Dirt Talk Podcast

BuildWitt
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Business
  • Updated Semiweekly

Welcome to the Dirt World's top podcast (self-proclaimed). Every week, host Aaron Witt, founder of BuildWitt, interviews construction and mining industry leaders in long form and shares updates on what's happening inside of BuildWitt.

  1. 2d ago

    2026 Australia Adventure Week One! (Building BuildWitt #73) DT 484

    October 5, 2026 2026 Australia Adventure Week One! (Building BuildWitt #73) DT 484 BuildWitt Update #73– DT 484 Aaron recaps the wins and lessons learned at BuildWitt this week. Read the full newsletter here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/2026-australia-adventure-week-one-aaron-witt-fnvte Want to better train and develop your teams? Check out BuildWitt Improve! https://buildwitt.com/product Questions or feedback? Email us at dirttalk@buildwitt.com! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    2026 Australia Adventure Week One! (Building BuildWitt #73) DT 484

  2. 6d ago

    Building Leaders Underground w/ Jason Miller (DT 483)

    October 1, 2026 Building Leaders Underground w/ Jason Miller - DT 483 Jason Miller is the CEO of Midwest Mole, an employee-owned underground construction company specializing in tunneling, boring, and trenchless work. After a year at Indiana University taught him what he didn’t want to do, Jason went to work in the field alongside his dad, expecting it to be temporary. Within weeks, he was hooked on doing the kind of difficult work most people couldn’t—or wouldn’t—do. That curiosity eventually took him from the field to estimating and project management, and into a VP role before he turned 30. He shares how Midwest Mole’s transition to an ESOP forced the company to rethink growth, equipment, and decades-old ways of doing business, and why fear can quietly keep good companies from changing until they have no choice. He also explains why construction’s biggest workforce challenge may not be finding more laborers and operators, but developing foremen and superintendents who know how to communicate, lead, and put the team ahead of themselves. Follow Jason Miller on LinkedIn at:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonmiller8 Learn more about Midwest Mole at: https://midwestmole.com/ Want to better develop your civil construction workforce and leaders? Check out BuildWitt Improve! https://buildwitt.com Questions or feedback? Email us at dirttalk@buildwitt.com! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Building Leaders Underground w/ Jason Miller (DT 483)

  3. Sep 28

    Hey ChatGPT, Write Me a Newsletter (Building BuildWitt 72) DT 482

    September 28, 2026 Hey ChatGPT, Write Me a Newsletter (Building BuildWitt 72) DT 482 BuildWitt Update #72– DT 482 Aaron recaps the wins and lessons learned at BuildWitt this week. Learn more about attending the 2026 Ariat Dirt World Summit by visiting https://events.dirtworld.com/event/summit-2026/summary Want to better train and develop your teams? Check out BuildWitt Improve! https://buildwitt.com/product Questions or feedback? Email us at dirttalk@buildwitt.com! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Hey ChatGPT, Write Me a Newsletter (Building BuildWitt 72) DT 482

  4. Sep 24

    What Happens When Heavy Equipment Starts Driving Itself? w/ Dick Zhang (DT 481)

    September 24, 2026 What Happens When Heavy Equipment Starts Driving Itself? w/ Dick Zhang Dick Zhang is the CEO of Bluelight Machines, a construction autonomy company putting self-driving technology to work on real jobsites. In less than a year, Bluelight’s autonomous fleet has grown from fewer than 100 active machines to nearly 200, expanded from the U.S. to five continents, and surpassed 1.5 billion square feet of material rolled autonomously.  What started with contractors looking for solutions to workforce challenges grew into a company deploying autonomous heavy equipment around the world. Dick explains why civil construction is a bottom-up business, why technology that operators don’t want to use quickly becomes an expensive paperweight, and why Bluelight’s goal isn’t to replace skilled operators but to multiply what they’re capable of doing. He also shares how the company’s first autonomous roller was built using technology adapted from drones, why balancing safety and production requires constantly learning from what happens in the field, and how transparency around those lessons can make the entire industry better. Follow Dick on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zhangr/ Learn more about Bluelight Machines  at: https://bluelightmachines.com/ Want to better develop your civil construction workforce and leaders? Check out BuildWitt Improve! https://buildwitt.com Questions or feedback? Email us at dirttalk@buildwitt.com! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    What Happens When Heavy Equipment Starts Driving Itself? w/ Dick Zhang (DT 481)

  5. Sep 21

    Why Does 2 Miles Of Concrete Cost $1 Billion?  (Building BuildWitt 71) DT 480

    September 21, 2026 Why Does 2 Miles Of Concrete Cost $1 Billion?  (Building BuildWitt 71) DT 480 BuildWitt Update #71– DT 480 Aaron recaps the wins and lessons learned at BuildWitt this week. Learn more about attending the 2026 Ariat Dirt World Summit by visiting https://events.dirtworld.com/event/summit-2026/summary Want to better train and develop your teams? Check out BuildWitt Improve! https://buildwitt.com/product Questions or feedback? Email us at dirttalk@buildwitt.com! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Why Does 2 Miles Of Concrete Cost $1 Billion?  (Building BuildWitt 71) DT 480

  6. Sep 17

    A Skid Steer and a Craigslist Ad w/ Tyler Marks (DT 479)

    September 17, 2026 A Skid Steer and a Craigslist Ad w/ Tyler Marks (DT 479) Tyler Marks is the founder of Marks Clearing and Grading, a North Carolina land clearing and grading contractor he started at 18 with just a skid steer and a Craigslist ad. He grew the company alongside the Raleigh construction boom, buying oversized equipment before he needed it and betting on the market long before he had the projects to justify it. What started with small grading and clearing jobs grew into an operation supporting roughly 250 families, but Tyler is quick to admit the growth came with plenty of mistakes, bad decisions, and lessons learned the hard way. He explains why owning more equipment doesn’t necessarily mean having a better business, how admitting what he didn’t know helped him earn the trust of experienced operators, and why bringing in leaders more capable than himself became necessary to take the company to the next level. Tyler also shares why he’s focused less on constantly putting out fires and more on “taking the lighters away,” how Marks is developing young employees instead of making them wait years for opportunities, and what it takes to keep growing when the company you started becomes much bigger than you. Follow Tyler on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-marks-aba499238/ Learn more about Marks Clearing and Grading at: https://marksclearingandgrading.com/ Want to better develop your civil construction workforce and leaders? Check out BuildWitt Improve! https://buildwitt.com Questions or feedback? Email us at dirttalk@buildwitt.com! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    A Skid Steer and a Craigslist Ad w/ Tyler Marks (DT 479)

  7. Sep 14

    What You Should Do Won’t Dent The Universe (Building BuildWitt 70) DT 478

    September 14, 2026 What You Should Do Won’t Dent The Universe (Building BuildWitt 70) DT 478 BuildWitt Update #70– DT 478 Aaron recaps the wins and lessons learned at BuildWitt this week. Learn more about attending the 2026 Ariat Dirt World Summit by visiting https://events.dirtworld.com/event/summit-2026/summary Want to better train and develop your teams? Check out BuildWitt Improve! https://buildwitt.com/product Questions or feedback? Email us at dirttalk@buildwitt.com! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    What You Should Do Won’t Dent The Universe (Building BuildWitt 70) DT 478

  8. Sep 10

    The Newest Tools Won't Save Your Company w/ Christian Weibell  (DT 477)

    September 10, 2026 The Newest Tools Won't Save Your Company w/ Christian Weibell  (DT 477) Christian Weibell is the VP of Engineering at BuildWitt, a software engineer with a PhD in instructional psychology and technology, and a former excavation contractor who spent eight years running a construction company while building a career in tech. He taught himself excavation by renting equipment, watching hours of YouTube, and figuring jobs out as he went, eventually growing from side projects into commercial work before finding his way back into software. That strange mix of dirt, software, and learning science now puts him in a unique position to think about where construction is headed. Christian explains why the biggest opportunity with AI isn’t replacing operators with autonomous machines, but helping the people already in the industry work faster, learn better, and make better decisions. He breaks down why AI today feels a lot like the internet did in the late ’90s, what construction leaders are getting wrong about adoption, and why the companies that win won’t be the ones chasing the newest tool—they’ll be the ones that figure out how to make their people better with it. Follow Christian on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drcjw/ Learn more about BuildWitt at: https://buildwitt.com/ Want to better develop your civil construction workforce and leaders? Check out BuildWitt Improve! https://buildwitt.com Questions or feedback? Email us at dirttalk@buildwitt.com! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    The Newest Tools Won't Save Your Company w/ Christian Weibell  (DT 477)
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About

Welcome to the Dirt World's top podcast (self-proclaimed). Every week, host Aaron Witt, founder of BuildWitt, interviews construction and mining industry leaders in long form and shares updates on what's happening inside of BuildWitt.

Information

  • Creator
    BuildWitt
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    580
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2022 Dirt Talk by BuildWitt
  • Show Website
    Dirt Talk Podcast

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