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The Times Tech Podcast

Cover’s Alexis Rivas: “Lego houses”

The Times Tech Podcast

Will Morley

Business, Unknown, Technology

4.9654 Ratings

🗓️ 29 January 2021

⏱️ 37 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Sunday Times’ tech correspondent brings on Alexis Rivas of Cover to talk about rebuilding home-building (3:45), starting small (7:40), using software to automate the process (9:00), the original idea (11:20), getting into Y Combinator (13:45), the Lego method (15:45), the mini-boom in construction tech (18:20), the homelessness problem (21:30), the cost difference (25:05), overhauling the industry (27:45), and his worst day of work (31:45).

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Yo, technology. What is it all about?

0:04.4

We're trying to prove to the world that building homes in a factory isn't a compromise.

0:09.5

In fact, it can be way better than conventional construction.

0:28.8

Hello and welcome to Danny in the Valley, your weekly dispatch from behind the scenes and inside the minds of the top people in tech.

0:30.0

Thank you for tuning in.

0:33.1

We have a great show for you this week. We have none other than George Sherman, Chief Executive of GameStop, on to talk about what the hell is happening with his company.

0:43.8

Just kidding.

0:47.4

Sadly, I think Mr. Sherman has other things on his mind.

0:50.3

Like, you know, his company going from $2 billion to $24 billion because a bunch of

0:56.9

Redditors wanted to stick it to the man and make a bunch of money, you know, stuff like that.

1:02.5

Did it get you?

1:04.1

So, yeah, so we don't have Mr. Sherman on the show, but we do have a fantastic guest who I think

1:09.5

you guys are really going to enjoy hearing from.

1:12.2

And his name is Alexis Javier Rivas.

1:15.5

And he is the co-founder of a company called Cover, which makes prefab homes.

1:21.5

But these aren't your normal prefab homes that you would see, you know,

1:25.1

on the back of a truck or something coming down the highway.

1:29.0

The idea is that by using some very clever algorithms, they can design your home for $250.

1:34.6

Now, they're starting out with smaller ones, you know, studios, one-bets, two-bits.

1:38.3

And then they just build it in their factory.

1:41.1

Basically, almost in the Lego form, it arrives flat pack like IKEA,

1:46.3

but without the instructions with that little weird blobby guy in the IKEA instruction

...

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