel cinematic"); 1.2 MB of unused JavaScript (about 6.1s) and 4.1s of blocking time in the lab. Real visitors (Chrome UX Report, p75) pass LCP (2.2s) and layout shift (0.09), but responsiveness (INP 246 ms) is above the 200 ms "good" line. Accessibility 82: buttons without accessible names and unlabeled form elements.Source

Ask three of the 350+ fabricators the team has spoken with for a short story: shop size, bid volume before and after, takeoff hours per project, tons estimated in Alkali and one quote with name and title. Publish them on a /customers page and pull one quote into the homepage under the logos. Get written approval for each name and number.

Named peers with numbers answer the first question a chief estimator asks ("who else uses this, and did it work?") and compete directly with rivals' testimonials.

• Shops don't want competitors to know their tools

  Offer a role-and-region attribution if a full name is refused.

• Your websiteHomepage: H1 "The smarter way to estimate steel."; stat line "2,500+ steel projects | 48 states | >10% of U.S. steel"; a no-signup "Try Here" plus Google, Microsoft and email sign-in; 21 fabricator logos captioned "Anonymized subset of projects estimated with Alkali in 2026", but no testimonials, case studies or pricing; exports to Tekla, Bluebeam, Adobe and Excel; the only contact is a mailto link; the footer reads "© 2025 Alkali Engineering, Inc. · Built in Houston, TX".Source
• Your website"Alkali Early Milestones April 2026" (May 2, 2026): project volume "more than doubled" each month since launch; over 25,000 tons estimated in April, about 7% of average monthly U.S. structural steel volume; the same project is sometimes uploaded by several customers; 350+ fabricators spoken with in a year; a Baltimore video shows 350+ tons taken off in about 15 minutes; a fabricator called it the "Tesla of estimating"; coverage "still sparse in many regions"; the goal of an estimate ready before a fabricator starts bidding, tuned to each shop's labor rates.Source
• Competitor researchSteel Genie from SDS2 by ALLPLAN: "Up to 10x" faster takeoffs, a case study claiming 67% higher estimating throughput, named estimator testimonials, "Book Demo" only, no published price or free trial.See the research Source
• Competitor researchFerra: bid intelligence, steel takeoff, revision control and 3D models; "Start for free"; a co-founder's "Send me a drawing set" offer; 10 customer logos and 3 named testimonials; a /compare page against SketchDeck, Steel Genie, Beam AI and SteelFlo that does not mention Alkali.See the research Source

Publish a /pricing page with what is free (the no-signup viewer, a set number of scans), what a subscription adds (customization, team seats, exports, nesting, 3D) and how detailing is quoted (per project, by tonnage and scope). If exact prices aren't ready, publish a "starts at" figure or the pricing unit and a "talk to us for teams" path. Link it from the homepage nav and in-app upgrade prompts.

Small and mid-size fabricators buy faster when they can check budget fit alone. Being the transparent option in a demo-only category is a positioning win.

• Locks in a price too early

  Mark it as current pricing and grandfather early customers.

• Your websiteDocs: exports (CSV, PDF markup, IFC 3D Estimodel, nesting plans); a "Bluebeam Desktop" controls preset; customization "requires a subscription"; a Company Page with team usage metrics (projects uploaded, tonnage analyzed); 3D Estimodeling in Beta/Pilot; share links with Owner, Editor and Viewer roles.Source
• ResearchSite stack: Next.js on Railway with Google Analytics, PostHog and Crisp chat; no pricing page, no newsletter and no YouTube channel; social presence is LinkedIn and GitHub; domain registered May 2025.Source
• Competitor researchSteel Genie from SDS2 by ALLPLAN: "Up to 10x" faster takeoffs, a case study claiming 67% higher estimating throughput, named estimator testimonials, "Book Demo" only, no published price or free trial.See the research Source

Add server-rendered text to /nesting: what it does (stock-aware patterns, kerf, end trim, nest across jobs), a before-and-after drop example, a sample cut-list PDF and a "nest your cut list free" button. Give it its own title and meta description. Point both buttons in the guide to /nesting, and link it from the homepage nesting section.

A dedicated, readable page can rank for nesting searches, and a reader who just learned about kerf and drop is primed to try the tool.

• Page text and app share a route

  Show the landing text to signed-out visitors only.

• Your website"Alkali Guide to Nesting" (March 2, 2026): stock lengths, kerf, end trim and nesting across jobs, noting waste can cut "a few thousand dollars" from a small job's margin; its buttons go to the homepage, not the /nesting tool.Source
• Your websiteSitemap (16 URLs, checked November 10, 2026): the homepage, /blog, /docs, /nesting, /viewer, /company, /status, /privacy, /terms and seven blog posts, but not /detailing. /nesting, /viewer, /company and /status all carry the same title, "Alkali | AI Steel Takeoff Software", and show a reader little or no text (/viewer shows only "Loading...").Source

Add a "Send us a live bid" form beside "Try Here". The founders run the takeoff and return a shared project link, tonnage and a two-minute screen recording, the same business day. The estimator gets the result inside Alkali, already shared to their email, so the next step is to sign in and check it.

Seeing their own job done removes the biggest doubt ("will it work on my drawings?") and gets the account created around real work.

• Too many requests for two founders

  Cap it per day and promise next-day once full.

• Your website"Alkali Early Milestones April 2026" (May 2, 2026): project volume "more than doubled" each month since launch; over 25,000 tons estimated in April, about 7% of average monthly U.S. structural steel volume; the same project is sometimes uploaded by several customers; 350+ fabricators spoken with in a year; a Baltimore video shows 350+ tons taken off in about 15 minutes; a fabricator called it the "Tesla of estimating"; coverage "still sparse in many regions"; the goal of an estimate ready before a fabricator starts bidding, tuned to each shop's labor rates.Source
• Competitor researchFerra: bid intelligence, steel takeoff, revision control and 3D models; "Start for free"; a co-founder's "Send me a drawing set" offer; 10 customer logos and 3 named testimonials; a /compare page against SketchDeck, Steel Genie, Beam AI and SteelFlo that does not mention Alkali.See the research Source
• Competitor researchBeam AI: multi-trade takeoff including structural steel, done-for-you takeoffs in 24-72 hours, "99%+ accuracy", "3X your bidding capacity" and customer hours-saved figures.See the research Source

Publish a short methodology note (tons estimated in the last full month and the AISC benchmark used), link it from the homepage stat, and use the same figure everywhere. Update the footer year automatically. Post the updated number as a milestone on LinkedIn.

A sourced, consistent figure turns a claim that invites doubt into proof, and a current footer signals an active company.

• The careful number is lower

  Lead with tons and projects, which are larger and exact.

• Your websiteHomepage: H1 "The smarter way to estimate steel."; stat line "2,500+ steel projects | 48 states | >10% of U.S. steel"; a no-signup "Try Here" plus Google, Microsoft and email sign-in; 21 fabricator logos captioned "Anonymized subset of projects estimated with Alkali in 2026", but no testimonials, case studies or pricing; exports to Tekla, Bluebeam, Adobe and Excel; the only contact is a mailto link; the footer reads "© 2025 Alkali Engineering, Inc. · Built in Houston, TX".Source
• Your website"Alkali Early Milestones April 2026" (May 2, 2026): project volume "more than doubled" each month since launch; over 25,000 tons estimated in April, about 7% of average monthly U.S. structural steel volume; the same project is sometimes uploaded by several customers; 350+ fabricators spoken with in a year; a Baltimore video shows 350+ tons taken off in about 15 minutes; a fabricator called it the "Tesla of estimating"; coverage "still sparse in many regions"; the goal of an estimate ready before a fabricator starts bidding, tuned to each shop's labor rates.Source
• HiringFounding Applied AI Engineer (New York; $150K–$220K, 0.75%–1.50% equity) on Y Combinator's job board: improve vision models that extract quantities and sizes from drawings, build agents that navigate large plan sets, and build datasets, evaluation pipelines and test harnesses. The company description says about 10% of U.S. structural steel by volume flows through Alkali. YC lists Alkali as a Spring 2025 company in Houston with a team of 2; the role was also announced on the Alkali blog on July 20, 2026.Source

Use the evaluation harness to publish a /accuracy page: tonnage error and member-count recall by element type (beams, columns, joists, bracing, base plates) on a held-out set of real projects, updated each release. Show where human review is still needed. Offer the test protocol so a shop can check it on its own past job.

Estimators buy on trust in the numbers. An honest, element-by-element benchmark beats a single headline percentage and gives the sales conversation something to point to.

• Numbers look weaker than rivals' claims

  Explain the method; rivals' single figures rarely show one.

• #7 Make the market-share numbers match across the homepage and blog, and fix the 2025 footer

• Your website"Steel Estimation with Beam Sweeper" (October 10, 2025): results in about 30 seconds, first data under 10 seconds; statistics across 50 projects with per-sheet tonnage of about 1 to 150 tons; a predicted-versus-ground-truth tonnage chart but no accuracy figure in the text. The Column Scanner (January 31, 2026) is a pilot: "Results should be verified by an estimator!"Source
• Competitor researchBeam AI: multi-trade takeoff including structural steel, done-for-you takeoffs in 24-72 hours, "99%+ accuracy", "3X your bidding capacity" and customer hours-saved figures.See the research Source
• HiringFounding Applied AI Engineer (New York; $150K–$220K, 0.75%–1.50% equity) on Y Combinator's job board: improve vision models that extract quantities and sizes from drawings, build agents that navigate large plan sets, and build datasets, evaluation pipelines and test harnesses. The company description says about 10% of U.S. structural steel by volume flows through Alkali. YC lists Alkali as a Spring 2025 company in Houston with a team of 2; the role was also announced on the Alkali blog on July 20, 2026.Source

Write four fair, dated pages: Alkali vs Steel Genie, vs Ferra, vs Beam AI, and vs manual takeoff in a PDF tool. Each covers the free start, pricing visibility, element coverage, revisions, 3D/IFC, nesting, detailing and collaboration, with a "try your own bid set" button. Cite each rival's own site.

Comparison searches come from buyers close to a decision, and the pages also shape how search and AI assistants describe the category.

• Out-of-date claims about rivals

  Date every page and link the source.

• Competitor researchFerra: bid intelligence, steel takeoff, revision control and 3D models; "Start for free"; a co-founder's "Send me a drawing set" offer; 10 customer logos and 3 named testimonials; a /compare page against SketchDeck, Steel Genie, Beam AI and SteelFlo that does not mention Alkali.See the research Source
• Competitor researchSteel Genie from SDS2 by ALLPLAN: "Up to 10x" faster takeoffs, a case study claiming 67% higher estimating throughput, named estimator testimonials, "Book Demo" only, no published price or free trial.See the research Source
• Competitor researchBeam AI: multi-trade takeoff including structural steel, done-for-you takeoffs in 24-72 hours, "99%+ accuracy", "3X your bidding capacity" and customer hours-saved figures.See the research Source
• Your websiteBlog index: seven posts between October 2025 and July 2026 (beam scanner, takeoff how-to, column detection, nesting guide, milestones, a comparison with a general-purpose chat assistant, a hiring post); nothing published since July 20, 2026; no newsletter signup.Source

Publish a page for Bluebeam users: "Keep your shortcuts, stop measuring by hand". Show the preset, the markup export back into Bluebeam, a side-by-side time comparison on one sheet, and a 3-minute setup video. Make the preset the default when a user says they come from Bluebeam at sign-up.

Lowering the cost of switching (muscle memory and file habits) is often what gets a reluctant estimator to try a new tool.

• Trademark use

  Use the name descriptively and avoid implying partnership.

• Your websiteDocs: exports (CSV, PDF markup, IFC 3D Estimodel, nesting plans); a "Bluebeam Desktop" controls preset; customization "requires a subscription"; a Company Page with team usage metrics (projects uploaded, tonnage analyzed); 3D Estimodeling in Beta/Pilot; share links with Owner, Editor and Viewer roles.Source
• Your websiteHomepage: H1 "The smarter way to estimate steel."; stat line "2,500+ steel projects | 48 states | >10% of U.S. steel"; a no-signup "Try Here" plus Google, Microsoft and email sign-in; 21 fabricator logos captioned "Anonymized subset of projects estimated with Alkali in 2026", but no testimonials, case studies or pricing; exports to Tekla, Bluebeam, Adobe and Excel; the only contact is a mailto link; the footer reads "© 2025 Alkali Engineering, Inc. · Built in Houston, TX".Source

After two minutes in the sample, prompt: "Drop your current bid set; we'll scan the framing plans while you watch." Pre-select Beams, run the scan automatically, and ask for sign-in only to save the results. Track time from first visit to first own-project scan in PostHog, and email anyone who uploads but doesn't return.

The moment their own tonnage appears is when a sample user becomes a prospect. Cutting the steps to it raises activation.

• Confidential drawings

  State how uploads are stored and who can see them.

• Your websiteHomepage: H1 "The smarter way to estimate steel."; stat line "2,500+ steel projects | 48 states | >10% of U.S. steel"; a no-signup "Try Here" plus Google, Microsoft and email sign-in; 21 fabricator logos captioned "Anonymized subset of projects estimated with Alkali in 2026", but no testimonials, case studies or pricing; exports to Tekla, Bluebeam, Adobe and Excel; the only contact is a mailto link; the footer reads "© 2025 Alkali Engineering, Inc. · Built in Houston, TX".Source
• Your website"Steel Estimation with Beam Sweeper" (October 10, 2025): results in about 30 seconds, first data under 10 seconds; statistics across 50 projects with per-sheet tonnage of about 1 to 150 tons; a predicted-versus-ground-truth tonnage chart but no accuracy figure in the text. The Column Scanner (January 31, 2026) is a pilot: "Results should be verified by an estimator!"Source
• ResearchSite stack: Next.js on Railway with Google Analytics, PostHog and Crisp chat; no pricing page, no newsletter and no YouTube channel; social presence is LinkedIn and GitHub; domain registered May 2025.Source

Send a monthly email to the account owner (and an opt-in for the shop's president): projects estimated, tons analyzed, estimated hours saved at the shop's own rate, and revisions caught. Include a one-click invite for another estimator and a line on detailing for jobs they won.

Showing the buyer the value every month lowers churn, and the invite and detailing lines turn the report into expansion.

• Hours-saved estimate questioned

  Let each shop set its own baseline.

• Your websiteDocs: exports (CSV, PDF markup, IFC 3D Estimodel, nesting plans); a "Bluebeam Desktop" controls preset; customization "requires a subscription"; a Company Page with team usage metrics (projects uploaded, tonnage analyzed); 3D Estimodeling in Beta/Pilot; share links with Owner, Editor and Viewer roles.Source

Add a slim banner to shared views: "Estimated with Alkali: try it on your own bid set". Link it to the no-signup demo with a referral tag. Credit the sharing shop (an extra month or seat) when a viewer becomes a paying account. Track shares and conversions in PostHog.

Every shared estimate becomes a product demo seen by a qualified peer, at no cost.

• Shops don't want branding on client links

  Make it switch-off-able on paid plans.

• Your websiteHomepage product sections: AI takeoff assist for beams, columns, joists, braces and base plates; tonnage from the AISC manual; revision compare across addenda with Accept/Reject (example: a beam changed from W12x16 to W16x26 in Addendum 2); drawing Q&A including "What does a 20KSP joist mean?" for new estimators; real-time collaboration and public share links; "Alkali AI gets better with every project".Source
• Your websiteDocs: exports (CSV, PDF markup, IFC 3D Estimodel, nesting plans); a "Bluebeam Desktop" controls preset; customization "requires a subscription"; a Company Page with team usage metrics (projects uploaded, tonnage analyzed); 3D Estimodeling in Beta/Pilot; share links with Owner, Editor and Viewer roles.Source

Map uploaded projects by state against where steel is being bid. Pick three under-covered regions. Run founder-led outreach to fabricators there, with a regional proof point ("X projects in your state estimated in Alkali"), LinkedIn posts aimed at estimators in those areas, and a visit to a regional fabricator association meeting.

Targeting gaps is cheaper than competing in saturated areas. Regional density also feeds the network effect the founders describe, where shops increasingly bid the same jobs.

• Founder time is scarce

  Start with one region and email-only outreach.

• #6 Offer "send us one bid set, get the takeoff back the same day"

• Your website"Alkali Early Milestones April 2026" (May 2, 2026): project volume "more than doubled" each month since launch; over 25,000 tons estimated in April, about 7% of average monthly U.S. structural steel volume; the same project is sometimes uploaded by several customers; 350+ fabricators spoken with in a year; a Baltimore video shows 350+ tons taken off in about 15 minutes; a fabricator called it the "Tesla of estimating"; coverage "still sparse in many regions"; the goal of an estimate ready before a fabricator starts bidding, tuned to each shop's labor rates.Source
• Your websiteHomepage: H1 "The smarter way to estimate steel."; stat line "2,500+ steel projects | 48 states | >10% of U.S. steel"; a no-signup "Try Here" plus Google, Microsoft and email sign-in; 21 fabricator logos captioned "Anonymized subset of projects estimated with Alkali in 2026", but no testimonials, case studies or pricing; exports to Tekla, Bluebeam, Adobe and Excel; the only contact is a mailto link; the footer reads "© 2025 Alkali Engineering, Inc. · Built in Houston, TX".Source

Publish a /learn glossary of 50 short, illustrated entries: joist designations, camber, studs, base plates, embeds, kerf, copes, AISC shapes. Each entry has a drawing snippet and a "find this on your drawings" button that opens the demo with the chat. Add five entries a week from the most common real chat questions (anonymised).

Many small, precise answers rank for long-tail searches and catch estimators early in their careers, when tool habits form.

• Thin or wrong entries

  Every entry reviewed by someone who has estimated steel.

• Your websiteHomepage product sections: AI takeoff assist for beams, columns, joists, braces and base plates; tonnage from the AISC manual; revision compare across addenda with Accept/Reject (example: a beam changed from W12x16 to W16x26 in Addendum 2); drawing Q&A including "What does a 20KSP joist mean?" for new estimators; real-time collaboration and public share links; "Alkali AI gets better with every project".Source
• Your websiteBlog index: seven posts between October 2025 and July 2026 (beam scanner, takeoff how-to, column detection, nesting guide, milestones, a comparison with a general-purpose chat assistant, a hiring post); nothing published since July 20, 2026; no newsletter signup.Source

Turn the guide into a one-page PDF and spreadsheet checklist: sheets to review, schedules to find, commonly missed items (embeds, hoist beams, base plates, misc steel). Gate it with an email field. Follow up with a short monthly email: one estimating tip, one product update, one customer number.

A practical checklist is something estimators keep and share, and the list gives a two-person team a cheap channel back to readers who aren't ready yet.

[ ] Read general notes and specs for steel grades, galvanizing, fireproofing
[ ] Framing plans: every beam size, count and length, studs, camber
[ ] Column schedule: sizes and heights (or derive from TOS / foundation levels)
[ ] Base plates and anchor rods from foundation details
[ ] Bracing and moment connections
[ ] Embeds, hoist beams, lintels and misc steel
[ ] Stairs and rails
[ ] Addenda compared against the last set
[ ] Tonnage check against a similar past job

• Gating cuts shares

  Keep the article open and gate only the file.

• Your website"How to Do a Steel Takeoff" (January 26, 2026): about 1,300 words on framing plans, columns, base plates and connection details ("the hardest part"), with two "Try Alkali Here" buttons to the viewer; no downloadable checklist or template.Source
• ResearchSite stack: Next.js on Railway with Google Analytics, PostHog and Crisp chat; no pricing page, no newsletter and no YouTube channel; social presence is LinkedIn and GitHub; domain registered May 2025.Source

Add a "Bid status" field (pending, won, lost) to each project. When a shop marks a job won, offer: "Send this model to Alkali detailing; quote in one business day", with the tonnage and scope already filled in from the takeoff. Price detailing with a discount when it starts from an Alkali estimodel, since the model is already built.

The shop has just won the work and needs shop drawings fast. Alkali already holds the model, so it can offer speed no outside detailer can match.

• Shops have loyal detailers

  Offer IFC handoff to their detailer as the free alternative.

• #1 Put the detailing page in the sitemap and replace its email link with a bid-set upload form

• Your websiteDetailing page: "The smarter way to detail steel." with 3D models, Tekla shop drawings and connection design, "Drawings from bid set to fab shop in days, not weeks" and "Every sheet is checked by a human who has done this before"; both "Set Up Discovery Call" buttons are mailto links (subject "Alkali Detailing Project"); no price, turnaround or file upload; no meta description.Source
• Your websiteDocs: exports (CSV, PDF markup, IFC 3D Estimodel, nesting plans); a "Bluebeam Desktop" controls preset; customization "requires a subscription"; a Company Page with team usage metrics (projects uploaded, tonnage analyzed); 3D Estimodeling in Beta/Pilot; share links with Owner, Editor and Viewer roles.Source

Launch a standalone page: upload the old and new structural sheets and get a highlighted list of steel changes, free with no sign-up for up to a set number of sheets. Offer to carry the changes into a full takeoff with sign-in. Give it its own indexable landing page.

A narrow, urgent, free job brings in estimators who aren't shopping for takeoff software yet and shows the product's precision on their own drawings.

• Compute cost from free use

  Limit sheets per run and rate-limit.

• Your websiteHomepage product sections: AI takeoff assist for beams, columns, joists, braces and base plates; tonnage from the AISC manual; revision compare across addenda with Accept/Reject (example: a beam changed from W12x16 to W16x26 in Addendum 2); drawing Q&A including "What does a 20KSP joist mean?" for new estimators; real-time collaboration and public share links; "Alkali AI gets better with every project".Source
• Your websiteDocs: exports (CSV, PDF markup, IFC 3D Estimodel, nesting plans); a "Bluebeam Desktop" controls preset; customization "requires a subscription"; a Company Page with team usage metrics (projects uploaded, tonnage analyzed); 3D Estimodeling in Beta/Pilot; share links with Owner, Editor and Viewer roles.Source

Pilot with ten shops in one region: they set the project types and sizes they bid, and when a matching public bid set appears, Alkali runs the takeoff overnight and sends a notification with tonnage, scope summary and a labor estimate at the shop's own rates, ready for review. Charge it as a premium tier. Keep every estimate private to the shop.

It changes the product from a faster tool to more bids with the same team. It also uses the cross-customer coverage that only a platform with Alkali's volume has.

• Drawing access and permissions

  Only process sets the shop forwards or is invited to.

• Shops fear competitors get the same estimate

  Keep labor rates, edits and bid decisions private per shop.

• #8 Publish a takeoff accuracy benchmark from the evaluation harness the new AI engineer will build

• Your website"Alkali Early Milestones April 2026" (May 2, 2026): project volume "more than doubled" each month since launch; over 25,000 tons estimated in April, about 7% of average monthly U.S. structural steel volume; the same project is sometimes uploaded by several customers; 350+ fabricators spoken with in a year; a Baltimore video shows 350+ tons taken off in about 15 minutes; a fabricator called it the "Tesla of estimating"; coverage "still sparse in many regions"; the goal of an estimate ready before a fabricator starts bidding, tuned to each shop's labor rates.Source
• HiringFounding Applied AI Engineer (New York; $150K–$220K, 0.75%–1.50% equity) on Y Combinator's job board: improve vision models that extract quantities and sizes from drawings, build agents that navigate large plan sets, and build datasets, evaluation pipelines and test harnesses. The company description says about 10% of U.S. structural steel by volume flows through Alkali. YC lists Alkali as a Spring 2025 company in Houston with a team of 2; the role was also announced on the Alkali blog on July 20, 2026.Source
• Competitor researchFerra: bid intelligence, steel takeoff, revision control and 3D models; "Start for free"; a co-founder's "Send me a drawing set" offer; 10 customer logos and 3 named testimonials; a /compare page against SketchDeck, Steel Genie, Beam AI and SteelFlo that does not mention Alkali.See the research Source

Pilot with two or three regional steel service centres: a "Request material quote" button on the nesting output sends the stock list (shapes, lengths, quantities) to the chosen supplier. Suppliers reply with price and lead time inside Alkali. Suppliers pay a referral fee or subscription for qualified quote requests, or promote Alkali to their fabricator customers.

It puts Alkali in the purchase step after the estimate and gives distributors a reason to recommend it to their fabricator customers.

• Shops worry about pricing exposure

  The shop chooses whether and to whom to send.

• #5 Give /nesting a real landing page and link the nesting guide to it

• Your website"Alkali Guide to Nesting" (March 2, 2026): stock lengths, kerf, end trim and nesting across jobs, noting waste can cut "a few thousand dollars" from a small job's margin; its buttons go to the homepage, not the /nesting tool.Source
• Your websiteDocs: exports (CSV, PDF markup, IFC 3D Estimodel, nesting plans); a "Bluebeam Desktop" controls preset; customization "requires a subscription"; a Company Page with team usage metrics (projects uploaded, tonnage analyzed); 3D Estimodeling in Beta/Pilot; share links with Owner, Editor and Viewer roles.Source

Publish an anonymised, aggregated report: tons bid by region and building type, most common shapes, average tons per project type, revision churn between addenda, and trends across the year. Release it with a short webinar and a LinkedIn series. Gate the full PDF with an email field and offer each shop its own benchmark against the market.

Original data earns press, links and trust in a way product pages can't, and it shows the scale of usage to every reader.

• Customers object to data use

  Aggregate only, check terms, offer opt-out.

• #7 Make the market-share numbers match across the homepage and blog, and fix the 2025 footer

• Your websiteHomepage: H1 "The smarter way to estimate steel."; stat line "2,500+ steel projects | 48 states | >10% of U.S. steel"; a no-signup "Try Here" plus Google, Microsoft and email sign-in; 21 fabricator logos captioned "Anonymized subset of projects estimated with Alkali in 2026", but no testimonials, case studies or pricing; exports to Tekla, Bluebeam, Adobe and Excel; the only contact is a mailto link; the footer reads "© 2025 Alkali Engineering, Inc. · Built in Houston, TX".Source
• Your website"Alkali Early Milestones April 2026" (May 2, 2026): project volume "more than doubled" each month since launch; over 25,000 tons estimated in April, about 7% of average monthly U.S. structural steel volume; the same project is sometimes uploaded by several customers; 350+ fabricators spoken with in a year; a Baltimore video shows 350+ tons taken off in about 15 minutes; a fabricator called it the "Tesla of estimating"; coverage "still sparse in many regions"; the goal of an estimate ready before a fabricator starts bidding, tuned to each shop's labor rates.Source

Publish a 10-15 minute speed run every week on a public bid set: load, scan, check, tonnage, with the clock on screen and the misses fixed live. Post the full video on YouTube and a 60-second cut on LinkedIn. Number the series, invite estimators to send in sets to be run, and end each one with "try this set yourself" linking to the shared project.

A repeatable format builds an audience and lets buyers check the speed claims for themselves, showing the misses as well as the wins.

• Drawing ownership

  Use public bid sets or sets submitted with permission.

• Your websiteHomepage: H1 "The smarter way to estimate steel."; stat line "2,500+ steel projects | 48 states | >10% of U.S. steel"; a no-signup "Try Here" plus Google, Microsoft and email sign-in; 21 fabricator logos captioned "Anonymized subset of projects estimated with Alkali in 2026", but no testimonials, case studies or pricing; exports to Tekla, Bluebeam, Adobe and Excel; the only contact is a mailto link; the footer reads "© 2025 Alkali Engineering, Inc. · Built in Houston, TX".Source
• Your website"Alkali Early Milestones April 2026" (May 2, 2026): project volume "more than doubled" each month since launch; over 25,000 tons estimated in April, about 7% of average monthly U.S. structural steel volume; the same project is sometimes uploaded by several customers; 350+ fabricators spoken with in a year; a Baltimore video shows 350+ tons taken off in about 15 minutes; a fabricator called it the "Tesla of estimating"; coverage "still sparse in many regions"; the goal of an estimate ready before a fabricator starts bidding, tuned to each shop's labor rates.Source
• ResearchSite stack: Next.js on Railway with Google Analytics, PostHog and Crisp chat; no pricing page, no newsletter and no YouTube channel; social presence is LinkedIn and GitHub; domain registered May 2025.Source
• Hacker NewsShow HN (December 2025): "Agentic PDF Viewer for Schematics", 5 points and no comments; the post says the team uses it mainly for steel estimation.Source